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In responding to concerns raised by a grieving family, HSC and the MSG said they have sympathy for any family that loses a child but “there was no fault in the midwifery care provided”.
Jenna and Jonny Veron tragically lost their son Oliver in 2016. He was only one day old.
The couple has spent the last seven years trying to better understand what could’ve been done to save their son, while raising concerns with the care they received.
They stood before an inquest last week (14 December) and spoke of their grief and quest for answers.
“In our opinion the independent medical expert reports show that poor decision-making by professionals, lack of proper and basic communication, and the non-existence of relevant policies and procedures regarding withdrawal of care, all resulted in the tragic loss of our son,” said Mrs Veron.
“We fought for independent medical expert reports to be obtained and have learnt from The Nursing and Midwifery Council, The General Medical Council, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Children’s Hospital the answers we have waited for. It was harrowing to learn from each of the reports after Oliver had died that there were potential treatment options following his birth, which were never relayed to us.”
The Committee for Health and Social Care, and the Medical Specialist Group have since released a joint statement seeking to reassure the public about the care available in Guernsey:
“Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare, so we would like to express our sincere condolences to the Veron family for the tragic loss of their son Oliver.”
“While we absolutely recognise the trauma they have suffered, we do feel a sense of obligation to the wider community to reassure that following Oliver’s death HSC commissioned two separate independent and external investigations, both of which found that there was no fault in the midwifery care provided. While we understand this will be of little comfort to the family, it is hoped that the findings of these investigations regarding the standard of midwifery care provides reassurance for our service users.
“Additionally, the paediatrician involved in Oliver’s care, who retired in 2016, was fully investigated by the General Medical Council which found that no action needed to be taken. After closing the case, the GMC re-opened it at the request of the family and carried out a further investigation which reached the same conclusion.
“We would like to thank theCoroner and all those who gave evidence for a thorough investigation, and we accept the findings of the inquest.
“Even though the independent reviews found no fault in the care provided, we will review the findings of the inquest to see if there is any additional learning from this tragic case.”
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