The Tragic Death of Alby Spreadborough: A Call for Better Care and Support for Grieving Parents
Rebecca and Tim Spreadborough had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of their baby boy, Alby. After undergoing fertility treatment, Rebecca’s pregnancy was deemed low risk, and they had regular antenatal appointments at their local hospital in Emerald, central Queensland. However, Alby’s delivery in February at the Emerald Hospital ended in tragedy.
An internal review by Queensland Health found that Alby’s death was due to a “rare obstetric emergency … that could not have reasonably been anticipated.” But the grieving parents are unhappy with the care they received before and after their son was born. They want an independent review of their son’s death and are calling for better support for grieving parents and dedicated bereavement teams in all hospitals.
The Need for Bereavement Teams
Rebecca Spreadborough wants to see a statewide policy to manage obstructed labours and regular emergency training for rural and regional staff. She believes that routine simulations for emergencies and more consideration in rural medical staff that emergencies may present themselves would be beneficial. The couple is also calling for better support for grieving parents and dedicated bereavement teams in all hospitals.
“It’s not something that anyone ever thinks about — ‘what will I need to do with my baby if it dies?’ — so we didn’t know what to do,” Rebecca Spreadborough said. “We later read that you can bathe your baby, and that made me really quite upset because I didn’t feel like we made the most of the time that we had with Alby. We did have the opportunity to sit down with a social worker, and he was amazing, but I feel like a dedicated bereavement team would have been more suitable in these tragic circumstances.”
The Importance of Regular Emergency Skill Drills
The internal review recommended that the Emerald maternity team undertake regular emergency skill drills for neonatal resuscitation and regular clinical audits. It also recommended an assessment of compliance against the CTG interpretation, documentation, escalation, and education policy, specifically that all maternity care clinicians undertake regular annual CTG updates, and that a foetal pillow is used as first-line management in cases where foetal head elevation is required.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she had “huge empathy” for the family and expected the highest standards for women in all hospitals. “It’s an incredibly heartbreaking story,” Ms Fentiman said. “I know that the hospital is working with the family. I also know that there’s an independent investigation underway, including with the health ombudsman. We need to let that investigation take place, but I want to be very clear that I expect the very highest standards for women and for women’s health.”
The Spreadboroughs’ Call to Action
Rebecca and Tim Spreadborough still feel their son’s presence guiding them. “It seems crazy, but I feel him all the time … he’s with us saying ‘come on Mum, you can do this, and you can make a difference for other families’,” Rebecca Spreadborough said.
Their call to action is for better care and support for grieving parents and dedicated bereavement teams in all hospitals. They want to see a statewide policy to manage obstructed labours and regular emergency training for rural and regional staff. They believe that routine simulations for emergencies and more consideration in rural medical staff that emergencies may present themselves would be beneficial.
The tragic death of Alby Spreadborough highlights the need for better care and support for grieving parents and dedicated bereavement teams in all hospitals. It also emphasizes the importance of regular emergency skill drills and compliance with policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of care for women and their babies. Let us honor Alby’s memory by taking action to improve maternal and neonatal care in our hospitals.