A mother fears her baby may have suffered long-term harm after 'delays' accessing a maternity unit during labour.
The woman, known only as Lily, went into labour in the early hours of October 12 last year and called Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), where she had attended the majority of her antenatal appointments.
She was told the maternity unit was closed to new admissions and advised to travel to Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).
BRI bosses say the "transfer of care to a more appropriate clinical team" was in line with national guidance in circumstances where the hospital is unable to safely meet demand and has to ask for support from neighbouring specialist services.
However, Lily, 29, said: "It was all so dismissive and nonchalant.
"I explained my history to a midwife over the phone and the concerns that there had been over my gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, and that Hania was smaller than expected, as well as being in breech position and with an echogenic bowel, but we were still told to drive 40 to 45 minutes to Leeds.
"There was no further discussion, or no offer to provide an ambulance, and as a first-time mother, I didn’t question that."
Lily’s waters broke in the LGI car park at about 1.50am.
She described feeling a "sudden gush" and sensed that something was wrong.
She claimed the doors to the unit were locked, and so, Lily and her husband Uzayr called 999.
They were sent to A&E, where they met a paramedic.
They then went to the maternity unit, where Lily was asked for a urine sample.
She said: "When I went to collect the sample, I could see the umbilical cord.
"I immediately ran back to the midwife and she sounded the alarm for an emergency."
Lily was rushed to theatre for an emergency Caesarean under general anaesthesia.
Baby Hania shortly after birth
Their daughter Hania was born not breathing, with no detectable heart rate.
She was resuscitated and diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow.
Hania spent 10 days in intensive care and underwent therapeutic cooling before moving to St James’ University Hospital.
The couple were initially told there would be a Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations review, but said it was dropped after Hania’s MRI scan came back clear.
Hania was discharged after two weeks.
Lily and Uzayr have instructed Hudgell Solicitors to investigate possible medical negligence because they fear Hania may suffer long-term harm.
Lily’s pregnancy was already classed as high-risk because of a large cervical fibroid, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and the baby’s breech position.
She was told a natural birth was unlikely and that a Caesarean would be needed at 39 weeks.
Two days before giving birth, Lily raised concerns about contractions at an antenatal clinic but says she was told they were Braxton Hicks.
Lily said: "There was a complete failure to treat me appropriately given my pregnancy issues and the possible dangers to myself and Hania."
She believes BRI should have seen her despite the unit being closed because her pregnancy was high-risk.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was recently scrutinised by the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.
The couple said the trust’s lead matron for quality and safety sent them a letter apologising for the stress caused and Hania’s “poor condition” at birth.
Ronke Bain, a medical negligence specialist at Hudgell Solicitors, said: "There are certainly many areas of concern over the latter stages of Lily’s care, particularly given the difficult pregnancy she had experienced and the numerous potential complicating factors.
"Whilst capacity and staffing issues cannot be easily resolved, it cannot be right that a woman who has had numerous issues identified during pregnancy, and has been told is unlikely to be able to have a natural birth because of those concerns, is asked to take a 40-minute driving during what was clearly an emergency situation."
A spokesperson for the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are very sorry that Lily and her family have had a traumatic experience.
"We met with Lily in February 2026, while it would not be appropriate for us to share details of that meeting relating directly to her care, we explained that we had followed national guidance regarding the transfer of care to a more appropriate clinical team.
"This includes circumstances where we need to ask neighbouring specialist services to support us when we are unable to safely meet demand.
"We would welcome the opportunity to arrange a further meeting with Lily and her family to understand whether there are any further issues they would like us to look into.”
Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We recognise that this must have been a difficult and distressing time for Lily and her family.
“Following the birth, the Trust carried out an investigation into the care provided and wrote to Lily after this.
“We appreciate that Lily may continue to have questions about her experience and we would welcome the opportunity to meet with her and her family to discuss these further.
"We remain committed to listening to patients and families and to learning from their experiences.”
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of 14 trusts being examined as part of a national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services.