The devastating moment parents said goodbye to their son left severely brain-damaged by hospital blunders
2009-10-14
Tears streaming down his face, a father cradles his ten-day-old baby for the last time.
The photograph was taken on the day that Krishna Govekar and his wife made the heartbreaking decision to turn off their little boy's life support machine.
Arun Rees was born with severe brain damage after hospital staff waited 90 minutes to deliver him, starving his brain of oxygen.
Devastated: Johanne Rees and Krishna Govekar say goodbye to their baby son Arun
The medics failed to spot he was suffering complications in the womb, with one doctor even recommending that his mother simply needed to go the toilet.
Yesterday Mr Govekar and Johanne Rees agreed for this photo to be published in the hope it will help prevent similar tragedies.
Miss Rees's pregnancy had already been judged high risk because she was 44 and had previously suffered a miscarriage.
She was admitted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff at 32 weeks suffering from abdominal pains but says she was not properly treated for more than two hours even though heart monitor readings 'clearly showed' the baby was in distress.
Krishna Govekar holds Arun for the last time before the life support machine is turned off
She said: 'I just couldn't understand why they weren't doing anything to help me and my baby.
'At my last antenatal visit I was told my baby was breech and I would need a Caesarean
section. It was a no-brainer - I knew my baby needed to be delivered urgently. I was screaming in agony and begging the midwives to get my baby out but they just left me.
'I couldn't believe it when a doctor arrived and said I wasn't ready to deliver but had probably eaten something that had disagreed with me and to try going to the toilet instead.'
Baby Arun suffered irreversible brain damage after being delivered through an emergency caesarean
Eventually an emergency Caesarean was performed an hour and a half later on a second doctor's recommendation.
Arun was taken to the special baby care unit after he was delivered but had suffered irreversible brain damage.
Miss Rees and Mr Govekar switched off his life support machine after ten days.
The couple who own a restaurant in Penarth, South Wales, said their lives had been completely devastated by the death of their son.
Miss Rees, now 48, said: 'After the upset of an earlier miscarriage, we were both thrilled when I became pregnant again. It was all we wanted and it was taken away from us.'
Grief: Krishna Govekar and Johanne Rees are devastated by the death of their son
She added: 'As far as I am concerned the hospital has robbed me of a family. I am 48 now, I will probably never have a family.'
The couple spoke yesterday after winning a four-year battle for an apology from the hospital along with £160,000 in compensation.
Mr Govekar, also 48, said: 'The last four years have been a relentless battle to gain answers. Arun's death has taken its toll on us both.
'It has affected our health, our ability to work and at times it threatened to break up our relationship completely.
'We can only hope that we can now move forward with our lives.'
Their solicitor Guy Forster added: 'Although baby Arun was premature he was well developed
and experts have confirmed that in all likelihood he would have survived had the staff taken appropriate action.'
He continued: 'For Johanne and Krishna, this case has never been about the money but about ensuring that lessons have been learned, as they do not want any other couple to go through the tragedy they have experienced.'
Katie Norton, director of primary services for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said:
'This was an exceptional and difficult case and we have worked with the staff to learn lessons.
'I want to apologise again unreservedly on behalf of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for the distress that Ms Rees and Mr Govekar have experienced and offer our sincere condolences to them.'
If you have been affected by this story or you have had a similar experience please contact:-
New hope for disabled children
2009-03-23
Children's mobility charity Whizz-Kidz has welcomed a Government strategy that promises an additional £340 million in funding during the next three years to pump much needed investment into reforming wheelchair services, community equipment services and more short breaks for disabled children. £30 million is expected to go into pallitive care for terminally ill children. A new partnership between Whizz-Kidz and the London Strategic Health Authority will begin reform of wheelchair services across the capital.
Vitalise holds holiday prices
2009-03-23
National disability charity Vitalise has lowered or froze prices on the majority of accessible breaks listed in its new recession-busting brochure. "Charity given is often the first thing to suffer during hard times, but we were determined not to penalize our loyal guests by increasing our prices," said Vitalise's Alison Wadley. "It is more vital now than ever that disabled people and carers have the lifeline of an affordable, accessible break."
For more information check out their website www.vitalise.org.uk or ring 0845 345 1970
Hospitals curb caesarean births
2009-02-15
Hospitals curb caesarean birthsSarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor
NHS trusts have for the first time barred women from routinely having elective caesareans because they cost too much.
The procedure, which costs twice as much as a natural birth, will be rationed in Greater Manchester so that it is only available to women with specific medical conditions.
Some top obstetricians condemn the decision, arguing that, while it will curb the fashion for choosing caesareans to reduce the pain of childbirth, it will also penalise those who opt for them on the grounds that they are safer for the mother.
Caesareans have been placed on the same lists for rationing by the NHS trusts in Greater Manchester as infertility treatment, cosmetic surgery and acupuncture.
The lists, called Effective Use of Resources Policies, state that planned caesarean sections should only routinely be offered to women in particular categories. They include women who have previously already had at least two caesareans.
Dr Christoph Lees, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, said: “I strongly disagree with this prescriptive condition setting. Sometimes well-informed women, often older and very unlikely to have further children, do request caesarean sections and it is unreasonable to refuse if they are fully informed.
About 23% of deliveries in Britain are by caesarean section, and, of these, more than half are emergency operations.
A spokesman for NHS Manchester said: “Where caesarean section is likely to be the safer option for the mother or baby, it will be the mother’s choice how the baby is delivered.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article5734096.ece
New mothers flock to GP's after health visitor cuts
2009-02-02
A survey has found that more than two thirds of practices have had a surge in demand from young mothers with problems traditionally handled by health visitors, including postnatal depression, sleep disorders and feeding problems.
Some GPs told the survey, for Independent Nurse magazine, that they felt ill qualified to offer advice. Others said that they had found themselves weighing babies or being asked to provide emotional support.
Many local health authorities have frozen recruitment of health visitors to cut costs. Howard Catton, head of policy at the Royal College of Nursing, said: “When looking for cuts, they look at the more expensive nurses very early on. There isn’t the recognition of the value that they have in prevention terms.”
