What should have been weeks of joy have turned into weeks of mourning for a new mother who is facing unimaginable grief after her baby boy died following a botched delivery.

Bolanle Aromasodu, of Dovehouse Mead, Barking, went into labour on the morning of June 25 – 35 hours later, her baby Kaleed Bagayan was dead.

Speaking a month on from the tragedy, Mrs Aromasodu says staff at Queen’s Hospital in Romford were at fault for failing to act quickly once she called for help.

She said: “I’m still in shock and in psychological agony. Without the delay, my baby would be alive.”

Mrs Aromasodu’s story came to light at a meeting last Thursday, called by Barking MP Margaret Hodge where residents gathered to discuss their experiences of Queen’s Hospital in Romford and King George Hospital in Goodmayes.

Nightmare

The 34-year-old mother’s nightmare began at around 11am when she started to bleed. She told how she called the labour ward at Queen’s, where she was scheduled to receive a Caesarian section on June 28.

To her shock, she says the telephone operator asked what colour her blood was, and about how she would transport herself to the hospital.

When Mrs Aromasodu said “either by ambulance or I’ll call my partner” the lady insisted she come with her partner’s car, as “this is not an emergency”.

She arrived at the hospital at 1.40pm where she was again asked how she had transported herself to the hospital. Mrs Aromasodu said: “Why lay more emphasis on the transportation? Their priority is supposed to be the saving of lives, not transport.”

She was attached to a CTG machine to monitor the baby, and transferred to the maternity ward. When the consultant saw her at about 3.45pm, he immediately ordered for her to be taken in to theatre.

“The look on his face – everybody was running,” she recalled. “I knew there was danger. I was so scared and frightened.”

After an emergency caesarian, she woke up to ask for her baby, but was told he was in a critical condition and needed a transfer to Homerton Hospital in Hackney for intensive care. He died the following day at 10am.

He had defecated inside the womb and only had a 50/50 chance of survival.

A Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust spokeswoman said: “It is unfortunate that no-one from the Trust was invited to attend this meeting so that we could address any concerns that were raised.

“We take complaints extremely seriously, and fully investigate to find out if improvements need to be made. We want people to have the best possible experience in our hospitals, and are working to improve services for patients.”