This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

A woman who suffered a massive haemorrhage and died hours after childbirth did not receive all the blood doctors had ordered for transfusion, an inquest has heard.

Gabriela Pintilie, 36, lost a total of six litres of blood after giving birth to her daughter via caesarean section at Basildon university hospital in February 2019.

She bled to death over several hours after a breakdown in communication meant that doctors conducting emergency surgery after the birth did not realise how much blood and blood clotting products were available.

Pintilie, from Grays, Essex, who was born in Romania, had been due to give birth to her second child via C-section on 28 February 2019, but arrived at the maternity unit three days earlier when her waters broke.

After a series of delays, doctors decided to attempt an induced vaginal delivery, but when that was not successful she was given a C-section the following evening.

The healthy baby was born at 9.34pm on 26 February.

Pintilie was rushed into surgery after haemorrhaging and died at 4.41am on 27 February.

Dr Malcolm Griffiths, a consultant gynaecologist not affiliated with Basildon hospital and brought in as an expert witness, told Essex coroner’s court in Chelmsford that Pintilie had lost 600ml of blood – a normal amount for a C-section – by 10pm; however, half an hour later she had lost another two litres.

Blood and blood clotting products were requested, and Pintilie was given two units of O-negative universal blood and six units of blood matched to her. None of the clotting products were administered.

Griffiths said: “Key people in theatre did not know blood products were available. Gabriela did not receive all of the blood and any of the blood products.”

According to a report by the blood transfusion service, referred to by Griffiths, eight units were released but two were returned afterwards. He said: “Appropriate blood products were provided, but due to confusion … they weren’t administered.”

When asked whether this was a breakdown in communication, he said: “Yes”, and later added: “The top and bottom is: more blood was available that wasn’t used.”

Griffiths also said there had been a series of delays in Pintilie’s care before the C-section. He said: “There were delays in instigating the induction because of workload issues in the unit.”

The later decision to abandon the vaginal delivery was also delayed by a “number of hours”, Griffiths told the hearing, as doctors in the maternity unit were dealing with complications in another patient.

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

In the same month, a coroner found that the hospital’s “neglect” had 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.