Mum and dad want answers after eight-day-old baby dies at Glasgow hospital

This article contains details that some readers may find distressing

A couple are fighting for answers over the death of their firstborn baby in the maternity unit of Scotland’s largest hospital.

Community pharmacist Mohammed Hameed and his wife Rawan claim negligence is to blame for the death of their baby girl Leyan eight days after she was born at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in February, despite being told it was a low-risk pregnancy.

They claim there was a series of “failings” regarding Rawan’s care.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has issued an apology over Leyan’s death and confirmed an internal investigation – known as a Significant Adverse Event Review – is under way.

‘Not having answers is torture’

Mohammed said they have not had further correspondence from the health board and that “sorry is just a word”.

“At this point, it doesn’t mean anything to me,” he told STV News.

“Nothing is going to bring Leyan back, but if it means saving another life, then we intend to pursue this, and we feel we need to speak out.

“Not having answers and the time scale to get those answers makes it worse, not being informed and the potential that this could take years.

“It is extremely painful. It’s torture.

“As a healthcare professional, I am extremely concerned about safety. The lack of professionalism by those handling the complaints has made me really angry.”

Their ordeal began on the night of February 11, when Rawan began to experience contraction pains.

The following morning, at around 6am, the couple called the maternity unit, explaining that it was Rawan’s first pregnancy.

But they were told it was “too early” and advised not to come in.

As Rawan’s contractions intensified, Mohammed decided to take her to the hospital.

They said Rawan collapsed from the pain upon arrival, and a member of the public had to help Mohammed lift her into a wheelchair.

‘I was just a number’

Rawan feels their concerns were not taken seriously from the moment they arrived.

“I felt like I wasn’t treated like a human,” Rawan said. “I was just a number.

“I was in so much pain, I could barely sit up in the wheelchair or walk.”

Rawan was asked to provide a urine sample. To her distress, there was a large volume of blood.

She was then taken for a scan, but the equipment wasn’t functioning properly, so a doctor was called in.

They claim that, throughout her care, Rawan wasn’t checked for how far she was dilated.

As soon as the registrar doctor arrived, they said they needed to operate immediately.

Rawan said: “Everyone was running, and I was taken to the theatre.

“I was in so much pain, and I knew every minute, every second could make a difference.

“At the time, they explained nothing to me. They cut my clothes off, and I had to close my eyes because of the bright light.”

Although they were initially told that an emergency C-section would be necessary, a forceps delivery was carried out. The couple claims this was done without their knowledge or consent.

“I heard the doctor say ‘oh, the head is down’ and she sounded shocked. The baby was already coming,” Rawan said.

“They told me to push, and I was on my own at this point. It had been very important for me to have my husband with me.

“I kept trying to push, and then someone said, ‘Oh, congratulations, your baby is here.’ I was shocked. It felt like a dream. I was thinking, ‘Is this real?’

“I tried to reach to feel my stomach to check what had happened, as I couldn’t hear a baby crying.

“Afterward, the doctor said to me, ‘This is the fastest birth we’ve ever had.'”

Mohammed added: “When I came into the theatre, Rawan asked me what happened and I replied, ‘I don’t know.’

“Medics were in the corner performing CPR. Rawan was very disorientated. The time showed it was 10.14am. I caught a glimpse of her, and I asked if I was able to take a quick photo.

‘The perfect pregnancy’

“That phrase kept going through my head from the midwife in the weeks before, ‘This isn’t just a good pregnancy, this is the perfect pregnancy’.”

After the delivery, Leyan was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Mohammed and Rawan were unable to see her until later that day.

Mohammed said, “They were very cagey afterwards, and we really had to push for hours to see her—they just said she was upstairs.

“As time went on, we got so worried. It was our first pregnancy, so we weren’t sure of the procedures.

“Even at that point, we weren’t made aware of how bad things were.”

The following day, February 13, they met with a consultant who explained that Leyan’s future was “bleak” and that she may never be able to walk or talk.

“They sat down with us to say that something had gone wrong; her heart had stopped for 12 minutes, and there had been a lack of oxygen to the brain,” Mohammed said.

“It was like the ground had swallowed me up when they told me. Like being struck by a lorry. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Leyan was on a ventilator in the NICU when she died on February 20, just eight days after her birth.

Her parents described the agony of returning home without their baby girl.

Mohammed said. “When we left the house that morning, we had put the baby car seat by the front door.

“We had prepped her room, and all the outfits were ready.”

A Serious Adverse Event Report is being carried out into Leyan’s death, but Mohammed said they feel there is a “lack of urgency” from those handling the case.

“The entire month of March, we have not heard a single thing. I feel like we are being neglected and kept in the dark. I told them from the start, I want to be kept informed at each stage.

“We have had a lot of support from our families, but we need answers.

“We want to know why it happened and what measures they’ve put in place so that this doesn’t happen again.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it had offered support through its perinatal psychology service and had signposted further support available through charitable organisations providing specialised counselling in child bereavement on its behalf.

Dr Claire Harrow, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s deputy medical director for acute services, said:
“We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of baby Leyan Hameed at this extremely difficult time.

“Leyan’s death is currently the subject of a Significant Adverse Event Review following unforeseen complications at birth. Leyan’s family will be fully involved at all stages in this.

“Through our neonatal team, we continue to have close contact with Leyan’s family and are doing all we can to support them.

“We will also be inviting Leyan’s family shortly to meet again with our neonatal team, to offer them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have while our investigations continue.”

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