Baby Frank Gamble could have been saved by 'appropriate care'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-23365666

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A baby who died after his skull was fractured in a failed forceps delivery could have survived if he had received better care, a coroner has said.

Frank Gamble died from a brain bleed at Colchester General Hospital, in Essex, soon after he was born in April 2012.

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said Frank should have been delivered by caesarean section after the first of three failed attempts using forceps.

"If appropriate care had been provided Frank might have survived," she said.

Recording a narrative verdict in Chelmsford, Ms Beasley-Murray added: "No one else should be allowed to endure the anguish the Gamble family endured."

'Tragic event'

The parents of Frank, who was eventually born via caesarean section, said they were disappointed that the coroner was not more critical of the hospital.

Consultant Prof Mohammed Khaled, who oversaw the delivery, is now on restricted duties at the hospital.

He told an earlier hearing that he had made hundreds of deliveries before Frank Gamble using forceps and never failed.

A spokesman for Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust said: "It is our hope that the action we have taken to understand why this happened and the steps we have taken to achieve as much learning as possible from this tragic event indicate how seriously we have taken Frank's death.

"We continue to work with staff to ensure they always aim for safe, high quality care, and always learn where improvements are needed."