Baby died after mum couldn't get through to 999 as she shouted 'why aren't they answering the phone?'

Wyllow-Raine Swinburn was born at John Radcliffe Hospital in 2022, and was discharged home on the evening of September 29 but went on to collapse in the early hours of September 30

A distraught mother cried out, "Why are they not answering the f*****g phone?" as she struggled to get through to 999 while her newborn baby experienced a 'prolonged period of cardiac arrest'. Wyllow-Raine Swinburn was born at John Radcliffe Hospital on September 27, 2022, and was discharged home on the evening of September 29.

However, she collapsed in the early hours of September 30. It is reported that she tragically passed away after her mother, Amelia Pill, spent seven agonising minutes waiting for someone to answer a 999 call.

The family performed CPR on Wyllow-Raine for 40 minutes as they awaited paramedics at their home, Oxford Coroner's Court heard in 2023. Senior Coroner Darren Salter adjourned the inquest at the time to allow for further evidence to be collected.

A pre-inquest review (PIR) into the three-day-old's death took place at Oxford Coroner's Court yesterday (Wednesday, October 2), according to The Sun. When Wyllow-Raine appeared to have stopped breathing, her mother called an ambulance at 4.38am.

However, there was a delay of over seven minutes before the emergency call was answered by the ambulance service. She woke her brother with her cries: "Why are they not answering the f**king phone?"

The baby's grandmother, Anna Fisher, who was downstairs looking after the dogs when the incident occurred, rushed upstairs upon hearing Amelia's desperate cries: "No-one is coming, no-one is coming."

An ambulance didn't reach the family home until 5.09am, more than half an hour after the emergency call was made. The newborn was rushed to John Radcliffe Hospital where, tragically, she was declared dead shortly after arrival, reports the Mirror.

A post-mortem found nothing unusual about Wyllow-Raine, including any extremely rare conditions. Consequently, paediatric pathologist Dr Darren Farrell concluded her cause of death as sudden unexpected death in infancy, unexplained.

In the wake of the tragedy, Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust initiated an internal investigation. It discovered that Wyllow-Raine would have been in a prolonged state of cardiac arrest prior to the 999 call.

The overall outcome was "not likely to be influenced by the time taken to answer the 999 call and the arrival of the ambulance". The full inquest is set to continue on December 2-3, 2024.