A London hospital may face criminal charges after a woman bled to death following a Caesarean section.
Rosida Etwaree, 45, underwent the procedure to deliver twins at the Croydon University Hospital (formerly Mayday Hospital) in June 2010.
After the operation the mother of six lost half her blood, but this went unnoticed by staff. Due to poor monitoring, a major haemorrhage was not detected and the extent of blood loss was not recorded.
Despite the pleas of her husband, staff failed to react to the deterioration of Mrs Etwaree’s condition. Tragically she suffered a cardiac arrest and died just hours later. She was one of three mothers to die at the same hospital over a two month period.
At an inquest into her death, South London coroner Roy Palmer took the unusual step of referring the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, such was the severity of the hospital’s failings.
It must now be decided whether charges can be brought against the hospital under the Corporate Manslaughter Act. Such proceedings have only been possible since 2007, before which manslaughter charges could only be brought against individual doctors.
Mrs Etwaree’s husband, Ahamud Etwaree, has had to give up his job as a forklift driver to care for their surviving children. Speaking of his wife’s death, he said: “I will never forget witnessing her suffer in such a horrendous way.
“I begged the doctors and nurses to help her but they made me feel that I was panicking over nothing. I watched her die.”
Poor maternity care
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