Birmingham: healthy baby mistakenly died after being mistaken for sick twin

Doctors accidentally terminated a healthy baby during a procedure to abort her sick twin.

A mother-to-be had to undergo the operation because one of her twins suffered from limited growth, putting the lives of both babies in danger.

But surgeons mistakenly terminated the healthy fetus, and her twin also died.

Dr Fiona Reynolds, chief medical officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust, said: “Unfortunately, during a highly specialized fetal procedure in 2019 that involved operating in the womb to separate and potentially save the life of a single twin who shared a placenta, a fatal error has occurred.

“A full and thorough investigation was promptly carried out following this tragic case and the findings were shared with the family, along with our sincere apologies and condolences.

“The result of this in-depth review has led to the development of a new protocol to reduce the likelihood of such an incident happening again.”

The death was one of 700 incidents where errors in NHS hospitals had fatal consequences.

Access to information calls for uncovered stories of patients falling from carts, being out too early, or not receiving the correct tests or medications, the Sunday Express reported.

In another incident, a patient died at the North Bristol NHS Trust after having the wrong section of his bowel removed.

At the West Suffolk NHS Trust, a patient learned he had the flu and was sent home by A&E, but later died of sepsis.

Elsewhere, a patient who was accidentally removed from an oxygen supply died at the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Another unborn baby has died at Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow, Essex. Investigations revealed that he could have survived if a vital heart scan had been performed earlier.

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