STV NewsA mum whose baby was stillborn after being sent home from the hospital with high blood pressure has spoken of the tragedy and her legal action against NHS Grampian.
Colette Melaugh, 42, believes her daughter Ruby would be alive if it were not for the downgrading of the maternity service in Elgin and staff shortages at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
She and husband Brendan, from Fochabers, were forced to fight a legal battle for over three years before it was settled out of court.
The health board says it is deeply sorry and that it is ensuring lessons are learned.
In March 2023, at nearly 38 weeks pregnant with her second child, Colette was admitted to Dr Gray’s with high blood pressure. Considered high-risk due to gestational diabetes, she was already scheduled for a C-section the following week.
Dr Gray’s consultant-led maternity unit was downgraded in 2018 amid staffing pressures.
STV NewsColette told STV News: “I said to them at the time, if it’s really that dangerous for my baby and myself, can you not just deliver her? Because she’s been booked in for a section anyway, for the following week.
“They said they’d call Aberdeen, and they did. He came back and said to me, ‘There’s no room for you, they haven’t got a space to get you in at the moment, so we’re going to send you home on medication’.”
Colette’s blood pressure continued to rise in the following days. She was given more medication and promised a scan, but it was never carried out due to a lack of available staff.
Ten days after she was first sent home, her waters broke. The couple made the two-and-a-half-hour trip to Aberdeen Hospital, dropping their son Lewis off on the way.
Then, she recalled the devastating moment their lives changed forever.
“They couldn’t find a heartbeat,” she said. “They scanned me and the consultant told me that our baby had died.”
“They told me my baby was in danger, and they didn’t deliver her. If they took me in and delivered her, she would still be here now, no doubt about that.
“There was nothing wrong with her. She was a healthy baby until she wasn’t.
“Obviously, by then, it was too late.”
STV NewsAn initial investigation claimed guidelines had been followed and the hospital was not at fault for Ruby’s death.
But Colette and her husband Brendan rejected the findings, instructing lawyers to pursue legal redress for negligence. NHS Grampian ultimately admitted liability in August.
In a statement, it said: “We recognise no legal outcome can lessen the profound impact this tragedy has had. We are deeply sorry for the distress.
“When concerns are identified, we take action to improve our services and continuously review our clinical practices, processes and training to help ensure lessons are learned for the future.”
Colette said: “It will never bring Ruby back, but for them to admit they are in the wrong, even if they won’t go into detail about what happened, it’s better than nothing.”
She hopes her experience will strengthen the chorus calling for full maternity services to be restored. The health board aims to do that by the end of this year.
“We haven’t been lucky enough to get pregnant again,” she said. “I think it’s too late now. So, there won’t be any more babies, unfortunately.
“It’s not what we wanted – but we’re just trying to move on.”
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