Newcastle hospital told woman whose unborn baby had died to go home and ‘book a slot to give birth’

Trust admits Danielle Brown’s baby would have survived had she not been sent home from RVI days earlier

A seven-months-pregnant woman whose unborn baby had died was sent home from hospital with a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth.

Danielle Brown, 31, had been discharged from hospital with pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. She returned to hospital days later where scans revealed that her daughter, Maisie, had died at about 29 weeks.

Brown said she was devastated to have to return home knowing the baby she was carrying was no longer alive. “When it was confirmed Maisie had died, we burst into tears. Nobody explained what had happened to Maisie,” she said.

Brown, from North Shields in north-east England, said she was then “given a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth”. She said: “Hearing that with no compassion angered me so much.”

Brown and her partner, Anthony Miller, were delighted to be expecting a baby but seven months into the pregnancy, in February 2023, she fell ill and was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. Monitoring by doctors at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Newcastle, had also raised concerns about Maisie’s heart rate.

A consultant obstetrician said Brown should remain in hospital until she gave birth, given her potentially life-threatening condition. However, she was discharged 24 hours later on 14 February after a review by a different consultant.

A day later, Brown phoned the RVI’s maternity assessment unit with more concerns but was told she probably had a stomach bug.

She insisted on being seen and returned to the hospital, waited 90 minutes to be assessed, and was told medics could not find Maisie’s heartbeat. The couple were then told that their baby had died.

Instead of delivering Maisie straight away, Brown said she was handed a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth on another day,

Brown spoke of her ordeal after being awarded an undisclosed settlement from Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS foundation trust. The trust admitted a breach of duty and that Maisie would have survived had her mother not been sent home during her first admission.

Faisal Ali, of the solicitors Irwin Mitchell, said pre-eclampsia was serious and required close monitoring.

“What happened to Danielle and Maisie vividly highlights the human cost of care failings and how families left needing answers and access to specialist support are left trying to pick up the pieces,” he said. “Sadly, this isn’t an isolated case and we represent hundreds of families nationally affected by maternity failings.

“Put simply, maternity services aren’t good enough, resulting in mums and babies being put at risk because of deep-rooted problems nationally.”

The couple have since had a son, Harrison, who is two.

“While we feel so blessed to have Harrison, it remains difficult knowing Maisie should be here with us too. She will always be part of our family,” Brown said. “More needs to be done not only to improve maternity care but also, when something goes wrong, families need proper and compassionate support.

“After saying goodbye to Maisie, we had to walk through a labour ward seeing parents going home with their babies. That will stay with me for ever.”

Ian Joy, an executive director at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS foundation trust, said: “Maisie’s family have experienced a devastating loss which has undoubtedly had a profound effect on everyone who loved her.

“We fully accept that aspects of the care we provided fell short of the standards the family had every right to expect and offer a heartfelt apology for this. Following a detailed review in 2023, we improved urgent assessment for women who come to our maternity services with unexpected symptoms or suspected complications.”

The trust had recently been assessed as performing well against national standards, Joy said.