Our stillborn baby was left a month in Stockton hospital fridge

A couple devastated by the stillbirth of their baby were horrified when they found out his tiny body was left in a fridge for a month.

Little Blake, who died in the womb at just 23 weeks, was placed in the chiller in the Stockton hospital after he was born, when he should have been taken away for a post mortem.

Alex Alevroyiannis

A couple Iain Hardy and Stacey Brown were devastated by the stillbirth of their baby were horrified when they found out his tiny body was left in a fridge for a month

Dad Iain Hardy said: “We’re not talking about a file they misplaced – this was our child. They may have forgotten about Blake but we can’t.”

In March last year Iain, 28, and his partner Stacy Brown were delighted to discover they were expecting twins. But a scan at 23 weeks found Blake had no heartbeat. Stacy, 30, had to carry him to 39 weeks to save his brother.

She said: “We should have been so happy bringing our baby Kayden home but there’s so much sadness because of what happened to Blake.”

To compound their grief, the couple, from Peterlee, had already lost a son, Layton, in 2008. He was born with a rare condition and died at just eight months old.

Kayden is now a reminder of the second boy they lost and the horrific way he was treated. Stacy said: “The whole process has made it so much worse.”

The twins were born at the University Hospital of North Tees, Stockton, in November last year. Kayden came first, before an agonising 10-minute wait until Blake was delivered. The couple, who have three other children, were told a post mortem examination would be carried out.

But four weeks later, Trust staff came to their house and told them he was still in the delivery suite’s fridge. They were asked to go back to the hospital to sign a post mortem form.

In January they were told Blake died because problems with the placenta had starved him of nutrients.

But a couple of days later came another devastating blow. The hospital rang again – this time to say that because of another “error” the family would have to arrange for a death certificate and pay for a funeral.

Alex Alevroyiannis

A couple Iain Hardy and Stacey Brown were devastated by the stillbirth of their baby were horrified when they found out his tiny body was left in a fridge for a month

Normally it is the hospital’s responsibility to cremate babies who die before 24 weeks. But because Blake wasn’t born until his twin had reached full term he was classed as a stillbirth, where the responsibility for dealing with the body lies with the family.

“It was another bombshell,” said Stacy. “We were stunned.”

A spokesperson for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said a “thorough investigation” was under way.