A FAMILY is urging an NHS trust to take “strong and swift action” after a coroner ruled that the death of a mother could have been avoided.
An inquest into the death of Laura-Jane Seaman, a mother of five, who died at Broomfield Hospital, on December 23, 2022, ended on Monday.
The 16-day inquest heard how there was a delay in the recognition and treatment of major internal bleeding after Ms Seaman gave birth.
Area coroner Sonia Hayes concluded that she died because of basic failings to recognise a loss of consciousness as a maternal collapse.
On December 21, 2022, Laura-Jane, 36, attended the hospital after experiencing contractions at home.
She was nine months pregnant, and her labour had “progressed well”.
In less than two hours, her situation had deteriorated.
The inquest heard Ms Seaman's deterioration in the hours after delivery was not recognised and was not escalated for more senior review.
The coroner concluded there was an inability to obtain basic vital signs which were incorrectly attributed to faulty equipment rather than an obvious deterioration in her condition.
There was a failure to escalate her care to more senior staff, and a multi-disciplinary team review would have resulted in care and treatment which would have saved Ms Seaman's life.
Her family said: “We urge all those involved in Laura-Jane's care to reflect on the failures in her treatment and we hope that Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust will take strong and swift action to ensure that these failures are never made again.
“We as a family have been extremely blessed to have had Laura-Jane in our lives, if only for a short time.
"She lit up the room when she walked in. Laura-Jane had the widest smile, the most infectious laugh and knew how to make everyone in the room feel important.
“Nothing gave her more joy however than being a mum. That’s all she ever wanted to be and that’s what she did best.
"She would be so proud of her children if she could see them now - a wonderful legacy.
"Although Laura-Jane’s gone, she lives on through her beautiful babies.
“We know that Laura-Jane would want anything learned from this inquest to be used to support and update medical knowledge, improve care to women in her position and most importantly to help others.
“Laura-Jane would not want anyone to experience what she went through and what we are as her family are living through day in and day out.”
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