A COUPLE whose baby boy died in the bathroom after there was no midwife available from the hospital have received an undisclosed settlement.
Joanne Holbrook and Nathan Dawson’s baby Harvey died at their home in Batley in 2007.
There was no midwife available at Dewsbury and District Hospital and the couple say they weren’t given any advice.
Harvey was taken to hospital as soon as he was born but suffered multiple seizures and died 12 days later.
The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust which runs the hospital said a number of improvements have been made since Harvey’s death.
Irwin Mitchell, the firm of solicitors acting for mum Joanne Holbrook, said there had only been one midwife on duty at the time of the birth and had been attending another home birth.
The second on-call midwife had phoned in sick, but the message had not been passed on at the hospital and no alternative arrangements had been made.
Trust chief executive Julia Squire said: “On behalf of the trust I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Miss Holbrook, Mr Dawson and their family for their loss.
“I am also very sorry that the care we provided fell below the high standard that we aim to provide.
“I understand that the NHS Litigation Authority has been working with the family’s solicitors to bring about a speedy conclusion to their claim and I am pleased that an agreement has been reached.”
