A coroner has ruled that a baby brain damaged through a delayed Caesarean operation died as the result of ‘unacceptable’ medical neglect.

The Daily Mail reports that Natasha Knowles was left with severe brain and organ damage after she was starved of oxygen during a three-hour wait for a Caesarean delivery at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

Natasha fell into a coma four days after her birth on 7 February, 2005 and her parents Mark, 51, and mother Snezana Knowles – from Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire – took the decision to have her life support machine switched off.

Coroner Brian Whitehouse said the delay 'amounted to a gross failure to provide basic medical attention' by NHS staff at the hospital.

On the day of Natasha’s birth, staff decided to carry out a Caesarean at 11.00am, but it was not carried out until 2.23pm. When she was delivered, she had no heartbeat and although doctors managed to revive her, Natasha had serious brain, heart, kidney and liver problems.

A midwife and clinical risk manager for maternity at Southmead, Sharon McKenna, identified six errors in the care of Natasha – including the failure to recognise and act upon abnormalities found in a heart scan of Natasha's; and a ‘lack of clarity in the chain of command’ regarding which obstetrician was in charge of her mother’s care.

She said there were also ‘inappropriate breaks in foetal monitoring’ and scan descriptions had not been documented adequately.

Ms McKenna said there had also been ‘a failure to co-ordinate care within the midwifery team’ – and ‘a failure to appreciate the significance of the whole clinical procedure’.

Medical director at North Bristol NHS Trust, Dr Chris Burton said that the trust accepted the coroner's verdict.

'Since Natasha's death in 2005, the trust has been continually improving practices and the lessons learnt from this tragic case have been incorporated in our training,’ he said.

Natasha’s parents were not available for comment.

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