'˜I'd never have a baby in Sunderland hospital again' - grieving mum

Jade Hutchinson and Jason Calvert, both 25, were delighted when daughter Ava Marie was born at Sunderland Royal Hospital on June 17 last year.

But she was just a few hours old when doctors at Sunderland Royal Hospital diagnosed low blood sugar and she was given routine treatment to increase her glucose levels.

However, the decision to give it via a long line caused a massive blood clot, which remained undetected until after her death, an inquest heard.

Now Jade says she’ll never have a baby at the hospital again, after what happened to Ava.

Sunderland’s senior coroner Derek Winter recorded a conclusion of misadventure, meaning Ava died as a result of a lawful act.And after the hearing teacher Jade said: “Ava was gorgeous. We had just moved into a new house, we were very, very, very happy. She was our first.

“She came with an absolute bang. We didn’t expect her to come when she did. I didn’t even leave work. I had four days left. I had to tell my boss ‘I’m just going to have to see you later’.

“When she did come she was 4lb 10oz and 18 inches. She had lots of hair.

“She looked exactly the same as me as a baby. She was great. She was very active, very funny.

“Her character came out really quickly. She was one of those babies who was very mischievous.

“Jason would put his hand in the incubator and she would grab his hands. She was a little monkey. She was really active.

“I would be sitting talking to her, saying what have you been doing today and she would pull faces at me and make noises.

“We laugh about the funny little things. At one point I was changing her and she wouldn’t stay still.”

But Jade and partner Jason, a welder, have lost all confidence in Sunderland Royal Hospital and say they will not return there in the future.

“I would never have another baby in Sunderland on the basis of what happened to my daughter,” Jade said.

Both were disappointed with the conclusion of misadventure and the treatment they received during their ordeal, but agreed the coroner had been fair.

“He did say that obviously there were issues and that it wasn’t right what they did with us,” Jade said.

“The chief medical officer and the CQC are going to be informed, and we feel that at the end of the day there were things that could have been a lot better and they weren’t.

“To just be told that we were just the one in a million parents it happened to and nobody could do anything about it, that makes it hard to accept, that unfortunately we were those parents and that’s the end of it.

“I feel failed as a parent. It’s scary, because you put so much trust in these people it makes you think, who can you trust?

“And then to be told that it’s just one of those things, when we have lost something for the rest of our lives.

“In our eyes she was fine, she was coming home. I could accept a lot more if she was a poorly baby, but she wasn’t.