A GRIEF-stricken mum whose baby girl died in the womb, is suing Bolton hospitals.

She claims they postponed vital surgery because they were unable to provide the specialist care her daughter needed.

Paula Tomlinson's third baby was stillborn at 30 weeks weighing just 2lb 7oz after nearly 10 hours of labour.

She and her husband John of Carlton Gardens, Moses Gate, claim the hospital authority is to blame for her death because they failed to perform an emergency Caesarean soon enough because of a shortage of special care cots. For 24-year-old Paula, who was critically ill for six days after the delivery, the stillbirth last November was the second she endured within a year. Paula's pregnancy was regarded as high risk because of dangerously high blood pressure which resulted in her being admitted to the Princess Anne Maternity Unit a month before the birth so her pregnancy could be closely monitored.

Husband John says the monitors revealed the baby was in distress and a doctor recommended a Caesarian if there were no signs of improvement.

He said Paula's notes reveal the situation did not get better and another doctor inquired about the availability of an intensive care cot but was told there were none available.

By the next morning their baby had died.

Now Paula and John, who have a five-year-old son, are suing the Hospitals Trust for failing to provide the facilities which would have given Rita Anne a chance of life. "I am very upset because she was supposed to be in hospital to prevent this happening again.The baby was healthy up until then so it should just not have happened.

"Something should have been done, at least then she would have had a chance.

"When Jack died I was very upset but this time I am angry as well. It hurts so much to lose a baby after so long. We will not be trying for any more children because I am scared of the same thing happening again." Today Miss Jean Bracken, head of Childrens and Maternity Services in Bolton, said: "We have a total of 21 special care cots in Bolton and three of these are designated intensive care cots. I cannot speak specifically on any one case but I can say each case is looked at individually. Certainly this baby had every chance of survival. This hospital's policy is to transfer people if there are not the necessary facilities available at this hospital. Under no circumstances would an operation of this nature be cancelled because we did not have the facilities available.

"In all cases of this nature if we did not have the equipment readily available to cope we would find a regional specialist unit which did, and transfer the patient," she added.

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