Derek Richford's determination led to an inquiry into maternity care at East Kent hospitals.
More than 200 families in south-east England will learn on Wednesday the results of a major inquiry into the maternity care they received from a hospital trust. The investigation into East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust follows dogged campaigning by one determined bereaved grandfather.His son Tom and wife Sarah had gone into hospital the previous day to have their first child, so an early morning text message was not unexpected.
"We were instantly transported into a bubble we knew nothing of," says Derek. "We visited Harry every day - you couldn't hold him as he had tubes coming out of him and he was attached to monitors, but we put our hands on him." The family hoped Harry would recover. At one point, Derek recalls that Tom, then a PE teacher, told him: "If he's got a limp, I'm going to make him the fastest boy with a limp in the world."
The hospital also recorded Harry's death as "expected" - again because his life support system had been withdrawn. On both points, the family were left confused and increasingly angry. Despite this, at the meeting with the trust, the lead investigator into Harry's death told the family: "If we have a clear cause of death by and large we do not involve the coroner."
One of the key documents Derek uncovered was a report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists , whose experts had been invited into the trust in November 2015 to assess maternity care. It was damning. Among the findings were that some consultants did not carry out ward rounds, review women, attend out-of-hours calls when requested or complete mandatory training.
The commission's initial response was to thank him, but to say it would be taking no further action as it appeared his grandson's death had been because of the poor skills of one doctor - the locum who carried out the C-section. The coroner at Harry's inquest later that month concluded his death had been"wholly avoidable". The family stood outside the court in front of the cameras, tears gently rolling down cheeks, arms and hands tightly gripped around each other. They had achieved their primary aim - justice for Harry.
Despite those tensions, Derek says he does not have any regrets about the past few years - but says he cannot answer for Harry's parents, who might feel differently.
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