Boy's hospital death 'indefensible'

Alwyn Callaway died two days after his birth at Watford General Hospital - but his life could have been saved if medics had intervened to deliver him five hours earlier, according to the Daily Mail.

Alwyn suffered a failing heart, evidence of which was recorded in medical notes and reported to senior staff 11 times in seven hours, yet no one understood his life was in danger.

The warnings were recorded on a heart monitor - known as a cardiotachograph (CTG) - and a specialist registrar even used the recording of Alwyn's heart rate as an example of a normal labour as he taught a student, oblivious to the fact the baby was being fatally brain damaged, the newspaper said.

The Health Service Ombudsman for England condemned the way Alwyn's mother Lisa's labour was managed as "indefensible", blaming a "system failure".

An independent expert quoted by the Ombudsman said: "It is difficult to avoid the clear conclusion that the most important test of foetal wellbeing - the CTG - was actually giving all the clues needed to about foetal condition but that this was simply not recognised by those looking after Mrs Callaway."

Alwyn was born at 3.32pm - but the report concluded that had Alwyn been delivered by Caesarian section before 10.50am he would probably have enjoyed a "good outcome".

The expert added: "I would have expected the registrar, other doctor or a midwife to have appreciated the deterioration in this baby's condition in labour."

Mother-of-two Mrs Callaway, 41, from Wales, told the newspaper: "We had decorated the nursery ready for Alwyn and were so looking forward to our baby. You are so trusting when it is your first baby. You don't question things."

She added: "As far as I was concerned my baby had been killed by this horrific and brutal delivery."