Family of woman who died in childbirth seek reopening of inquest

The family of a young Carlow woman who died in childbirth want the inquest into her death reopened after a hospital consultant admitted failing to attend her in a timely manner.

David McMurray, a locum consultant at St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny, was found guilty of professional misconduct and poor professional performance by a fitness to practise (FTP) hearing of the Medical Council on Monday.

The inquiry heard it took more than 40 minutes for Dr McMurray to arrive at St Luke’s after he was alerted of the need to bring Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick to theatre, despite him living just five to eight minutes away from the hospital.

Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick (36) bled to death from a massive haemorrhage within three hours of giving birth to her second child, Max, over Easter in March 2016.

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A 2017 inquest into her death found she died of natural causes due to an amniotic fluid embolism, a verdict her family has contested. Expert reports furnished to the Medical Council say the embolism was a contributory factor but not the immediate cause of death.

James Campbell, her father, said the family planned to bring the decision of the Medical Council’s FTP committee to the attention of the coroner with a view to having his daughter’s case reopened.

“This finding should have some bearing on the inquest finding. A natural death – what is natural about a healthy woman going in to have a baby and coming out in a coffin?”

Mr Campbell said his understanding was that the attorney general would have to give his approval to any decision to reopen the inquest.

[ Death of mother after giving birth leaves family ‘stunned by grief’ ]

[ Family of woman who died hours after giving birth gets apology from hospital and HSE ]

He said he was happy that “at last the truth is out” about his daughter’s death following Monday’s hearing, in which Dr McMurray admitted charges of professional misconduct and poor professional performance over his failure to attend the patient in a timely manner.

But he said Dr McMurray had never explained why he failed to come to the hospital for so long after being called, when he was living nearby.

Monday’s FTP hearing was held online and no witnesses were called after lawyers for Dr McMurray admitted two charges. The FTP committee will submit its recommendations on sanction for consideration to the full Medical Council.

Dr McMurray qualified as a doctor from Queen’s University Belfast in 1992 and previously worked in Scotland before moving to Ireland in 2014.

In 2010, he faced a previous decision on his FTP after admitting an “inappropriate delay” in performing a hysterectomy to the British General Medical Council.

In 2018, he deregistered from practice in the UK. He remains on the Irish register but is not currently working.

He has told the Medical Council that his departure from the British medical register was not performance-related, and neither was his departure from St Luke’s, where a permanent obstetrician had been appointed to replace his locum post before Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick’s death.

Lawyers for Dr McMurray at this week’s hearing stressed that he did not face any allegation that his delay in getting to the hospital had resulted in Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick’s death.

The current case is the only complaint made against him during his time in Kilkenny, according to sources in the hospital.