In Gloucestershire, tragedy has struck after a woman bled to death after giving birth. An inquest conducted by the Gloucestershire Coroners Court revealed that Rana Abdelkarim, 38, died at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in March 2021 after being admitted to be induced at 39 weeks pregnant.
Rana’s husband, Modar Mohammednour, stated that her family did not comprehend that she was being induced and believed it to be a routine checkup. According to witnesses, Ms. Abdelkarim, who left Sudan with her husband and now resides in Gloucestershire, has language difficulties.
The inquest determined that there were “delays” in the management of her bleed, and it took 38 minutes for the medical team to call for specialist assistance. The court heard that the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) report found that staff underestimated the amount of relative blood volume she was losing due to her small size and thinness, which contributed to the delay. Two hours later, despite extensive resuscitation efforts, her condition continued to deteriorate and she was pronounced dead.
The Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued an apology and stated that modifications had been implemented to prevent future tragedies. Professor Mark Pietroni, medical director and deputy chief executive of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, stated, “We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincerest apologies for the incalculable suffering this loss has caused.” The trust has implemented all ten of the HSIB report’s recommendations, including updating its interpreter policy and installing hands-free phones in each antenatal unit. In addition, they have produced a video explaining what a code red is and what happens when it is called, and staff are reminded as part of mandatory training to evaluate the relative blood loss to a patient’s weight.
The family’s attorney, Hannah Carr of Novum Law, issued a statement in which she said, “I cannot fathom how terrified Rana must have been without access to interpretation services and her husband by her side.” She added that despite the trust’s efforts to learn from Rana’s tragic death, the family’s situation has not changed.
The loss of Modar Mohammednour and his family has left them devastated, but they can take solace in the fact that steps have been taken to prevent the same tragedy from befalling any other family.
Following Rana Abdelkarim’s death in March 2021 at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, her family has suffered an incalculable loss. The Gloucestershire Coroners Court heard that Ms. Abdelkarim bled to death while waiting 38 minutes for specialist assistance. It was determined that there were “delays” in the management of her haemorrhage, and that the staff underestimated the amount of relative blood volume she was losing because she was small and frail.
The Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued an apology and implemented modifications to prevent future tragedies. This included updating their interpreter policy, installing hands-free phones in each antenatal unit, producing a video explaining what a code red is, and reminding staff as part of mandatory training to evaluate the relative blood loss to a patient’s weight.
The family’s attorney, Hannah Carr of Novum Law, stated, “I cannot fathom how terrified Rana would have been without interpretation services and without her husband by her side.” She added that even though the trust has taken steps to learn from Rana’s tragic death, nothing has changed for Modar Mohammednour and his family.
Ms. Skerrett observed that there were “differences in staff understanding of the code red procedure,” which could have been avoided if there had been effective communication with Ms. Abdelkarim.
The loss of Modar Mohammednour and his family has left them devastated, but they can take solace in the fact that steps have been taken to prevent the same tragedy from befalling any other family.
In March 2021, Rana Abdelkarim tragically passed away at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital after suffering a postpartum haemorrhage for which it took 38 minutes for specialist assistance to arrive. An inquest at the Gloucestershire Coroners Court revealed that Ms. Abdelkarim bled to death due to delays in managing her haemorrhage and staff underestimating the relative volume of blood she was losing due to her small size.
Based on the findings of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) report into her death, the Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued an apology and implemented changes. These included updating their interpreter policy, installing hands-free phones in each antenatal unit, producing a video explaining what a code red is, and reminding staff as part of mandatory training to evaluate the relative blood volume loss.
