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Home > Publications > Selected Cases > Selected Investigations Completed December 2002March 2003 > Case no. E.2326/01-02
Complaint against the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
Summary of Case
Mrs M was admitted to the maternity unit at Northwick Park Hospital in labour. At first her labour proceeded normally and, in response to her reports of pain, she was given an epidural anaesthetic. Mrs M began to deliver the baby at 9.50pm, but there was cause for concern as the baby’s heart rate had dropped, and at 10.35pm a doctor delivered the baby with forceps. Mrs M sustained a significant tear. She later complained that forceps had been used without explanation or consent, and that insufficient pain relief had been given to her. The Trust appeared to suggest that, in view of the urgent need to deliver Mrs M’s baby, obtaining consent prior to intervention was not necessary. The Ombudsman, however, while commenting that this was a complex area, found that matters had not been so urgent that consent was not needed. The Ombudsman found that it had been impossible to reconcile Mrs M’s and the staff’s accounts and no other findings were made.
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