The widower of a heavily pregnant nurse who died with coronavirus has criticised the hospital trust where she worked for their actions in the aftermath of her death.
Ernest Boateng told an inquest into his wife’s death that the hospital trust in Bedfordshire issued a statement with ‘false information’ to staff and that he refused to put his name to their press release as a result.
Mary Agyapong, 28, was heavily pregnant and working as a nurse at Luton and Dunstable Hospital when she fell ill in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nurse worked as a sister up until March 12, 2020, when she was signed off work with back problems, her widower Ernest Boateng told Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner’s Court.
Ms Agyapong was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties on April 5 but was discharged later that day, and was readmitted two days later with coronavirus symptoms, at 35 weeks pregnant.
She gave birth by Caesarean section to her daughter hours after being readmitted on April 7.
Ms Agyapong died five days after being transferred to intensive care as her condition worsened.
Mary Agyapong, 28, was heavily pregnant and working as a nurse at Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire when she fell ill at the height of the coronavirus pandemic
Speaking during the resumed inquest into her death, Mr Boateng said: ‘Shortly after Mary’s death, I was pressured by senior management of the hospital trust to issue a press statement together, which I initially accepted, and provided a photograph.
‘However, soon after, I was reliably informed of their disingenuous intentions … I had no option other than to pull out since they had already issued a statement to the entire staff with false information regarding the circumstances of Mary’s death.’
He also accused the trust of claiming Ms Agyapong was on maternity leave when the pandemic hit – despite her being not due to begin maternity leave until April 27, he said.
Mr Boateng said he was contacted by several well-wishers following his wife’s death, including some senior staff members who were worried about safety at the hospital.
He said: ‘Following Mary’s death, I was approached by a group of concerned clinicians … who raised concerns about their safety at work and the lack of protective equipment available to frontline staff in the midst of the pandemic.’
Mr Boateng also rejected suggestions he said came from the trust, that the nurse could have contracted Covid-19 from her father, who had recently died with the virus.
Mr Boateng, pictured with their children AJ and Mary, said his wife was scared of contracting Covid-19, even though in theory, she would have been at lower risk as she worked on a diabetes ward
He said: ‘Mary never saw him or anyone outside of work.’
Earlier at the hearing, Mr Boateng told the inquest his partner felt ‘pressured’ to return to work where she caught the virus.
On April 5 she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties, but was discharged the same day.
Within a week she was readmitted, with doctors delivering her baby daughter by a C-section, before Mrs Agyapong died on April 12.
A post-mortem gave the cause of death as pneumonia and Covid-19.
Mr Boateng said he strongly believed his wife, originally from Ghana, contracted coronavirus while at work.
Ms Agyapong was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties on April 5 but was discharged later that day, and was readmitted two days later with coronavirus symptoms, at 35 weeks pregnant.
Surgeons safely delivered the baby, also named Mary, by Caesarean section before Ms Agyapong was transferred to the intensive care unit, where she died on April 12.
Giving evidence to the inquest, Mr Boateng said: ‘Mary continued to work during this time (the start of the coronavirus outbreak), but she was very concerned about the situation involving Covid-19, so much so that when she came home from work she would take her clothes off at the front door and take a shower immediately.
The Bedfordshire nurse tested positive for Covid-19 and died on Easter Sunday, five days after doctors delivered her baby girl, who is also called Mary, by C-section a month prematurely
‘She was very worried about bringing Covid into the home.’
Mr Boateng, a mental health worker currently studying for a Masters in law, said she also began sleeping in the spare room at the family home to protect her husband and their son, AJ.
Mr Boateng, 30, added: ‘She told me the staff were very scared about the virus because they were on the front line and likely to come into contact with Covid-19 patients.
‘I wanted her to stay at home. But due to high demand at the hospital, she had to continue working.
‘She tried to reassure me that everything would be okay but I could understand she was anxious and panicking deep down.’
Mr Boateng claimed the hospital trust had suggested Mary had contracted Covid from her father who had died two weeks’ earlier. He told today’s inquest: ‘I can confirm Mary never saw him or anyone out of work or us.’
He went on: ‘I strongly believe Mary contracted the virus when she was at work. She did work on some Covid 19 wards.’
Ernest said the couple married in March 2017. There had been problems with the birth of their son and the second pregnancy with Mary was deemed ‘high risk.’ She was suffering from Anaemia.
Luton and Dunstable Hospital has previously said it did not have any coronavirus patients before the mother-of-two took maternity leave
He said: ‘Mary struggled with her pregnancy particularly in the third trimester. She continued to work very long shifts. She found it very tiring and difficult.
‘She was getting heavier, having back pain and swelling of her feet..’
He said: ‘My understanding is Mary was being pressurised to get back to work, as she had meetings about her sickness records earlier that year.’
Mr Boateng said he was not allowed onto the maternity ward to be with his wife when she gave birth to their daughter on April 7 and described the huge impact of her death on the family.
He said: ‘She was in ICU for 5 days. Her condition declined. I was getting more and more anxious. I felt helpless that I couldn’t see them.’
He took the baby home on 29th April and named her Mary in honour of his wife.
Mr Boateng, right, said his wife was unable to hold their newborn daughter as she was taken away immediately to reduce the risk of the infant contracting Covid-19
He said: ‘What was supposed to be a happy moment in our lives quickly changed into a traumatic and painful loss.
‘Every day my children have to deal with the loss of their mother and I feel helpless when AJ asks when he can see his mother again.’
Asked by his lawyer Martin Forde QC about the family’s movements in the weeks before her death, Mr Boateng said he did not have visitors to his home after 20 February except a friend who did not go in the house.
He agreed with Jonathan Holl-Allen QC, for the hospital trust, that his wife had not been at work since 13 March.
Mr Boateng claimed the hospital trust had suggested Mary had contracted Covid from her father who had died two weeks’ earlier. He told today’s inquest: ‘I can confirm Mary never saw him or anyone out of work or us’
At the time of her death David Carter, the chief executive of the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, described her as a ‘fantastic nurse and a great example of what we stand for in this trust.’
Speaking to The Daily Mail last year, he said: ‘Mary was such a loving mother. We had this tradition when either of us was at work that we’d video call to see how the others were doing.
‘Mary always called on her break. AJ used to chatter away non-stop. You didn’t really know what he was saying, but Mary would pretend she understood every word and go: ‘Oh wow, really?’ Now, when he sees my phone, he gives it to me and says: ‘Daddy, I want Mummy.’ I think he believes Mummy’s at work. He doesn’t understand.’
A Go Fund Me page was set up for her husband and their children AJ and baby Mary. It raised a total of £187,039.
Inquest proceeding. It is due to continue on Wednesday and Thursday this week and Tuesday next week.