‘My baby was left with brain damage after he was deprived of oxygen’
A couple have revealed their heartbreak after their baby was left with serious brain damage following hospital failures during birth.
Six-month-old Mohammed Khan, known as Azlaan, was left with life-changing brain damage after being deprived of oxygen for a long time and being resuscitated after failing to resuscitate at Bradford Royal Infirmary on February 25.
Parents Javeria Arooj, 24, and Kamran Agha, 26, claim warning signs were missed and their immediate concerns were ignored. Despite Azlaan’s slowing heartbeat on a heart scan, Ms. Arooj did not have a C-section for another six hours, at which point her son was born “very pale and without a heartbeat.”
Teams worked to resuscitate Azlaan, but according to the birth report, his heartbeat did not return to normal levels for 14 minutes.
Azlaan has since been diagnosed with Grade 3 Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), the most severe form of brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation.
He will need 24-hour care, specialist equipment and a suitable home to live with dignity.
Mr. Agha told Independent: “He was deprived of oxygen, which not only caused brain damage, but also damaged his kidneys and liver; it affected his entire body. He will have complications for life.”
The father, who currently lives with Ms. Arooj at his parents’ house, said he had to quit his IT job to take care of his son and the financial burden has crippled the family.
“Right now it has become an urgent need for us to find a new home and find something suitable for Azlaan,” he said. “We will do our best to survive, but when it comes to Azlaan, I want to be able to provide for him and take care of him.
“He’s had a very difficult start in life. I want to be able to give him a good life and everything he needs for the rest of his years, however long that may be.”
The evening before Azlaan was due, Ms. Arooj went to the birth assessment center with concerns about decreased fetal movement.
After a scan to check the baby’s heartbeat, the consultant was unsure of the abnormal heart rate. However, the couple do not remember anything being done about the abnormal heart rate and claim they were not informed.
Almost six hours passed and when the consultant started work the next morning, Ms. Arooj was rushed into caesarean section. Azlaan was born without a heartbeat and started breathing a minute and a half later. He was intubated four minutes after birth and was finally revived after almost 15 minutes without oxygen.
The report prepared after the birth revealed evidence of “fresh bleeding” in Ms Arooj’s uterus. Medics suspected this was a sign of separation of the placenta. This is a serious condition in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall before birth, requiring emergency treatment and often a caesarean section.
“We didn’t realize how serious the situation was because the communication was terrible,” Mr. Agha said.
“The theater wasn’t available, so they pulled her into the next room and did the surgery. The hospital then decided the C-section had to be done much earlier, at 3 a.m. And the time it was done was at 9:52 a.m.”
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of 14 hospital trusts to be examined as part of a rapid, independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services.
The investigation was launched in response to mounting allegations of failings in maternity care across the country dating back more than 15 years.
Azlaan’s parents are currently going through a complaints procedure and seeking compensation, but they have been warned this could take years to complete.
“We want to resolve this case as quickly as possible so we can start our lives instead of going through all the hassle of going to court. We’ve had enough struggle and stress already,” Mr. Agha said.
The family established a facility fundraiser helping them move house and provide care for Azlaan.
A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We sincerely apologize for the distressing experience that Mohammed and his family have had. We recognize the significant impact this has had, and will have, on Mohammed and his family.”
“As a trust, we know the importance of giving every child the best start in life and we haven’t done that for Mohammed. We spoke to the family to find out more about their experience, including how we can work with them to answer their questions and make the improvements they are rightfully seeking. We were impressed by the courage Mohammed’s family showed in sharing their experience.
“We have been open and transparent with Muhammad’s family and understand the lifelong consequences they face. We regret that we were unable to provide the high standards of care that Muhammad’s family should have expected from us.”
