TV Reports 2010 - Mrs Mayra Cabrera
Great Western Hospital faces prosecution over the
unlawful killing of Mrs Mayra Cabrera
ITV News coverage - January 2010
Mayra’s case was in the national news again during November and December 2009 as Great Western Hospital faces a prosecution over health and safety breaches linked to her death during May 2004.
As our readers will recall, Mayra, who was only 30 at the time, suffered a heart attack when Bupivacaine, a potent epidural anaesthetic, was mistakenly attached to an intravenous drip feeding into the vein of her hand on the 11 May 2004 shortly after she gave birth to her son, Zac.
The Hospital Trust have now been prosecuted by the HSE for a breach of Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 which reads as follows:-
“3.1 It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practical, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety”
During the Inquest at the beginning of 2008, the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing against the Hospital Trust due to the negligent storage of Bupivacaine which contributed to a fatal dose of this drug being given to Mayra. “Persons not in his employment in this context would cover patients receiving treatment at the hospital.
It has now been over 5 years since Mayra died and her husband, Arnel, is pleased that a prosecution is being brought. He is hoping that once the prosecution has been concluded, which is now likely to be during the early part of 2010, this will give him some closure and he and his young son can put this tragedy behind them.
Clip below - BBC Points West TV coverage - January 2010
