The husband of a pregnant woman who was left to drown in a hospital bath after going into labour is to take legal action against the local NHS trust.

Lorraine Maddi, 31, was close to giving birth when she was left unattended for 45 minutes by hospital staff, despite their having been told of a condition that sometimes caused her to faint during stressful and anxious situations. The son she never saw was delivered by emergency Caesarean section and survived.

Yesterday, after her inquest, Mrs Maddi’s husband, Phaninder, said that he would be claiming compensation from the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust. “She would have been a wonderful mum,” said Mr Maddi, 29, a warehouse operative in Ipswich, who is now bringing up his healthy nine-month-old son, Jaydem.

“My son will never know his mother — she never got to enjoy him. I don’t know what I will say to him when he grows up and starts asking about her.”

The coroner recorded an open verdict after the inquest, which was told that Mrs Maddi, an estate agent from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, had been advised to take a warm bath to ease labour pains.

Her birthing partner, Paul Guthrie, left the hospital to collect some items and he told staff to keep an eye on her in the bath. A midwife knocked on the bathroom door but did not receive a reply.

When Mr Guthrie came back an hour later, Mrs Maddi was still in the bathroom with the door locked. She was found submerged and unconscious in the water, turning blue. She died eight days later.

The inquest was told that Mrs Maddi had written to the hospital warning staff that her fainting had become more frequent since the recent death of her mother.

Bassetlaw Hospital admitted that there were no official guidelines on whether women should be allowed to be alone, but the court heard from a number of midwives who said that it was normal practice for women in labour to be accompanied by a birthing partner or member of staff. Policy and guidelines will now be reviewed.

“I hope they keep to their word and make the changes, that is all I want now,” her husband said yesterday. “My son might not even have been alive if Paul hadn’t come back when he did. I just hope that something good will come out of losing my wife.”

The couple married in November 2006 in India, where Mr Maddi was born. Mrs Maddi had moved to her family home in Worksop to nurse her mother, who died of cancer during the pregnancy. Mr Maddi had to stay in India because of visa difficulties, and was unable to attend the birth.

Announcing the review of obstetric and midwifery procedures, the NHS trust said: “We would like to extend our sympathy to Mrs Maddi’s family and friends. As soon as Lorraine was discovered, the staff did all they could to save her and her baby. Tragically, only the baby survived. Incidents such as happened to Lorraine are extremely rare. In the light of the tragedy of her death and the evidence heard at the inquest, the trust will be reviewing its practice with regard to bathing.”

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