Dad who died hours before daughter’s birth could have been saved if heart defect had not been missed, coroner rules
A dad who died just hours before the birth of his daughter could have been saved, a coroner has ruled.
On the morning of 7 June last year, Rebecca Moss went to wake up her partner, Thomas Gibson, telling him “wake up, it’s baby day” as she was due to give birth by elective Caesarean that day.
An inquest heard she went to kiss him but found him stiff and cold, so rang an ambulance.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services, he was declared dead in his home on the same day his daughter, Harper, was born.
An inquest at Stockport Coroner’s Court has heard Mr Gibson, 40, may have lived if a heart defect had not been missed during a hospital scan 11 days earlier.
If medics had correctly interpreted his electrocardiogram (ECG) scan at Wythenshawe Hospital in Greater Manchester he could have been given a life-saving device such as a pacemaker, Coroner Christopher Morris said.
Concluding the two-day inquest, he said: “I can’t even begin to fathom what that must have been like for her, particularly in the context of what should have been the happiest day for both of them.”
The coroner ruled Mr Gibson died as a result of sudden cardiac death due to myocardial fibrosis.
Ms Moss said there were serious failings in care after Mr Gibson’s hospital admission. Pic: PA
He added: “Eleven days previously Mr Gibson had been seen at his local hospital which provides specialist cardiac services.
“When the clinical team assessed him they did not appreciate that the ECG showed him to be experiencing complete heart block.
“Had this been appreciated Mr Gibson would have been admitted under the care of cardiologists, a series of investigations undertaken, which would probably have culminated in an implantable device, such as a pacemaker being fitted.
“It is likely these measures would have avoided his death.”
Mr Gibson may have lived if a heart defect had not been missed 11 days earlier. Pic: PA
Earlier, Dr Mark Ainsley, clinical director of cardiology for the hospital trust, said had Mr Gibson’s heart problem been spotted, he would possibly have been monitored and treated there and then fitted with a pacemaker in a procedure that takes “less than an hour”.
The coroner asked: “Do you think that sequence of events would likely have avoided his death?”
Dr Ainsley said: “I think the short duration between the ECG and his heart giving way, I think it’s more than likely he would have avoided his death.”
During the inquest, Mr Gibson, who worked at a timber yard, was described as physically fit, but had been suffering from a stomach bug, including cramps and diarrhoea, for around three weeks before his death.
It was this that led to him attending A&E at the hospital on 27 May last year.
He was seen by Dr Oliver Handley, who recognised his ECG trace showed signs of an abnormality and referred it to a more senior medic, Dr Thomas Bull, the medical registrar, for a second opinion.
Dr Bull said the ECG scan was likely to represent an abnormality he described as an intraventricular block, which is “not an uncommon finding” and not clinically “significant” without other heart-related symptoms.
As there were no other heart-related symptoms he was discharged.
But later analysis concluded the ECG identified a complete heart block, also known as a third-degree heart block, the most serious kind.
Dr Matthew Thornber, a consultant at the hospital, said the two ECGs were not “textbook” examples of a heart block condition. “This is not a barn door easy miss,” he said.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Toli Onon, joint group chief medical officer at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We wish again to extend our condolences and sincere sympathies to Mr Gibson’s family at this very difficult time.
“The Trust has undertaken a thorough investigation to examine the circumstances following Mr Gibson’s very sad death, and we apologise for where our care has fallen short of the high standards to which we aspire.
“We are committed to providing the best care possible for our patients and we will be reviewing the coroner’s conclusion carefully, to ensure further learning for the trust is addressed and applied to our constant work to improve our patients’ safety, quality of care, and experience.”
Read more from Sky News:
D-Day veterans now and and then
D-Day depictions in film and TV
Smoke billows from flat fire
Girl shot at restaurant still critical
Outside court, Ms Moss, supported by lawyers from CL Medilaw, representing the family at the hearing, said: “There were serious failings in care following Tom’s admission into hospital back in 2023.
“The ECG that identified a complete heart block was missed by doctors and he was discharged without knowing the dangers of sudden cardiac death.
“Medics admitted over the last two days of the inquest that he should have received treatment and a pacemaker.
“The expertise which could have saved Tom’s life was just one phone call away.
“I sincerely hope that there will be learnings from Tom’s avoidable death.
“I am told that inquests aren’t about blame but I have every right to be angry and to seek answers for Tom, Harper and our family.”
Negotiations to reset the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU are going “to the wire”, a Cabinet Office minister has said.
“There is no final deal as yet. We are in the very final hours,” the UK’s lead negotiator Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
On the possibility of a youth mobility scheme with the EU, he insisted “nothing is agreed until everything is”.
“We would be open to a smart, controlled youth mobility scheme,” he said. “But I should set out, we will not return to freedom of movement.”
Politics latest: PM outlines ‘benefits’ for UK from closer EU ties
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday.
Put to the minister that the government could not guarantee there will be a deal by tomorrow afternoon, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Nobody can guarantee anything when you have two parties in a negotiation.”
But the minister said he remained “confident” a deal could be reached “that makes our borders more secure, is good for jobs and growth, and brings people’s household bills down”.
“That is what is in our national interest and that’s what we will continue to do over these final hours,” he said.
“We have certainly been taking what I have called a ruthlessly pragmatic approach.”
On agricultural products, food and drink, Mr Thomas-Symonds said supermarkets were crying out for a deal because the status quo “isn’t working”, with “lorries stuck for 16 hours and food rotting” and producers and farmers unable to export goods because of the amount of “red tape”.
