Grieving mother urges midwife ban
A grieving mother has told a nurse's misconduct hearing that the midwife involved in delivering her daughter should never be allowed on a maternity ward again.
Lesley Bennett, of Dalton-in-Furness, waived her right to anonymity and struggled to speak through tears as she gave evidence at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing into the actions of Marie Ratcliffe at Cumbria's scandal-hit Furness General Hospital.
Her baby, Elleanor, lived for just 27 hours and died on February 26 2004.
Mrs Bennett said her treatment at the hospital, including instinctively knowing there "was something wrong" when her "purply-blue" newborn baby was placed by her side, has been one of the most heartbreaking things she has had to deal with.
She said the ordeal created such "terror" for her that she was sterilised when her son was born years later by Caesarean section.
Everything about Elleanor's short life is now painfully " etched" in her mind, she said in a breaking voice.
Ms Ratcliffe is not attending the hearing in Stratford, east London, or defending herself against the allegations.
The panel has been told that she accepts 77 allegations relating to her involvement in the treatment of 14 patients at the hospital between February 2004 and 2013.
They include the claim that in relation to the deaths of two babies - Elleanor in February 2004 and another in September 2008 - that Ms Ratcliffe's conduct "contributed to the deaths" and/or may have caused them to "lose a significant chance of survival".
The allegations also include claims that she failed to correctly monitor mothers and babies during labour, failed to document her actions and failed to request assistance from a doctor.
In Mrs Bennett's case, Ms Ratcliffe is accused of failing to ensure the foetal heart rate was adequately monitored and failing to request assistance from a doctor or other medical professional when she had difficulty with the heart rate.
Mrs Bennett, who said she later filed a legal case against the hospital, said she was told that Elleanor had been a stillbirth but had been revived.