Oxford hospital trust sorry for failings that led to stillbirth

The Keep the Horton General campaign group believes the JR’s maternity problems stem from downgrading the nearby Horton Hospital’s consultant-led unit in Banbury to midwife-led.

Campaigner Beth Hopper told the BBC: “All those births now being channelled to the John Radcliffe means that they cannot cope with the birth numbers they’re seeing.

“We have mothers who aren’t being looked after properly, they’re not being given food or water, pain relief… they don’t have the staffing levels required to safely look after mothers and their babies.

“It’s not acceptable in this day and age. It’s traumatising for families and it’s upsetting for everyone around them to hear.”

Roseanne Edwards added: “We have warned time and time again since 2016 when the OUH said it was going to remove obstetrics from the Horton in Banbury that the JR would not be able to cope and mothers would suffer.”

She said campaigners were “not happy to hear the consequences are as we predicted”, including the “terrible” and “insanitary” conditions, the “stress on staff” and the “trauma” created “for mothers and their babies”.

Amid their own loss, Joy and Daniel have set up the charity Elkan’s Light in their son’s memory to support Black and minority ethnic families, as well as raise awareness of the risk of cervical procedures during pregnancy.

“I’m hoping that things change because being in that room and seeing what she went through, it broke a part of me and it’s not healed yet,” Daniel said.

You can contact Katharine about this story by email katharine.dacosta@bbc.co.uk or via instagram @bbckatharinedacosta, external