Rotherham councillor speaks of heartbreak over baby’s death as she resigns as leader of opposition

Councillor Emily Barley stood down as leader of the Rotherham Conservative group during yesterday’s (January 18) full council meeting, and said she hoped to campaign for safer maternity care.

Councillor Simon Ball will take over as leader of the group.

Councillor Barley paid a heartfelt tribute to her daughter, Beatrice, who was born on May 20, 2022 at Barnsley hospital.

Councillor Barley said she intends to campaign for safer maternity care, and accused staff at Barnsley Hospital of “negligence”.

She told the meeting: “Beatrice Trudy Barley was born at 9.38pm on 20th May 2022. She was 22 inches long, mostly made up of these ridiculously long legs, and she was incredible.

“Beatrice died when she should have lived, and she should be here with us now eight months old and thriving.

“Beatrice was killed by the negligence of the midwives and obstetricians at Barnsley Hospital.

“People who are supposed to care, but instead rolled their eyes, sneered and dismissed me when I raised the alarm and asked for their help.

“Beatrice died, and I am destroyed.

“My mental health, my sense of purpose and my very faith in humanity have all been destroyed.

“Every year, hundreds of babies die like Beatrice die, and it has to stop.

“Maternity care has to be made safe.

“That’s why I’ve resigned as leader of my group. Not just to grieve and try to piece together a life without Beatrice, but to give me time to campaign and stop this happening to other babies, and other families.

“I’m proud of what we achieved with me as leader. We rolled in, all 20 of us, and shook things up a bit.

“We defended Remembrance Day parades, which wouldn’t have gone ahead that year without our motion, we called atention to the failures of Dignity and the state of our cemeteries at a time when the Labour councillors very firmly still had their heads in the sand.

“We tried really hard to get this council to agree a council tax freeze in these really difficult times.

“Our group, under my leadership, spent hours doing the detailed work of scrutiny, intrioducing a proper opposition, and asking the difficult questions for perhaps the first time in Rotherham.

“We focused on making a difference in our communities, overloading the council’s case work system in the process with all our requests on everything from potholes to trees, home repairs to autism assessments, always focusing on making things better for our residents.

“We sounded the alarm on CSE, working with survivors, speaking up for residents and refusing to be shut up by the people whp have a vested interest in pretending all is well in Rotherham.”

Dr Richard Jenkins, chief executive for Barnsley Hospital, said: “We are deeply sorry for the loss of Beatrice and we have met with Emily to apologise.

“We immediately recognised that this tragic event should not have happened and we reported it to Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch.

“We have fully cooperated with their independent investigation and we entirely accept the findings and the recommendations which we are now implementing.”