Derek Richford says East Kent Hospitals Trust was 'dismissive' over his grandson Harry's death.
The grandfather of a baby who died at a hospital which was fined over failings in the delivery has spoken of his five-year fight for justice. Derek Richford was speaking as an independent report into baby deaths at the East Kent Hospitals Trust will be released this week.
He said he "came up against a brick wall" while searching for answers over the death of grandson Harry Richford.Image caption,An inquest into Harry's death at Margate's Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in 2017 found it wasCoroner Christopher Sutton-Mattocks said the inquest, which was finally held in 2020, was only ordered due to the family's persistence. The following year the trust was fined £733,000 after admitting failing to provide safe care and treatment for mother Sarah Richford and her son following a prosecution by the Care Quality Commission .Mr Richford said: "To start with we felt fairly alone and we felt like we were coming up against a brick wall. "The trust were refusing at that time to call the coroner. They were reporting Harry's death as 'expected'.He said at a meeting with the trust, more than five months later, "we suddenly realised that there were a huge [number] of errors".Mr Richford told the BBC: "It took me about a year to come up with all the detail I needed and to speak to all the right people."Mr Richford also tracked down a "damming" report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists . "In the end it was like peeling back the layers of an onion, and the more you took off, the more you found," he said."We showed them the RCOG report, and they said 'where did you see this? We've never seen it,'" he added.Mr Richford said "people started really listening" when the inquest sparked media interest.He added: "If I find a brick wall, I'll find a way round, I'll go over it, and if I have to, I'll go under it."in the care of Harry and his mother, including failings in the way an "inexperienced" doctor carried out the delivery, followed by delays in resuscitation."It's not good enough, they've got to make changes," he said. "It's become absolutely clear, that had the trust learned from the errors they made at a very early stage, and I'm talking 2010, 2011, Harry and a whole lot more kids would be alive today."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Two teens charged in fatal driveway shooting of 17-year-old East High studentTwo teenage boys were charged Friday in the fatal shooting of East High student Bryan Galicia-Rodriguez during a Sept. 9 carjacking attempt.
Read more »
White House Researching Combating Climate Change By Spraying Particles Into the AtmosphereThe White House has launched a five year research plan to investigate the possibility of reflecting sunlight to reduce warming and fight climate change.
Read more »
The Phillies’ Rob Thomson is ‘special.’ Just ask Derek Jeter.Phillies players love their manager and that comes as no surprise to Jeter, who was 18 when he first met Thomson. 'He’s as good as they come.'
Read more »
On Friar: NLCS Preview — What to Expect When the Padres Host the PhilliesOn a new On Friar Podcast, NBC 7’s Derek Togerson and Darnay Tripp take a look at how the rosters were built for both clubs, the road they took to get here, the important matchups, and why home field advantage really means something.
Read more »
San Jose: Man dies of injuries suffered in Aug. 23 crashThe death marked the 56th traffic death of the year on city streets.
Read more »