Doctor testifies at inquest (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Doctor testifies at inquest

10:05am Friday 11th January 2008 in Swindon By Hayley Court

A DOCTOR has spoken of his shock at being handed a powerful anaesthetic to treat a dying mum.

Doctor Peter Marden was giving evidence at the inquest into Mayra Cabrera's death at the Great Western Hospital in May 2004.

The pregnant 30-year-old had been rushed into hospital by husband Arnel when her contractions began on May 10.

At 9am on May 11 she began foaming at the mouth and fitting violently before going into cardiac arrest.

Trowbridge Coroner's Court heard that she had been given an epidural in her arm, rather than her spine.

Dr Marden explained that he had discovered a bag of the epidural drug Bupivacaine hanging beside Mrs Cabrera's bed when she went into cardiac arrest.

He said: "The bag looked full and the fluid wasn't flowing. I saw it was Bupivacaine."

As doctors battled for 90 minutes to resuscitate the new mum Dr Marden left the maternity suite to search for information about the drug on the Internet.

He said: "I looked up words to the effect of Bupivance toxicity.

"The information I found said the only thing we could do was prolonged resuscitation. That's what action was being taken when I returned to the room."

As Mrs Cabrera ebbed away the experienced doctor called for fluids to help increase her blood pressure. In a second blunder a midwife brought him another bag of Bupivacaine.

Wiltshire Coroner David Masters asked Dr Marden what his reaction was to being passed the fluid.

He replied: "I was shocked to be handed a bag of Bupivacaine in the context of a cardiac arrest.

"I held the bag over my head and said don't anyone hand me Bupivacaine again' and then I threw it in the bin."

The latest evidence came two days after nurse Jeanne Hutchins said that her colleagues were only human.

The senior nurse was responding to a suggestion from Gerwyn Samuels - representing Mr Cabrera - that, given the amount of checks made on infusions at the hospital, mistakes were inconceivable.

The Cabreras came to Swindon in 2002 from the Philippines, Mayra taking up a job as a midwife and Arnel as an IT technician at Princess Margaret Hospital before transferring to the GWH.

In a statement read out on Monday, Mr Cabrera, 38, demanded answers surrounding his wife's tragic death.

He said: "The person that gave Mayra that drug robbed me of my family. How can anyone make this kind of error and not be made to answer for it?"

The inquest is expected to continue for two more weeks before the nine-person jury make a decision as to how and why Mrs Cabrera died.