An anaesthetist has wept in court as he recounted how he was told he could not give blood products to a woman who was bleeding to death after a caesarean.

Gabriela Pintilie, 36, lost a total of six litres of blood after giving birth to her daughter at Basildon University hospital in February.

Pintilie, who was born in Romania, died after not receiving all the blood doctors had ordered for transfusion, Essex coroner’s court heard.

The baby, which was healthy, was born at about 21.35 on 26 February.

Pintilie, from Grays in Essex, was taken into surgery after losing more than a litre of blood in just seven minutes after the procedure. She died seven hours later at 04.41 on 27 February.

Dr Tom Hall, the anaesthetist in charge of monitoring Pintilie’s blood loss in the surgery, which included a hysterectomy, told the inquest a consultant haematologist had refused to issue blood-clotting products, such as frozen fresh plasma, to the theatre.

Hall said a senior colleague – Dr Olubukunola Ojo, a consultant in the hospital’s obstetrics department – called the haematologist at about 00.15 to request blood-clotting products but was told they would not be released until the latest blood test results had been returned.

Having to stop to compose himself, Hall added: “Mrs Pintilie was very unstable by this point: her blood pressure was fluctuating, her heart rate was going up as well. She was very unwell.”

When asked about his colleague’s reaction, he said: “She was surprised by what he said; he said we should wait.”

Hall said Pintilie’s “blood pressure would sometimes drop very low, and sometimes shoot through the roof”.

Shortly after 02.00 Hall called the haematologist but his request was also refused. He said: “He told me I should not be giving products because of evidence-based practice, it was the wrong thing. He started quoting research papers at me.”

Hall said he remembered describing Pintilie’s blood as “looking like water”. When asked how this made him feel, he said: “I was surprised by the fact we were told not to give blood products. At that point, she needed plasma at least.

“I started to doubt myself. I thought I must have got my understanding wrong and he had given me the right advice.”

About an hour later, Hall received a call notifying him that Pintilie was in cardiac arrest. He said: “My beeper went off and I knew who it was so I went straight to intensive care. CPR was ongoing – we stopped after about 45 minutes.”

The maternity unit at Basildon University hospital was given a “requires improvement” rating after a Care Quality Commission inspection in July.

In the same month, a coroner found the hospital’s “neglect” contributed to the death of Ennis Pecaku, who died hours after his breech birth in 2018.

The hospital overall was rated as “good” in last year’s report.

The inquest continues.

• This article was amended on 8 January 2020 to make clear that Olubukunola Ojo is a consultant at the hospital. An earlier version described the doctor in general terms as “a colleague” of Dr Tom Hall.