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| Anaesthetist charged with manslaughter after UK woman dies following caesarean | Anaesthetist charged with manslaughter after UK woman dies following caesarean |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An anaesthetist has been charged with manslaughter after a British woman died following a caesarean operation to deliver her first child. | |
| The baby boy was delivered safely last Friday night, but the 28-year-old mother, who was living in France, was rushed to hospital in a coma from which she never recovered. | The baby boy was delivered safely last Friday night, but the 28-year-old mother, who was living in France, was rushed to hospital in a coma from which she never recovered. |
| The anaesthetist, a 45-year-old from Belgium, is alleged to have made a “serious error” by inserting a tube from a ventilating machine into the patient’s oesophagus instead of her windpipe. As a result the victim was starved of oxygen and went into cardiac arrest. She was taken by the emergency services to a nearby hospital but died on Tuesday. | The anaesthetist, a 45-year-old from Belgium, is alleged to have made a “serious error” by inserting a tube from a ventilating machine into the patient’s oesophagus instead of her windpipe. As a result the victim was starved of oxygen and went into cardiac arrest. She was taken by the emergency services to a nearby hospital but died on Tuesday. |
| A postmortem examination revealed “several lesions” on the victim’s oesophagus. | A postmortem examination revealed “several lesions” on the victim’s oesophagus. |
| Investigators say the anaesthetist appeared “in an alcoholic state” when summoned to the local gendarmerie to answer questions about the incident on Tuesday morning. | Investigators say the anaesthetist appeared “in an alcoholic state” when summoned to the local gendarmerie to answer questions about the incident on Tuesday morning. |
| A French judge has put the medic under official examination – the equivalent in Britain of being charged – for “aggravated manslaughter caused by the manifest and deliberate violation of the obligation of care and safety”. The charge carries a maximum five-year sentence. | A French judge has put the medic under official examination – the equivalent in Britain of being charged – for “aggravated manslaughter caused by the manifest and deliberate violation of the obligation of care and safety”. The charge carries a maximum five-year sentence. |
| Jean-Christophe Muller, the local public prosecutor, was present when the anaesthetist was questioned. He also interviewed witnesses at the Kappa clinic at Orthez near Bayonne, where the British woman had chosen to give birth. | Jean-Christophe Muller, the local public prosecutor, was present when the anaesthetist was questioned. He also interviewed witnesses at the Kappa clinic at Orthez near Bayonne, where the British woman had chosen to give birth. |
| Muller told the Guardian the victim was in labour on Friday evening when it was decided around 10pm that the baby would need to be delivered by emergency caesarean. | Muller told the Guardian the victim was in labour on Friday evening when it was decided around 10pm that the baby would need to be delivered by emergency caesarean. |
| “The clinic called the on-duty anaesthetist and she came to the hospital after labour had started,” Muller said. “After the baby was delivered in good health, it was quickly clear that the dose of anaesthetic was not sufficient and the woman was in pain. A further dose of anaesthetic was administered, but very rapidly the medical team realised the woman was having difficulty breathing and asked the anaesthetist to put her on an artificial respirator.” | “The clinic called the on-duty anaesthetist and she came to the hospital after labour had started,” Muller said. “After the baby was delivered in good health, it was quickly clear that the dose of anaesthetic was not sufficient and the woman was in pain. A further dose of anaesthetic was administered, but very rapidly the medical team realised the woman was having difficulty breathing and asked the anaesthetist to put her on an artificial respirator.” |
| When it was clear the woman was still not getting oxygen, the team called the emergency services who took the unconscious patient to hospital. | |
| When summoned for questioning at the local gendarmerie on Tuesday morning, Muller said the anaesthetist, a woman who qualified in 1999, was found to have 2.16g/L of alcohol in her blood. The legal driving limit in the UK is 0.8g/L. | |
| “She was in an alcoholic state … drunk even,” Muller said. “During questioning she admitted she drank significant quantities of alcohol every day. She would carry vodka in a bottle of water,” the public prosecutor added. | “She was in an alcoholic state … drunk even,” Muller said. “During questioning she admitted she drank significant quantities of alcohol every day. She would carry vodka in a bottle of water,” the public prosecutor added. |
| He said investigators had no proof that the anaesthetist had been drinking on Friday before the caesarean operation. | He said investigators had no proof that the anaesthetist had been drinking on Friday before the caesarean operation. |
| However, her admission of a “pathological alcohol problem” explained remarks from staff at the clinic where she had worked for just two weeks, who told investigators she was “not in a normal state” during the operation and was having difficulty “speaking, understanding and reacting”. | However, her admission of a “pathological alcohol problem” explained remarks from staff at the clinic where she had worked for just two weeks, who told investigators she was “not in a normal state” during the operation and was having difficulty “speaking, understanding and reacting”. |
| “We know this is someone with an alcohol habit and even if we cannot know for sure, it leads us to believe that at the moment of the surgery, this medic was not in an appropriate state for a complicated operation, and a caesarean remains a complicated operation.” | “We know this is someone with an alcohol habit and even if we cannot know for sure, it leads us to believe that at the moment of the surgery, this medic was not in an appropriate state for a complicated operation, and a caesarean remains a complicated operation.” |
| Muller added: “She admitted she drank every day, several times a day and she indicated that on Friday evening when she was called to the clinic around 10pm she was taking part in a concert and a kind of cocktail party. There are very serious elements to make us think she had drunk excessively that evening.” | Muller added: “She admitted she drank every day, several times a day and she indicated that on Friday evening when she was called to the clinic around 10pm she was taking part in a concert and a kind of cocktail party. There are very serious elements to make us think she had drunk excessively that evening.” |
| The French regional health authority is deciding whether to permanently close the Kappa clinic, which hit the headlines over a lack of security at the end of 2008 after a two-day-old baby was snatched by a 51-year-old woman. The child was found safe the following day. | The French regional health authority is deciding whether to permanently close the Kappa clinic, which hit the headlines over a lack of security at the end of 2008 after a two-day-old baby was snatched by a 51-year-old woman. The child was found safe the following day. |
| Neither the arrested medic doctor nor the victim have been named. |