Mother forced to wait 10 years for Nottingham NHS trust to admit failings that led to baby's death
Warning: This article contains details of child loss which some readers may find upsetting.
A mother who had to wait 10 years for a hospital trust to admit failings has told ITV News Central she wants the people responsible for her son's death to "suffer".
Hayley Brunt said: "I want the people that have basically killed my son, I want their jobs, I want them to suffer."
Her son, Kaiden, was born stillborn aged 39 weeks and four days in April 2013.
The mother, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, was 15 when she lost her baby at Nottingham City Hospital.
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust has admitted for the first time in over a decade that failures they made led to the death of a Nottinghamshire's mothers child.
As a result of her experiences, she suffered from poor mental health and subsequently attempted to end her life.
The trust that cared for her failed to properly follow up signs that Hayley's child had an abnormal heart rate during her pregnancy.
The healthcare provider admitted to Hayley's lawyers that had this been investigated further then her baby's death could of been avoided.
It has also emerged the trust carried out their investigation into the stillbirth without informing the baby's mother or her family.
A number of health issues became apparent prior to Hayley losing her child including:
In January 2013 at 27 weeks she began noticing her baby moving less but she was reassured by medical staff this wasn't something to be worried about.
In late February she began to experience vaginal bleeding which meant she had to stay in hospital for two nights, but again she was given assurances about the health of her and her unborn baby.
In March and April that year, Hayley experienced reduced fetal movements but was sent home.
One week away from her due date on 22 April 2013, Hayley took herself to the hospital because she couldn't feel her baby, and she was also experiencing headaches and dizziness. Doctors decided to fit Hayley with a device to record the baby's heart rate.
She was then sent home and asked to come into hospital the next day for a scan to look at the growth of the baby which she did on April 23 2013.
Hayley had an appointment on 24 April with a consultant obstetrician, it was then that the scan showed that Kaiden had passed away.
Days after losing her son, she returned to the hospital two days later for an induced delivery of her baby.
Hayley was placed on the maternity ward alongside new mothers who had just given birth after experiencing the tragedy of having a stillborn child.
At the time in April 2013, she was told that Kaiden, her son had died because her placenta was not working properly.
Hayley has decided to share these photos of her stillborn son with ITV News Central.
The chief executive of the trust Anthony May sent Hayley a letter in December 2022 apologising for the failure's in the trusts care and it also said that the case was relevant for Donna Ockenden's independent review into the provider's maternity services.
Hayley said: "The deep grief I experienced over my son’s death resulted in my mental health spiralling over many years.
"I felt that because I was just 15 years old, my feelings were disregarded and I was treated badly. I believe one of the reasons I wasn’t given the proper care was because of my age. "Losing Kaiden destroyed my life for many years. I blamed myself for his death and only because of the Donna Ockenden inquiry did I find out about how much had gone wrong in my maternity care."
Describing the moment she lost him, Hayley said: "I screamed and I couldn't stop, I couldn't walk, my legs were no longer there and I just couldn't do anything, I just dropped to the floor.
"I felt like my whole world had ended."
"I want the people that have basically killed my son, I want their jobs, I want them to suffer."
Tracy Pilcher, Chief Nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: “I would like to apologise to Hayley for mistakes made during the birth of her son in 2013, and that the details of the subsequent investigation into his death were not shared with her at the time.“We are committed to making improvements in this area and all investigations into cases like Hayley’s are now being carried out along with families.
"Information is provided on the investigation process including a designated link person to keep in contact with the family through the investigation process, and questions or concerns from families form an important part of the investigation or review of care.
"Such investigations are also reported nationally through the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool."
Support and advice available for parents and families:
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