Trust faces prosecution over mother's death

A Swindon hospital trust faces prosecution over health and safety breaches linked to the death of a mother who had just given birth.

Mayra Cabrera, 30, suffered a heart attack when Bupivacaine, a potent epidural anaesthetic, was mistakenly attached to an intravenous drip feeding into a vein in her hand on May 11, 2004.

She died after giving birth to her son Zac at Great Western Hospital, where she had worked as a theatre nurse.

The hospital trust was due before Swindon magistrates on Friday but the case has been postponed until December, a Health and Safety Executive spokeswoman said.

It faces prosecution for allegedly leaving patients facing "risks arising from the storing of drugs and drug errors".

The HSE spokeswoman said the charges focus on procedures which should have been in place to protect non-employees at the hospital.

Last year an inquest into Mrs Cabrera's death reached a verdict of unlawful killing after negligent storage of Bupivacaine led to a fatal dose being given.

Her husband Arnel, who described his wife as "my love and my life", faced deportation because his spouse's death changed his residency status.

However in August 2008 he was allowed to stay in the UK.