Series of “basic failures” in medical care led to the death of Laura-Jane Seaman, two days after she had given birth to her fifth child, according to a coroner’s report. The report underlined that the bleeding was not spotted, despite the mother’s repeated concerns that she was “gushing”. The incident occurred on 23 December 2022 at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex. Seaman subsequently suffered a hematoma that was not identified by staff for hours – despite her history of similar issues. A prevention of future deaths report by a coroner highlighted “gross failures” by healthcare professionals and stated that Seaman would not have died if these failures had not occurred.
Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, has apologized for “basic failures” in care, including not escalating Seaman’s concerns to senior staff, and putting her symptoms down to dehydration before she lost consciousness. The health trust has confirmed that it is investigating the circumstances leading to the death of Seaman and will improve training to prevent such an incident from happening again.
Seaman had been previously known to the trust and was a high-risk patient due to her history of postpartum haemorrhage. After giving birth, she had a vaginal delivery and was breastfeeding her baby. Two hours later, after feeling unwell, the mother asked medical staff if she was bleeding, but her request was not fulfilled. Despite these issues and her loss of consciousness, she was simply given a biscuit with no critical care being called in a timely manner.
Diane Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer of Essex NHS Foundation Trust, has conveyed the hospital’s condolences to the family of Seaman. The hospital has promised to provide better training to all staff on recognizing the early signs of deterioration and escalation routes for maternity services to prevent such incidents from happening again
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