'My wife died in childbirth but wasn't told she'd been given labour drug overdose'

24 minutes ago Share Save Lisa Summers, Scotland health correspondent and Andrew Picken Share Save

Lori Quate Jacqui Hunter died giving birth to her stillborn daughter, Olivia

Just a week before she was due to give birth, Jacqui Hunter was given the devastating news that her daughter had died in the womb. Less than 24 hours later, Jacqui was also dead. The 39-year-old had been told she would have to give birth to her stillborn daughter, who was called Olivia, and was given medication to bring on the labour. Within hours Jacqui was having intense contractions and at one point slumped into the arms of her husband, Lori Quate, who thought she had fainted. As staff at Ninewells Hospital rushed to help her, she suffered a cardiac arrest. Jacqui died two hours later from an amniotic fluid embolism – a rare and life-threatening emergency. It was not until the next day that Lori found out his wife had been given eight times the recommended dose of the drug to bring on labour – a mistake which some experts say may have contributed to her death. Lori is one of dozens of people - families, midwives and experts - who have told a BBC Disclosure investigation that urgent action is needed to improve maternity safety in Scotland. They shared details of many of examples of poor and sometimes deadly care, with NHS resources increasingly stretched. The Scottish government say "significant progress" has been made in the last 20 years in reducing infant mortality and neonatal deaths, while a new programme of maternity unit inspections is helping to raise standards. But there are calls for a national inquiry similar to one being carried out in England, where a series of indepe