Doctor's 'slap on the wrist' for delay in attending woman who died in childbirth 'disappointing'

Dr McMurray had delayed his return to hospital while on-call to attend Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick who suffered a fatal haemorrhage within three hours of giving birth

Front L-R: Bernard Fitzpatrick (husband) with James and Pauline Campbell, Parents of the late Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick of Nurney, Co. Carlow, pictured speaking to the media on leaving the Four Courts yesterday(Wed) after a High Court action. Pic: Collins Courts

The family of a young woman who bled to death shortly after giving birth in the maternity unit at St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny seven years ago has expressed dismay at the “lenient” sanction imposed on the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist responsible for her care who was found guilty of professional misconduct earlier this year.

The High Court confirmed on Monday the decision of the Medical Council to censure the consultant, David McMurray, in writing with several conditions to be attached to his continued practice.

They include that Dr McMurray undergo a 12-month professional development plan overseen by a nominated professional to improve communications with other medical staff particularly when called to deal with emergencies and also in the management of haemorrhages.

At a fitness-to-practise inquiry last February, Dr McMurray admitted to a charge of professional misconduct over his delay in returning to St Luke’s while on-call to attend Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick (36) who suffered a fatal haemorrhage within three hours of giving birth to her second child, a boy named Max, on March 28, 2016.

The inquiry heard it had taken over 40 minutes for Dr McMurray to arrive at St Luke’s after he was first alerted of the need to bring the patient to theatre to deal with extensive postpartum bleeding, despite living just a short distance away from the hospital when he knew her clinical condition required his attendance at the hospital.

The consultant also admitted a separate charge of poor professional performance at the same inquiry held by the Medical Council over his failure to attend to Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick in a timely manner. The inquiry heard Dr McMurray only arrived at St Luke’s at 2.20am, despite having first been notified by a midwife at 1.38am about the patient’s deteriorating health after delivering her baby.

Counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL, said the consultant had originally maintained that he was only alerted to the urgent nature of the case during a later call from the hospital.

A photo of Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick, whose inquest was held in Kilkenny. Picture: Pat Moore

Mrs Campbell Fitzpatrick’s father, James Campbell, said the sanction of a written censure was “deeply disappointing” given the consultant had not initially provided the true facts in an attempt to justify his failure to attend the hospital in a timely manner.

“It is a slap on the wrist for his professional misconduct and his poor professional performance on the night Tracey died,” said Mr Campbell. “This is a licence to other unsafe doctors or medical practitioners to act as they wish without fear of any serious consequences. This is not true accountability,” he added.

He observed the truth only emerged for the first time just before the medical inquiry began last February when Dr McMurray decided to plead guilty to the allegations against him.

Mr Campbell said:

We, Tracey’s family, have to live with a life sentence of pain and loss for a death that could and should have been prevented.

He also expressed regret that the Medical Council had not adopted the recommendation of its fitness-to-practise committee to carry out an audit of Dr McMurray’s work. “That would have been a very valuable and helpful exercise,” he remarked.

Ms Bird also informed the High Court that the inquiry had considered that Dr McMurray had an otherwise blemish-free career but that the Medical Council subsequently found out that there had been previous findings against him by its counterpart in the UK. She also noted that there had been no allegations to suggest any act or omission by the consultant was responsible for Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick’s death.

Confirming the sanction and conditions, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice David Barniville, said they were proportionate and would protect public safety.

Dr McMurray, who qualified as a doctor from Queen’s University in Belfast in 1992 and previously worked in the UK before moving to Ireland in 2013, no longer works at St Luke’s.

The consultant became the subject of the fitness-to-practise inquiry following a complaint by the deceased’s husband, Bernard Fitzpatrick. The inquiry heard Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick, from Nurney, Co. Carlow, but originally from Knock, Co. Mayo, was a healthy, active woman looking forward to the birth of her second child.

The Medical Council did not proceed at last February’s inquiry with two other allegations against Dr McMurray over his treatment of the patient on the day before she died.

In 2021, the High Court approved a settlement for Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick’s family, which included a payment of €700,000 for the care of Max, after the HSE and St Luke’s General Hospital admitted liability for her death. The two parties also issued an “unreserved apology” for the “failings in the care” of the young mother in the hospital.

Relatives of Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick have also called for a re-opening of the inquest into her death following the finding of professional misconduct against Dr McMurray. Her family claim the original verdict that she had died as a result of natural causes at an inquest at Kilkenny Coroner’s Court in 2017 needs to be revisited as a result of the inquiry into her care by the Medical Council.

Ms Campbell has also called for a public inquiry into the operation of St Luke’s due to a number of adverse findings against senior consultants who worked in the hospital’s maternity unit, including Dr McMurray.