Parents’ emotional plea after newborn’s hospital death

2 hours ago 1

By Rex Martinich

September 19, 2025 — 6.58pm

A couple who lost their daughter to an undiagnosed heart defect hours after her birth hope an inquest can ensure other babies don’t suffer a similar fate.

Thea Flaskett died at Redcliffe Hospital, north of Brisbane, at 4.17am on September 11, 2023 a little more than four hours after she was born.

Meg and James Flaskett on Friday attended the final day of an inquest into their daughter’s death.

Meg Flaskett says her family hopes the inquest into baby Thea’s death will provide some answers.

“We came to this inquest to honour Thea, to honour her life,” Meg Flaskett said.

“We believe Thea deserved better care and a coronial investigation that honoured her with honesty, dignity and compassion.”

“We truly hope that the inquest, whenever the findings are delivered, showcases the true findings from her life so we can make the right recommendations so future babies don’t suffer.”

Queensland Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher previously heard Thea suffered from a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great arteries, which affects bloodflow through the heart.

Meg Flaskett had a routine morphology scan at 20 weeks of pregnancy in May 2023 that did not result in the detection of Thea’s heart defect.

The baby was delivered after an induced labour due to her low heart rate, and her breathing and pulse rapidly deteriorated in the minutes following her birth.

She suffered cardiac arrest and was unable to be moved to a bigger hospital for potentially lifesaving emergency heart surgery.

Flaskett said Thea’s death had already resulted in changes at Redcliffe Hospital and within the Queensland health system.

“There’s plumbed oxygen in all the birthing suites in Redcliffe Hospital now. That’s a huge, huge thing for all future babies when they’re born,” she said.

“Closest to our heart was the promise made by former health minister [Shannon] Fentiman about the support for women who experience stillbirth and neonatal death.”

James Kelly, a pediatrician in training at Redcliffe Hospital on the morning Thea died, told the inquest he worked to resuscitate the baby when she showed signs of respiratory distress minutes after birth.

In a phone conversation, he told the on-call pediatrician there had been an “unexpected deterioration at five minutes of life and (Thea) wasn’t responding to escalating treatment”.

“The reason we were calling him in was at this point our efforts were being unsuccessful and I was anticipating a cardiac arrest,” Kelly said on Friday.

Expert obstetrician Nicole Woodrow said Flaskett received an ultrasound of a “satisfactory standard performed by a competent operator” before Thea’s birth.

Flaskett gave a family statement at the inquest’s closing.

“We know the people who work in hospitals do so with heavy responsibilities and human limits, yet when systems fall short, warnings are missed or voices go unheard it is important that accountability is upheld,” she said.

Gallagher adjourned the matter for four weeks to receive written submissions.

AAP