Mum uncovers new information on death of her baby days after birth
An inquest into the death of a baby boy who suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain when delivered at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise nine years ago has reopened at the Dublin District Coroner's Court after fresh evidence emerged around the circumstances of his birth. Aaron Cullen was born on May 4, 2016 by emergency caesarean section but died five days later at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin where he had been transferred after suffering complications at delivery. The original inquest into the baby's death, which concluded in March 2019, recorded a narrative verdict. At the outset of a scheduled two-day hearing, Dublin city's chief coroner, Myra Cullinane, said the Attorney General had directed that a fresh inquest be held in order to clarify certain factual evidence that was not before the previous inquest. The inquest heard the evidence would not consider a HSE report into the baby's death – which identified a number of failings by staff in MRH Portlaoise – apart from some passages of interviews with relevant witnesses as part of the investigation. The fresh inquest had been sought by Aaron's mother, Claire Cullen, after she obtained additional material from the MRH in Portlaoise under a freedom of information request in 2023 which raised concerns about an oxygen machine used to resuscitate her son. The inquest heard that the responsibility for checking the equipment in a complex case like baby Aaron, rested with the hospital's paediatric team. A senior midwife, Michelle Mahon, said the resuscitaire was working as "the dials were moving" which she believed indicated that oxygen was flowing. A paediatric senior house officer, Conal McCarthy said he witnessed the normal checks on the equipment being conducted by a paediatric registrar. Dr McCarthy said he measured the baby's heart rate at less than 60 beats per minute compared to the normal neonatal heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute. The inquest heard chest compressions and mechanical ventilation were continued after two unsuccessful attempts to intubate the baby. In reply to questions from the coroner, Dr McCarthy confirmed that there were no specialist neonatal doctors attending the delivery. Ms Cullen's solicitor, Caoimhe Haughey, said it was a concern that there were no medical notes about the baby's first 10 minutes of life. Ms Cullen, who is co-founder of the Safer Births Ireland organisation, told the inquest that she expressed her concern to hospital staff during a 34-week check on Friday, April 29, 2016 about the lack of movement in her baby and discomfort all over her abdomen. Ms Cullen said she also reported her concern that her bump was "rock solid" and had grown drastically and suddenly over the previous few days. A subsequent scan revealed increased amniotic fluid, while both of Aaron's kidneys were found to be dilated. Ms Cullen recalled that a doctor said she would discuss the findings with her consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, Hosam El-Kininy, as well as recommending an urgent, more detailed fetal anomaly scan in the Coombe Hospital due to concerns of polyhydramnios (excessive amniotic fluid) and problems affecting the baby's kidneys. She knew she would have to wait for the scan as it was coming up to a bank holiday weekend but it appeared there was no immediate concern for her baby at the time, although it had been explained that the scan might result in him needing high dependence care and being delivered in the Coombe. The inquest heard her abdominal pain and irregular contractions worsened over the weekend but tests showed everything was fine which Ms Cullen said she found "very reassuring." She said she and her husband, Keith, had enquired about the referral to the Coombe on many occasions over the following days but that staff always reported hearing nothing. The inquest heard Ms Cullen was admitted to hospital on May 2, 2016 when she informed a midwife that her contractions had changed and were more intense and uncomfortable. She recalled that she had continuously voiced her concerns to healthcare staff that Aaron's movements had been less and less over the previous days but was reassured that it was due to having so much fluid. The inquest heard a midwife appeared concerned after Ms Cullen's waters broke at 10.45pm that evening. Ms Cullen said her stomach deflated so rapidly that she could see the outline of her baby and she was informed shortly after being brought to the labour ward at 11.05pm that the fetal heart rate had dropped. She said the CTG showed five further signs of fetal distress between midnight and 12.30am on May 4, 2016. Ms Cullen said she remembered a red button being pressed at 12.50am to signal she needed an emergency caesarean section but was told at 1am that they were waiting for Dr El-Kininy's go ahead. She said her son was floppy, blue in colour and did not appear to be breathing when he was born at 1.30am. She claimed a consultant paediatrician did not arrive in theatre until 15 minutes after Aaron's birth. Ms Cullen recalled that she could not see her baby at the time but did notice that her husband was extremely upset. "All I could manage to do was pray to God that I would hear a cry," she added. "I recall feeling useless and I just continued to pray over and over for God not to let anything happen to my son." The inquest heard doctors in the Coombe Hospital, where Aaron was transferred, told her that they did not know what happened in a four-hour period in the MRH Portlaoise where he had suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain. Although Aaron was considered for specialist treatment at a medical facility in Sweden, it was decided that he was too unwell to survive the transfer. Ms Cullen said it was "absolutely devastating" to learn his chances of survival by staying in the Coombe were low. She told the inquest that she was extremely unwell during this time and was not able to be with her son on a continuous basis. "I feel like his five days of life were robbed from me," she remarked. After being told that Aaron wasn't going to survive on May 7, 2016, Ms Cullen said his condition miraculously but briefly improved before he passed away two days later. "The loss of Aaron has shattered the hearts of all his family and we grieve his loss to this day," said Ms Cullen. Dr El-Kininy gave evidence that he decided to refer Ms Cullen to the Coombe for an urgent scan after finding "massive" polyhydramnios and expected she would have been seen in the days after the bank holiday weekend. In reply to questions from Ms Haughey, he said it would not have been reasonable to transport the patient to the Coombe on May 3, 2016 for the scan as she was experiencing regular contractions, despite not being in labour. Dr El-Kininy outlined how he watched the baby's delivery from outside the operating theatre after being called to the hospital as he was satisfied his registrar could perform the emergency caesarean section. The inquest resumes on Wednesday when it is expected to conclude. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
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