THE parents of a young Wirral woman who died the day after giving birth to her stillborn son say their lives will never be the same. 

Carly Harper, of Orrysdale Road, West Kirby, died in May 2012 after being admitted to hospital three days earlier when her waters broke when she was almost 24 weeks' pregnant.

The 26-year-old hairdresser was expecting her first child with boyfriend Alex Dearden when she developed severe sepsis and the decision was taken to deliver the baby, resulting in a miscarriage.

Carly was taken immediately to the operating theatre and then to critical care, where she died on the morning of May 20 after suffering multiple organ failure.

Speaking at the end of a two-day inquest into her death, Coroner David Lewis said he felt the hospital staff who treated Carly did all they could.

Wirral Globe:
Robert and Christine Harper.

But her parents Robert and Christine remain convinced their daughter - described as being "full of life" - could have been saved.

Speaking from their Heswall home, the grief-stricken couple spoke of how happy they were when they discovered Carly was pregnant.

“I was going around telling everyone I was going to be granddad,” said Robert.

“We knew it was going to be a boy and I said I would be bringing him up properly to follow Everton.”

But as Christine said during her evidence to Carly’s inquest, what "should have been a joyous occasion became a nightmare"

Robert said: “It still feels that questions remain unanswered and that things could have been expedited quicker and more thoroughly.

“It’s very easy for them to go home at the end of the day and say ‘Thank goodness that’s over,’ but we have to live with that for the rest of our lives.

“Life is not going to be the same again. There is a pathway in place now – why wasn’t there something like that already in place? Septicaemia is not uncommon.

“I just hope that there’s a lesson to be learned and it doesn’t happen again.

“And we hope they have learned a harsh lesson out of this but they have to remember that two lives have been lost, that is the most important thing.”

The couple said they were grateful to their friends, family and employers who have supported them throughout their heartbreaking ordeal.

A two-day inquest into Carly's death concluded on Thursday, with Assistant Coroner David Lewis saying he felt the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital who treated her did all they could.

Recording a narrative verdict of multiple organ failure, caused by septicaemia which arose from chorioamnionitis - inflammation of the fetal membranes - Mr Lewis said: "Despite the timely administration of suitable antibiotics and the subsequent delivery of the infected fetus at 9.28pm, Carly did not respond as expected to the treatment she received.

"Her condition continued to deteriorate throughout the night and at 9.10am on May 20, she died."

Commenting on the hospital's own investigation into the events leading up to and surrounding Carly's death, Mr Lewis added: "We are now two and a half years on from these tragic events and I have heard that other patients in a not dissimilar way have been at the hospital since then and thankfully there has been a happier outcome for those patients and their families."

He said he was satisfied "lessons that needed to be learned have been learned" and "sufficient steps have been taken to address the concerns that came to light".

In reaching a five-figure settlement with Mr and Mrs Harper, the trust admitted that “there was a delay in delivering the deceased's foetus and in administering the second antibiotic as per trust policy.”

However, they did not accept that their failings contributed to Carly’s death.

Giving evidence in court on Wednesday morning, Mrs Harper said what "should have been a joyous occasion became a nightmare"

A spokesman for Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "We would again like to express our sincere condolences to Carly’s family and are very sorry for their loss.

“This has been a tragic case and has involved a thorough investigation with the multidisciplinary team and various medical experts. Our investigations concluded that, while it cannot be said that Carly’s death could have been prevented, there were clear lessons to be learnt from her care.

"We have reached a financial settlement with the family in recognition of this and have made a number of changes to trust practice and procedures in response to the findings of the investigation to further improve the services we provide. 

“The trust fully accepts the Coroner’s findings, which acknowledge Carly’s rapid deterioration despite the timely administration of antibiotics and the involvement of experienced staff in her care.”

Robert said while the trust's legal representative had offered her condolences at the end of the inquest, he said a written apology signed by all of the staff involved in Carly's care would mean more.

He added: “We have got to endeavour to move on. We have had a settlement from the trust but the money is irrelevant. We would much rather have our happy-go-lucky Carly back here with us.”