A woman who gave birth through an emergency C-section at the Moncton Hospital believes she might be among the victims of a rogue nurse who allegedly administered a labour-inducing drug to patients without their consent.
Cait Middleton gave birth to her first child in December 2017 and said things spiralled out of control as her heart rate climbed and her unborn baby’s pulse plummeted. She eventually required an emergency C-section, but had to wait as the only doctor on duty was already performing the surgery on another patient.
Following CTV News’ reporting on alleged misconduct by a rogue nurse at the Moncton Hospital, Middleton requested her medical records regarding the birth and found her baby had been resuscitated, but she was never told so.
"I could not believe what I was reading, it was disgusting,” Middleton told CTV News. “I pictured my daughter being born out of me and not breathing and it broke my heart.”
Middleton believes she was a victim of the maternity ward nurse who was fired last week after at least two women were allegedly given oxytocin inappropriately. The nurse is accused of puncturing IV bags and spiking them with the drug, which can cause rapid contractions and affect fetal heart rate.
The local health authority, Horizon Health, which operates 12 hospitals and 11 medical facilities in New Brunswick, has set up a toll-free hotline to address any patients’ concerns: 1-844-225-0220.
So far they’ve received more than 40 calls. The RCMP is currently investigating two cases, but CTV News has learned there may be as many as 120.
Lisa Middleton, Cait’s mother and a pharmaceutical representative, said she cannot understand how amounts of oxytocin can go missing without anyone noticing.
"They have strict rules and they do inventory control on all drugs or they should be doing inventory control,” she said. “For two years, nobody noticed that oxytocin was missing and unaccounted for?"
Middleton says she’s been so frightened by the investigation that she will not have another child.
In statement to The Canadian Press, Horizon Health spokeswoman Emely Poitras acknowledged some of the fears families may be experiencing, but added there is no need to worry about the service at their facilities.
"The actions of one individual do not define the level of safe and quality care we provide," Poitras said in the statement. "Because of this, patients and their families should not have any concerns about the care they receive at the labour and delivery unit at the Moncton Hospital or any of our Horizon facilities."
With files from The Canadian Press
