Pregnant mum finds partner dead on day of birth

A pregnant mother due to go into hospital for a planned Caesarean section tried to wake her partner on the day of the birth only to realise he was dead.

Thomas Gibson, 40, suffered a cardiac arrest while sleeping on the couch after a hospital doctor “misinterpreted” a scan 11 days earlier, an inquest at Stockport Coroner’s Court heard.

His partner, Rebecca Moss, shed tears as she described telling Mr Gibson to “wake up, it’s baby day” but found he was “cold and stiff” when she tried to touch him.

Ms Moss, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, had to give birth to their daughter, Harper, just hours later on 7 June, 2023.

She told the court Mr Gibson was sleeping on the couch when she woke up at about 05:15 BST and realised he was not breathing.

She said she called 999 and was told to get her partner onto the floor and begin chest compressions, which she did.

Ms Moss told the court: “The shock, trauma and not to mention the physical exertion of having to pull Tom off the couch and perform chest compressions at 39 weeks pregnant was overwhelming.”

She described her partner as “caring, charming and funny” and said he was excited at becoming a father, spending every weekend building furniture for their baby.

“We say goodnight to his picture every night before bed and she has a quilt which has been made from his favourite jumpers,” she said.

“Tom will live on through his daughter but that doesn’t change the fact that he should still be here with us today.”

The inquest heard Mr Gibson attended Wythenshawe Hospital A&E on 27 May, 2023 having suffered from a severe stomach bug for about three weeks.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) was carried out and was escalated to Dr Thomas Bull by a junior doctor who recognised a potential blockage.

Dr Bull, giving evidence, said he recognised there were signs of an abnormality on the ECG but at the time he did not think it was clinically “significant” without other heart symptoms.

Mr Gibson was discharged and advised to come back if his stomach bug did not clear up.

It later emerged the ECG showed signs of a “complete heart block” which can lead to sudden cardiac death.

Dr Bull told the inquest: “I can see now, in retrospect and in hindsight, there is abnormalities over and above those I could see present.”

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has made a full admission of liability that it provided negligent medical care, according to lawyers for Mr Gibson’s family.

Dr Matthew Thornber, a consultant at the hospital, said the condition required “nuance and experience” to diagnose.

He told the inquest: “This is not a barn door easy miss”.

The inquest continues.