Midwife suspended over Joshua Titcombe death

A midwife has been suspended for nine months for her role in the care of a baby who died from a serious infection after being treated at a beleaguered maternity unit.

Joshua Titcombe was one of 11 babies to die after being treated at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust in a nine-year period.

A hearing last month found Holly Parkinson, one of the midwives caring for him at Furness General Hospital in 2008, failed in her duty to look after him properly, causing him to lose a significant chance of survival.

She was one of a number of midwives investigated after an inquest five years ago heard staff repeatedly missed chances to spot and treat the infection which led to Joshua's death, only nine days after he was born.

He suffered pneumococcal septicaemia and a lung haemorrhage.

Mrs Parkinson will now be unable to practise for nine months, after which her case will be reviewed.

She has apologised to the newborn's family and appeared remorseful but, eight years later, remains in denial about her role in what happened, a panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council in London on Thursday said.

She did not get a doctor when she recorded Joshua's low temperature, and admitted failing to document the paediatrician's advice that observations should be carried out on the baby.

Joshua, referred to as baby A in proceedings, from Dalton-in-Furness, died on November 5 2008 after being transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The failures "denied baby A any opportunity to be seen, assessed and treated by a paediatrician", the panel said.

Chairman Stuart Gray said, after hearing further evidence from her this week, that she appeared to still be in denial and "not fully accepting" of the impact of her actions.

Mrs Parkinson, who has worked as a quality and safety midwife within the maternity risk management team for almost two years, was at times "evasive, controlled and detached" when explaining what happened, Mr Gray said.

Mrs Parkinson's former colleague Lindsey Biggs is due to hear in October whether she is to be sanctioned.