Solihull couple claim blunder led to death of twin

Apr 5 2009 by Alison Dayani, Sunday Mercury

GRIEVING Midland parents have claimed a blunder by midwives caused their baby twin son to die.

Kerry Burton and partner Nigel Walton are torn between rejoicing the arrival of their surviving daughter Rebecca, who is now six months old, and mourning the death of little Bailey, who died just three days after being born.

First-time mum Kerry, from Smithswood, Solihull, attended Heartlands Hospital when she suffered difficulties while six months pregnant.

But medics sent the 26 year-old home, only for her to be rushed back to the health unit 12 hours later to give birth.

Nigel, 28, said Rebecca was born first, but Bailey became trapped in Kerry’s womb for nearly an hour with a limited supply of oxygen.

He said that, instead of operating at once, the medics waited for the hospital consultant, who was on-call, to arrive.

When a Caesarian was finally performed, the tiny baby was born with brain damage.

Due to a lack of beds at Heartlands, in Bordesley Green, the family was then torn apart by health bosses.

Rebecca was rushed five miles away to City Hospital, in Winson Green, while Bailey was placed in an incubator at Heartlands.

Kerry never got the chance to see her two babies together.

And Nigel was forced to make the agonising journey between the two hospitals to keep an eye on his two babies, while Kerry kept a bedside vigil beside dying Bailey.

The couple were then forced to make the agonising decision for the tot’s life support machine to be switched off as he lost his battle to survive.

Nigel, a former LDV worker, who lost his job at Christmas, said: “The babies were in trouble. They had heartbeats below 60 beats per minute and they were in distress.