A husband suffered double heartbreak when a series of hospital blunders led to the stillbirth of his baby daughter – before his wife died of Covid-19 days after giving birth to their second child.
Wajid Ali, 30, has spoken of his devastation after a string of medical errors led to the death of his first born before he lost his wife Fozia a year later to coronavirus.
Fozia died aged just 29-years-old – six days after giving birth to the couple’s second child at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital.
Heartbreakingly, the new mum was unable to see or hold her baby before her death after being diagnosed with Covid-19 upon her admission to hospital for delivery.
Instead, she was shown pictures of her newborn son Ayaan, who was born at 31 weeks, before she passed away after contracting the deadly virus on April 8 this year.
Wajid said his wife’s final words to him upon seeing the photos of Ayaan were: “Look it’s our baby” and “we’re going to come home soon”.
The tragedy came just 11 months after Wajid and Fozia suffered the loss of their first child Anaya, who was pronounced dead at 38 weeks on May 12 last year.
Bungling medics at Birmingham Women’s Hospital had failed to monitor Fozia’s elevated blood glucose levels as well as her baby’s accelerated growth after she complained of feeling unwell.
The hospital trust admitted further errors were made when staff didn’t act on Fozia’s increased blood pressure and protein markers by arranging for a caesarean.
Instead, she was placed on an elective waiting list and their daughter was pronounced stillborn the day before Fozia was due to undergo a C-section.
Shockingly, an internal hospital investigation report found that the planned caesarean date was three days after Anaya should have been delivered.
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has now apologised to the family and admitted liability for the string of “unacceptable errors”.
Today (Wed) Wajid, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, spoke of his heartbreak following the tragic deaths of his baby and his probation service worker wife.
He said: “We were overjoyed when Fozia fell pregnant with Anaya. It was always our dream to start a family.
“For the most part, the pregnancy ran relatively smoothly.
“We were advised at Fozia’s 20-week scan that the baby was measuring big and that there would be extra monitoring of the baby’s growth.
“Towards the end of April, Fozia started feeling unwell. We were concerned about what was happening but put our trust in those looking after us.
“To be told that Anaya had died was absolutely heart-breaking.
“Nothing can prepare you for those words and returning home to see a nursery full of toys that Anaya never got to play with.
“Starting trying to come to terms with losing Anaya was hard enough and while Fozia’s death is not connected to what happened to Anaya, to be now left without my wife and daughter in the space of less than a year is something I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get over.
“Having to say goodbye to Fozia was the hardest decision our family will ever make.
“Fozia was a wonderful, loving and caring person who wouldn’t think twice of helping others. She would have been an amazing mum.
“Ayaan will grow up knowing all about his mum and his big sister and they will always be a part of our family.
“While nothing can undo what has happened all I can hope for now is that the Trust learns lessons over Anaya’s death so others don’t have to face the pain of losing a child in such circumstances.”
Fozia was deemed to be a high risk patient because of a history of asthma and Type-II diabetes and was placed under consultant led care at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
In a letter, David Melbourne, acting chief executive of the trust, has since offered “sincere and heartfelt apologies on behalf of the Trust” into the failings.
He said Fozia did not “receive the level of care and treatment….she had every right to expect.”
He added that when Fozia’s elevated blood glucose levels were identified it was “absolutely clear” that she should have been admitted to hospital for observation.
Mr Melbourne acknowledge “further errors” were also made when the Trust did not act on Fozia’s elevated blood pressure and protein markers.
He said: “I am also conscious that any apology after such serious failings will be of limited comfort to you and your family.
“However, I do hope that you can take some assurance from the fact that we are doing all we can to learn from these mistakes, by reviewing our practice and policies to minimise the potential of these unacceptable errors recurring for other women, babies and families in the future.
“We are committed to taking steps to prevent what happened to you happening again.”
Shay Williams, a specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, which acted on behalf of the family, said: “What was meant to be such a joyous occasion for Fozia and Wajid turned to sheer heartbreak.
“When a pregnant woman with diabetes has high blood glucose levels her baby will store this as body fat, making the baby larger than normal.
“Therefore, close monitoring and tight control of blood glucose levels is key to ensuring a safe pregnancy and delivery.
“We believe that if Fozia had been admitted to hospital her condition could have been monitored, and if required, an appropriate care plan put in place and ultimately, Fozia would have delivered a healthy baby girl.
“Sadly this didn’t happen with devastating consequences for the family.
“Understandably the last 15 months have been incredibly difficult for Wajid.
“While nothing can make up for what has happened we welcome the Trust’s apology and acknowledgement to learn lessons from Anaya’s death.
“It’s now vital that the highest standards of care are upheld at all times.”