Mother died after neglect by Broomfield Hospital staff – coroner

Ms Seaman had a covert intra-abdominal hemorrhage and was bleeding for hours, but she was incorrectly treated for possible dehydration and given biscuits, the court heard.

Crucially, notes about her health were annotated on a piece of paper which meant her deterioration was not escalated promptly.

The inquest found gross failures were made by multiple clinical staff across a number of disciplines, including the failure to follow the major hemorrhage protocol.

The new mother suffered two cardiac arrests and had been bleeding for hours. During emergency surgery, four to five litres of blood were found in her abdomen.

She died two days after giving birth following complications from the intra-abdominal hemorrhage.

Ms Hayes ruled there had been a failure of mandatory escalation before Ms Seaman died and said a prevention of future deaths report would be written.

She said had action been taken in the form of a review led by a multi-disciplinary consultant, Ms Seaman would not have died.