'Neglect' issue in mother's death

Expert evidence

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

The coroner had asked a consultant to examine the case.

Giving expert evidence on the second day of the hearing, consultant obstetrician Patrick Forbes said the first failure in Mrs Hureh's case was not recognising that she had significantly abnormal blood pressure when she was admitted to the delivery suite.

The second was in giving the mother a drug which had the effect of raising her blood pressure, something which Mr Forbes said was a "critical and unforgivable error"

The third mistake, he said, was the failure to respond to a high blood pressure reading an hour after she had given birth.

He said even at that stage it would have been possible to bring Mrs Hureh's blood pressure down and avoid the fatal bleeding in her brain which occurred about two and a half hours later.

The inquest has previously heard evidence from hospital staff of failure in the mother's care.

Senior midwife Bernadette Moss, when questioned by the coroner, acknowledged the failure in basic medical attention received by Mrs Hureh was "gross".

The inquest heard Mrs Hureh was found to have raised blood pressure and high levels of protein in her urine - both symptoms of pre-eclampsia - while on the maternity ward.

Had the high blood pressure been acknowledged appropriately, Mrs Hureh would also not have been administered Syntometrine.