Inquest into the death of baby Adele O’Sullivan at Nottingham University Hospital Trust

Baby Adele O’Sullivan was born and died at Nottingham City Hospital on 7^th April 2021.

The three-day inquest into the death of Adele will take place at Nottingham Coroners Court 2^nd – 4^th February 2022. At this stage, it is anticipated that the conclusion will be handed on the 9^th February 2022 via a video link. 

Her parents are represented by Clinical Negligence solicitor, Sadie Simpson of Switalskis Solicitors.  

Baby Adele

Adele was born, prematurely, on 7^th April 2021 at 29 weeks gestation. Her mother, Daniela O’Sullivan, had a history of premature labour and was high risk and therefore, following her waters breaking at 27 weeks, had been kept in hospital ‘for observation’. She had been in hospital for over a week when Adele was eventually delivered and sadly died 26 minutes after birth. 

The Adele’s death was declared a Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUHT) and the Trust have already made admissions that they “lost situational awareness” around Daniela’s labour. 

Maternity Services at NUHT

In 2020 the CQC investigated the maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and had  labelled the units “inadequate” highlighting poor management, low staffing and fears over the standard of care that the maternity units in Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre. Conditions were imposed under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Section 31. A Section 29a notice was also given and the Trust had 3 months to rectify the significant improvements they identified. 

NHS England and NHS Improvements and the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are currently carrying out a year-long investigation into the Trust. However, there are widespread calls from affected families and Nottingham County Council for a public inquiry into maternity services at Nottingham’s hospitals trust.

Switalskis representing families affected by NUHT

Switalskis are representing many families affected by the maternity scandal and the truth behind their deaths. Adele’s mother and solicitor will be releasing a statement immediately following the Inquest Conclusion.

Notes to Editors

1. All media enquiries into the case should be directed to NatalieRodgers@Scala.uk.com 0114 4070159
2. The family are represented by Sadie Simpson at Switalskis Solicitors. The firm has a national reputation for its expertise in the field of Clinical Negligence, Child Abuse Law and Catastrophic Injury.

Photo by Matt Walsh on Unsplash