A newborn baby died when he was starved of oxygen after doctors ignored his mother's plea that she needed a caesarean section or risk them both dying.
Patryk Bielaszka survived for ten days following his birth, despite suffering serious brain damage, before the decision was taken to turn off his life support.
Patryk’s mum Barbara warned doctors that she needed to deliver her baby by caesarean section or her baby may die following a scan in her native country of Poland.
The ultrasound revealed a condition that could lead to her blood vessels, which run from mother to baby, rupturing.
Tragically doctors ignored her, and the blood vessels burst during labour, causing a haemorrhage and starving baby Patryk of oxygen.
Barbara and Patryk’s father Grzegorz, who have since returned to Poland and had another child, are taking legal action against King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust through Osbornes Law, for medical negligence. The Trust has admitted liability.
Barbara, 38, said: “Our lives changed forever when our beautiful son passed away in our arms. We still struggle to smile and feel crushed by what happened to him.
“We had multiple meetings with different people and instead of taking responsibility they tried to blame me because my English isn’t good enough. It’s been almost four years since we lost our boy and we haven’t even had an inquest.
"We just want answers and for somebody to take responsibility as in my mind they killed our child.”
Barbara went for an ultrasound scan in Poland in August 2019 which showed a low-lying placenta and a condition called vasa praevia, where blood vessels passing from the baby to the mother are unprotected by the umbilical cord.
A Polish doctor told her that Patryk would need to be born by caesarean section or he would not survive.
On returning to the UK, Barbara, who was wrongly categorised as low risk by NHS doctors despite high blood sugar levels, told a doctor about the scan.
She also had a scan in the UK on July 3, 2019, following which she should have been referred for a transvaginal ultrasound scan at 32 weeks. This scan would have detected vasa praevia and Barbara would have been referred for a caesarean section.
She said: “When we presented them with the findings of the scan we’d had in Poland the doctor said that ‘everything was fine’ and ‘not to worry’ about it. They completely ignored me and wouldn’t even look at the scans.
"When we were in hospital we were also assured that everything was okay, but it wasn’t and we believe our baby died because they wouldn’t listen.”
Barbara went into hospital on October 23, 2019, to be induced. She tried to tell staff that she had unusual pains in her abdomen, but she was again ignored.
“Whatever I said they just dismissed what I was saying and said I was being over dramatic,” she said.
The following day Barbara’s blood vessels ruptured and Patryk was born by emergency caesarean section.
Lawyers for Patryk’s family argued that if they had taken the Polish ultrasound into account, and the findings of the scan on 3 July 2019, then Patryk would have been delivered by planned caesarean section and would still be alive today.
Barbara added: “Because of what happened we moved back to Poland, not only because of losing Patryk, but because I fell pregnant again. I couldn’t face the possibility of the same mistakes being made again and losing another child.
"We had moved to a bigger flat before Patryk was born so that we could have more room for him, but when we returned home it was just empty and silent. It was devastating and very difficult to live with.
“To make matters worse we kept on getting calls and letters from the NHS and the Department of Health trying to make appointments for our dead baby. If it wasn’t bad enough that their negligence led to his death, they kept on acting as if Patryk was alive.
"This was hugely distressing and carried on for a year. We had to keep on explaining to healthcare professionals reliving what happened. They only stopped when our solicitor asked them to do so.
“Now I just want answers and to make sure this nightmare doesn’t happen to anybody else.”
Nick Leahy, a specialist medical negligence solicitor from Osbornes Law, who represents the family said: “This is a truly tragic case that has understandably devastated the lives of my clients.
"Patryk’s parents were ignored by doctors, despite them having independent medical advice which showed Barbara’s pregnancy was at risk. Patryk’s death was completely avoidable, yet my clients feel that their poor English is being blamed for leading to what happened in this case.
"Sadly, I have acted in other cases in which parents’ limited command of English has led them to feel like their concerns are being ignored. My clients have understandably lost complete trust in the NHS as a result of these events.”
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust told The Mirror: "“We offer our sincere condolences to Barbara and her family for their loss. For legal reasons we are unable to provide further comment at this stage.”
