The mother of a baby who died after a 30 minute wait for an ambulance is calling for an independent review of the standards of maternity care. 

Wyllow-Raine Swinburn, of Hagbourne Road, Didcot, died after her mum spent eight minutes waiting for someone to answer a 999 call.

A coroner gave a narrative conclusion at an inquest yesterday (December 2), adding: "The delay in the ambulance response time did not contribute to her death. But it took far too long to arrive."

Speaking after the inquest, Wyllow-Rayne's mother Amelia-Jayne Pill said: “No one should have to come to the realisation that help is too far away. The utter fear that no one is coming in an emergency and no one is picking up the phone. Nor should a parent be concerned over the standard of the maternity services they rely upon. 

READ MORE: Family of three-day-old baby waited 30 minutes for ambulance, inquest hears

Amelia Pill with Wyllow-Raine Swinburn (Image: Leigh Day / SWNS) “We apply utter trust to the NHS and the ambulance service to do their job and protect all the adults, children and babies in their care. However, as the coroner made clear, there were delays responding to our emergency call when Wyllow-Raine was fighting for her life which the ambulance service itself has described as 'awful'. 

“In our view the NHS emergency response system failed us and failed Wyllow-Raine and needs to be overhauled. We are pleased that the coroner has decided to write to South Central Ambulance Service with a prevention of future deaths report outlining his concerns over the eight minute response time for our 999 call and the 31 minute wait for an ambulance to arrive. 

“We are calling for an independent review of the standards of maternity care within Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. We now want to help ensure that all NHS hospitals and ambulance trusts provide the highest levels of care to all newborns so that other families don’t have to endure the pain we have been through.” 

Ella Cornish, the family’s solicitor from firm Leigh Day, said: “It is the family’s view that warning signs were missed by the hospital who were caring Wyllow-Raine in the days after she was born. During the inquest we raised concerns about staffing levels on the postnatal wards, including the delegation of essential newborn care to non-medically qualified staff. First-time mothers should not be left to identify risks or concerns on their own.

“Whilst the inquest process is at an end, my clients have expressed the desire to continue to campaign so that no other family will have to experience the anguish that they have been through.”

Speaking at the inquest, Karen Sillicorn-Aston, clinical governance lead at South Central Ambulance Service, said that improvements were being made in communications between SCAS and BT, including the handling of the most critical incidents.