Midwife, obstetrician cleared of misconduct

A midwife and obstetrician have been cleared of professional misconduct, more than four years after a baby boy died.

The pair, who have been granted permanent name suppression, were found not guilty by separate medical bodies.



But the ordeal for the midwife is not over. The Health and Disability Commissioner is likely to ask the High Court to review the Nursing Council's decision exonerating her.

The council's decision has also disappointed the boy's parents, Lynda and Stuart Massey. Their son Liam died after Mrs Massey underwent an emergency caesarean in Rotorua in June 1999.

Mrs Massey's uterus ruptured and the baby suffered brain damage. Life-support was switched off two days later.

The Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found the obstetrician not guilty of professional misconduct, as Mrs Massey had been told her baby might be injured or die if her uterus ruptured.

- NZPA