A father-to-be died of sudden cardiac death just hours before the birth of his first child, after doctors missed an abnormality in A&E scans.
Thomas Gibson, 40, was found unconscious at his Manchester home by his partner Rebecca Moss, who at the time was 39 weeks pregnant with their daughter Harper.
Mrs Moss, who had been scheduled for a caesarean section earlier that morning, called 999 before performing CPR on him but was unable to save him. Harper was born safely hours later, but Gibson never got to meet his first and only child.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has since admitted to Moss that it provided negligent medical care to Mr Gibson, leading to his sudden cardiac death.
The trust told the family he should have been admitted as an inpatient to cardiology and fitted with a pacemaker, which would likely have prevented his death.
Rebecca Moss was 39 weeks pregnant with her baby at the time of Thomas Gibson’s death.
Thomas Gibson and his partner Rebecca Moss, who gave birth to their son hours after his death
Thomas Gibson, who suffered a sudden cardiac death last year, and his partner Rebecca Moss
Three weeks before Gibson died, he contracted a stomach virus from which he was struggling to recover.
After being unable to be seen in person by his GP, Delamere Medical Center in Stretford, he contacted 111 and was told to go to Wythenshawe A&E due to his symptoms.
While in A&E, Mr. Gibson underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG) test which showed abnormal results, identifying complete heart block.
Also known as third-degree heart block, the most serious type of heart block, it can lead to sudden cardiac death, which is what happened in Mr. Gibson’s case.
Doctors in the emergency department missed the ECG abnormality and his primary care doctor discharged him for follow-up care for his stomach illness.
Then, on the morning of June 7 last year, a pregnant Mrs Moss found him unconscious in her home and was unable to save him.
An inquest will now be held at Stockport Coroner’s Court on June 4-5, almost exactly a year after his death.
Ms Moss hopes a number of questions will be answered during the inquest, including how Mr Gibson had two ECGs during his admission and what led to both being interpreted incorrectly.
It also asks if there is an over-reliance on an automated ECG report being produced, which was erroneous in this case.
Ms Moss would also like to know whether emergency doctors had sufficient training in ECG interpretation and, if not, whether they recognized that they needed more expert or specialist opinion.
It is understood Mr Gibson was not seen by a specialist cardiologist during his admission.
An inquest will be held at Stockport Coroner’s Court into the death of Thomas Gibson.
Thomas Gibson suffered third-degree heart block, the most serious type of heart block
The registrar who discharged Mr Gibson is said to have deemed there were no cardiovascular symptoms because he presented with gastrointestinal symptoms.
However, Mrs Moss denies that there were in fact a number of cardiovascular problems during her admission and she is therefore concerned about a communication problem within the trust.
He also wants to ask if there is complacency on the part of the registrar and in general when it comes to younger patients and “the patient is not considered as a whole and the complete clinical picture is not considered.”
The family’s lawyer, Charlotte Moore, of CL Medilaw, said: “Tom’s tragic death is the result of a misinterpretation of a basic cardiac function test, for which we have received a full admission of liability from the Tom’s partner, Rebecca.”
‘If the ECG had been correctly interpreted as showing complete heart block, Tom would have received a pacemaker and his premature death would have been prevented.
Thomas Gibson died a few hours before his partner gave birth to their daughter
Thomas Gibson was told to go to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester because of his symptoms.
“For this to happen on the day Harper was born adds to the pain and anger Rebecca now endures at losing Tom, unnecessarily.
“Harper’s birthday, which should be a happy occasion, will always be tinged with sadness for Rebecca and Harper, due to the loss of their beloved partner and father.”
The charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) says that every week in the UK, 12 apparently fit and healthy young people aged 35 or younger die from undiagnosed heart disease.
Dr Steven Cox, chief executive of the charity, said: “In 80 per cent of these cases, there will be no signs or symptoms of a heart defect until it is too late, which is why CRY believes that detection is of vital importance, particularly for those who engage in regular physical activity).
“As such, CRY currently screens around 27,000 young people each year, aged between 14 and 35 years.”
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust declined to issue a statement to MailOnline ahead of the inquest due to take place next week.
