HSE apologises to family of Limerick woman who died after giving birth at home
Laura Liston: HSE said Ms Liston had trusted she would be safe during the home birth but 'that trust was broken'.
The HSE has apologised to the family of a woman who died after a home birth in Limerick, an inquest has heard.
Laura Liston died on June 5, 2022, having given birth to a healthy baby boy at her home near Croom in Limerick. It was a planned homebirth under the HSE National Homebirth Service.
Her husband, Fergal Mannion, told the coroner’s court in Kilmallock that Laura had always wanted to be a mother and his life stopped the day she died.
Ms Liston had been transferred by ambulance after the birth to University Hospital Limerick, but she later died.
The HSE apology was read into the court record by Oonah McCrane SC, on behalf of Ian Carter, integrated healthcare area manager, Acute and Older Person Services with HSE Midwest.
He expressed “profound sadness” at the tragedy, and acknowledged the life-long impact this was having on the Liston and Mannion families.
On behalf of the HSE, he offered “ a sincere and unreserved apology” to the families. He said Ms Liston had trusted she would be safe during the home birth but he said “that trust was broken”.
In the apology, he said learnings and improvement had been put in place but he accepted this was of no comfort to the grieving families.
Mr Mannion became visibly distressed during the reading of his deposition, and much of this was read into the record by solicitor Scarlett Griffin O’ Sullivan on his behalf.
He said he first met Laura about 20 years ago and then later reconnected, he described that meeting as love at first sight for him. They lived together in Dublin “for six happy years” and then decided to re-located to Limerick where she was from originally.
They planned to build a house but faced delays, so by the time Laura became pregnant they were still living in a mobile home. This would be where the birth took place, and he gave evidence he still wondered if events might have been different otherwise.
He told the court how the pregnancy went well and how they were looking forward to their future together.
Ms Liston was attended two midwives during the birth. He told the court she used a birthing pool and the intention was to labour in the pool.
HSE guidance at the time was that pregnant women could labour in a birthing pool during a homebirth, but must leave the pool to give birth.
However, he said ultimately Ms Liston gave birth in the pool to their baby son. However, complications arose, and he described how at one point she was in “horrendous pain” and extremely pale.
The midwives called the emergency services and two ambulances arrived. Ms Liston ultimately died at University Hospital Limerick.
The primary midwife in the case, Sandra Healy, a self-employed community midwife working with the HSE Homebirth Service, also gave evidence on the first day of the inquest.
The inquest continues.
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