Nothing led me to be so concerned to call 999, says midwife after death of newborn

Claire Roberts and Joanna Young, who at the time worked for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, are in the midst of a Nursing & Midwifery Council fitness to practise hearing being held in London and face a total of 14 charges between them.

Pippa Griffiths was one day old when she died on April 27, 2016 from a group b strep infection – the most common cause of meningitis in newborns. Her mother, Kayleigh, had given birth at home in Myddle, between Shrewsbury and Wem.

A Nursing & Midwifery Council panel heard yesterday that Ms Young had called Mrs Griffiths at about 9am on the day Pippa died. Giving evidence, Ms Young said she had been asked to call her to let her know what time she intended to visit.

She said: “I asked her how feeding was going because she called in the night with feeding concerns.”

She said she was told the baby had fed three times which she said was ‘normal’ and that she would visit Mrs Griffiths in the early afternoon.

“At the time I remember thinking it was one of those calls I make to mums who want to know what time you are going to be there – that was it,” Ms Young said. When questioned about if she was abrupt with Mrs Griffiths, Ms Young answered: “That certainly wasn’t my intention to be abrupt. I’m sorry she thought I was.”

She denied being told by Mrs Griffiths that Pippa had vomited brown mucus and said that she had not tried to conceal anything or mislead anyone.

Ms Young said she was ‘devastated’ when she heard what had happened to Pippa and had she felt that something wasn’t right, she would have called for an ambulance.

She said there was a requirement to visit mums who had a home birth within 24 hours, but she wasn’t told to prioritise that particular visit.

When asked if she had been reluctant to visit Mrs Griffiths, Ms Young replied: “Not in any way.

“Community midwifery is what I wanted to do.

“It was a really lovely job. There was no reason for me not to want to go anywhere.”

The panel was previously told by Mrs Griffiths that she had spoken with midwives over the phone to raise concerns that Pippa was not feeding and had brought up brown mucus.

Pippa and her mother were flown to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford after a 999 call when she was found with difficulty breathing.

She was confirmed dead at the hospital.

The formal hearing will be used to determine whether the pair are guilty of misconduct.

Ms Roberts faces six charges, while Ms Young faces eight.

Both of them stand accused of failing to recognise the urgency for medical or midwifery attention for Pippa.

During a telephone conversation with Mrs Griffiths, Ms Young is accused of failing to carry out a comprehensive triage assessment of Pippa.

It is also claimed she failed to follow instructions from a senior midwife to visit the baby, as well as to prioritise the visit as “extreme high importance”. Another charge alleges she failed to ensure Pippa received a prompt face-to-face assessment by calling 999.And she is further accused of making an inaccurate record of a phone call with Mrs Griffiths to cover-up her actions.The hearing continues.