Mrs Hureh’s pregnancy was deemed “high risk” because she had given birth nine times previously.

Dad's grief over mum's hospital death

Sep 18 2009 by Ben Glaze, South Wales Echo

A COMMUNITY has rallied round to help a grieving dad raise his 11 children after his wife died giving birth to twins.

Ifrah Hureh died just four hours after giving birth to her son and daughter after being given a drug she should not have received.

Cardiff coroner Mary Hassell yesterday ruled that neglect at the city's University Hospital of Wales contributed to 38-year-old Mrs Hureh's death from natural causes after an expert said giving her the drug Syntometrine was a "critical and unforgivable error".

Since her death in March last year while giving birth to twins Ali-Ibrahim and then Fatima, the capital's Somali community has come together to help Mrs Hureh's husband Ibrahim Yassin bring up his six daughters and five sons aged from 18 months to 17.

The family moved to the city just over two years ago, the first nine children all being born in Somalia.

Ibrahim Harbi, from Cardiff's Somali Integration Centre, said last night: "It's a very well-known story within the community.

"He has 11 young children and we had to offer support, not just with things like translation and solicitors, but practical help too.

"Relatives help look after the twins and everyone is doing as much as they can.

"The family has a lost a really lovely woman."

But Mr Harbi, who hoped lessons would be learnt from the tragedy thus preventing similar deaths, said while friends and relatives could step in when needed, nothing could replace the children's mum.

He added: "They've lost their mother and it's really difficult to compensate. Whatever we do is very limited by comparison.

"We can never replace her. We can offer support – and, of course, that'll help – but how are they going to be looked after in the long term?

"How will they cope without their mother?"

The two-day inquest was told "gross failures" in basic checks contributed to Mrs Hureh's death.

Mrs Hureh's pregnancy was deemed "high risk" because she had given birth nine times previously.

Staff failed to spot her worryingly high blood pressure – a symptom of the condition pre-eclampsia – so it was not reported to doctors.

And Mrs Hureh was later given Syntometrine, which is used to stimulate the womb and help deliver the placenta – but should not be given to women with pre-eclampsia.

Ms Hassell said: "All the opportunities that were not taken up to recognise her high blood pressure culminated in what has been described to me as 'a critical and unforgivable error'.

"Those treating Ifrah know that Syntometrine should not be given to a woman suffering from pre-eclampsia.

"Nevertheless, they gave her Syntometrine because they didn't recognise the pre-eclampsia and didn't check again immediately before giving as to whether it was contra-indicated. "The plan to give Syntometrine had been made some weeks earlier, but this had not been reviewed immediately before the drug was administered."

Ms Hassell added: "Although I recognise some parts of Ifrah's care were very good and everyone looking after Ifrah wanted the best for her, in some aspects there was a gross failure to provide basic medical attention.

"Because of her death the treatment of women will improve, both at UHW and nationally and we have heard the circumstances surrounding Ifrah's death are now used as a teaching example." Outside court, Mr Yassin, speaking through an interpreter, said: "There's nothing to bring a wife back.

"They are children without a mother.

"However, it's very pleasing to see that as a result of the memory of her, women's lives will be saved."

Abdikarim Abdi Adan, director of Cardiff's Somali Advice and Information Centre, said he was shocked by the "catalogue of errors" revealed.But he added: "The thing that's reassuring is that the coroner's office sent officers to speak to the hospital and to recover the facts.

"That's really reassuring to us as a community in Wales, regardless of what background we are."

After the inquest, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust nurse director Sue Gregory said: "We have expressed our sincerest apologies to Mr Yassin and his family and have carried out an internal investigation to establish more about the circumstances leading up to Mrs Hureh's death.

"This investigation uncovered deficiencies in the care we provided to Mrs Hureh and helped us identify changes to our systems and practices to reduce the risk of such a sad event happening again. "We now also ensure our midwives undertake specialist training to help identify and treat critically-ill women. "We would like to reassure Mr Yassin and the public we have learned from this incident and improvements have been made in the women's unit as a result."