Asked how much people could expect to save on shopping as a result of the deal the government was hoping to negotiate, the minister was unable to give a figure.
Read more:
What could a UK-EU reset look like?
Starmer’s stance on immigration criticised
On the issue of fishing, asked if a deal would mean allowing French boats into British waters, the minister said the Brexit deal which reduced EU fishing in UK waters by a quarter over five years comes to an end next year.
He said the objectives now included “an overall deal in the interest of our fishers, easier access to markets to sell our fish and looking after our oceans”.
Turning to borders, the minister was asked if people would be able to move through queues at airports faster.
Again, he could not give a definitive answer, but said it was “certainly something we have been pushing with the EU… we want British people who are going on holiday to be able to go and enjoy their holiday, and not be stuck in queues”.
PM opens door to EU youth mobility scheme
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
The European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK on an agreement to facilitate youth mobility between the EU and the UK. The scheme would allow both UK and EU citizens aged between 18 and 30 years old to stay for up to four years in a country of their choosing.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Phillips a youth mobility scheme was not the approach the government wanted to take to bring net migration down.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lack of UK training ‘big driver of net migration’
When this was put to him, Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted any deal on a youth mobility scheme with Europe will have to be “smart” and “controlled” and will be “consistent” with the government’s immigration policy.
Asked what the government had got in return for a youth mobility scheme – now there had been a change in approach – the minister said: “It is about an overall balanced package that works for Britain. The government is 100% behind the objective of getting net migration down.”
Phillips said more than a million young people came to the country between 2004 and 2015. “If there isn’t a cap – that’s what we are talking about,” he said.
The minister insisted such a scheme would be “controlled” – but refused to say whether there would be a cap.
👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈
‘It’s going to be a bad deal’
Shadow cabinet office minister Alex Burghart told Phillips an uncapped youth mobility scheme with the EU would lead to “much higher immigration”, adding: “It sounds very much as though it’s going to be a bad deal.”
Asked if the Conservatives would scrap any EU deal, he said: “It depends what the deal is, Trevor. And we still, even at this late stage, we don’t know.
“The government can’t tell us whether everyone will be able to come. They can’t tell us how old the young person is. They can’t tell us what benefits they would get.
“So I think when people hear about a youth mobility scheme, they think about an 18-year-old coming over working at a bar. But actually we may well be looking at a scheme which allows 30-year-olds to come over and have access to the NHS on day one, to claim benefits on day one, to bring their extended families.”
He added: “So there are obviously very considerable disadvantages to the UK if this deal is done in the wrong way.”
Jose Manuel Barroso, former EU Commission president, told Phillips it “makes sense” for a stronger relationship to exist between the European Union and the UK, adding: “We are stronger together.”
He said he understood fishing and youth mobility are the key sticking points for a UK-EU deal.
“Frankly, what is at stake… is much more important than those specific issues,” he said.
Gary Lineker is to leave the BBC after this season’s final Match Of The Day and will no longer present its coverage of the World Cup, Sky News understands.
It comes after he “apologised unreservedly” for a social media repost featuring a rat – used in propaganda by Nazi Germany to dehumanise Jewish people – and said he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic”.
Lineker’s last appearance on the BBC will be on 25 May, the final day of the season, with confirmation expected on Monday.
The former England star announced in November he would step down from Match Of The Day this year, but was set to return to front the World Cup in 2026, as well as FA Cup coverage.
Lineker, 64, said he was unaware the post he shared was antisemitic and it went against “everything I believe in”.
In response to the presenter resharing the post, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said his “continued association with the BBC is untenable”.
And when asked about Lineker last week, BBC director general Tim Davie said: “When someone makes a mistake, it costs the BBC reputationally.”
The presenter was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then Conservative government’s asylum policy.
Read more from Sky News:
UK surgeon working in Gaza says it is now ‘a slaughterhouse’
Luke Littler hits out at vandals who targeted his van
Lineker has hosted Match Of The Day since 1999 and has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years. He also has a successful podcast production company.
Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan will share the role of presenting Match of the Day. Pic BBC/PA
Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan will take over the highlights show from next season.
When the trio take over as hosts, it will be the first time the role has been shared by three people.
Sky News has contacted the BBC for comment.
A teenager has been arrested after a 16-year-old boy died following reports of a “disturbance” at a beach in Ayrshire.
Kayden Moy was found seriously injured by officers at Irvine Beach at around 6.45pm on Saturday.
The teenager, from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was taken to hospital but died in the early hours.
Police Scotland said on Sunday evening that a 17-year-old boy had been arrested and enquires were continuing.
Officers believe the incident may have been filmed and have urged witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.
Kayden. Pic: Facebook
The incident happened at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire, Scotland. File pic: iStock
Detective Chief Inspector Campbell Jackson said: “An extensive investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances surrounding this death.
“Our officers are supporting the boy’s family at this very difficult and heartbreaking time.
“From our investigation so far, we know there were a number of people on the beach around the time of the disturbance.
“We believe several of them were filming at the time and may have footage of what happened.
“I would urge people to review the footage they have and contact police if they think the footage captured could be of significance to our investigation.”
This can be submitted anonymously, the force said.
Read more from Sky News:
Vandals target Luke Littler’s van
UK’s negotiations with EU ‘going to the wire’
End of an era for English football stadium
Superintendent Jim McMillan added: “We understand this death will be of great concern for the local community, but please be assured that we are doing everything we can to identify those involved.
“There will be additional patrols in the area as we carry out our enquiries and anyone with any concerns can approach these officers.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway