A PREGNANT mother of three and her baby died two days apart after being transferred to an inappropriate ward after contracting Covid, an inquest has heard.
Sumera Haq, 37, was initially treated in an obstetrics ward when she experienced severe abdominal pain and worsening shortness of breath.
3
3
The primary school teacher then went into cardiac arrest three days after being transferred to a medical ward in August last year.
Her third daughter Ayra Butt was delivered by Caesarean section, but was pronounced dead after 15 minutes. Sumera died two days later.
A judicial investigation at East London Coroners’ Court ruled that Sumera was inappropriately transferred to a medical ward and died after a lack of clinical leadership.
It also noted a lack of “multidisciplinary planning” and a lack of close monitoring, as well as a lack of “appropriate escalation” because of her deterioration before she went into cardiac arrest.
Sumera’s husband Kasmin Butt, 41, called the heartbreaking double loss “a living nightmare”.
He said: “It is almost impossible to find the words to describe the pain and pain our family is feeling. The past year has been a living nightmare that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“Sumera was a wonderful woman and the best mother a child could wish for. She went out of her way to help others and her death at an age where she had her best years ahead of her was particularly difficult to deal with.” to go. .
“Those few days and trying to cope with Ayra’s death while Sumera slipped away from us too is something I’m not sure I’ll ever get over.
‘When I saw Ayra, she was beautiful. I just held her and cried my eyes out. I will cherish the small but precious time I had with her.’
The couple had two other children, ages eight and five.
Tests first showed that Sumera had suffered an acute kidney injury and was later found to have particularly low levels of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body.
She continued to deteriorate and she was wrongly given blood thinners before going into cardiac arrest when Ayra gave birth.
Ms Haq was rushed to emergency surgery where doctors found a hematoma – a collection of clotted blood – in her abdomen, but could not locate the source of the bleeding, the investigation said.
Surgeons performed a hysterectomy and Ms Haq was transferred to the intensive care unit and on a ventilator, but her condition continued to deteriorate and she died.
The investigation found that she died of multiple organ failure, abdominal bleeding, Covid-19 infection and pneumonia.
‘HEARTBREAK’
Coroner Nadia Persaud made a narrative conclusion, finding that the medical ward where Ms. Haq had been transferred to “was not an appropriate clinical setting for her.”
She had not been on blood thinners and no “adequate emergency measure” had been taken before she went into cardiac arrest, the coroner ruled.
The coroner also said there was no widely recognized counselor responsible for her care and there was no full multidisciplinary meeting in planning her treatment.
Her acute kidney injury was “inadequately taken into account” and no action was taken on Ms Haq’s worryingly low hemoglobin levels and persistent abdominal pain, the coroner added.
Mr Butt said: “Being by Sumera’s bedside and holding her hand as her body closed before my eyes and knowing there was nothing I could do to help or save her was heartbreaking.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about our other kids and how I was going to tell them their mom wasn’t coming home.
“I just hope no one else has to endure the pain we are in.”
Taylor Hackett, the expert medical negligence attorney at Irwin Mitchell who represents Mr Butt, said: “This is a truly tragic case in which Kasim and the rest of Sumera’s family remain traumatized by their loss.
“It is now vital that lessons are learned from the various concerns raised by the survey of Sumera’s care.”
A Whipps Cross Hospital said the standard of care Sumera Haq received was not good enough, but improvements have been made since then.
A spokesperson added: “We offer our sincere condolences to Sumera Haq’s family, the standard of care she should have received was not met on this occasion.
“The Whipps Cross Hospital has since made significant improvements to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
3