Three-day-old baby ‘died in doctor’s arms’ after mum ‘repeatedly ignored’ by medics

Three-day-old baby ‘died in doctor’s arms’ after mum ‘repeatedly ignored’ by medics Julie Keegan, 35, described a “horror scene” as medical staff acted “like headless chickens” while three-day-old Mason McLean lay dying after she repeatedly raised concerns about his health. A mum has described the horrific moment her baby died in the arms of a doctor after her repeated concerns about his health were allegedly dismissed by medical staff. Julie Keegan, 35, said her baby boy Mason McLean would still be alive if “one person had done their job” and taken her warnings seriously. Mason was just three days old when he tragically passed away in January 2023, after mum Julie and dad Angus McLean, 31, rushed him to A&E after he grew cold and stopped feeding. The mum described staff at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital acting like "headless chickens" when Mason stopped breathing. She said Mason's last moments were a "horror scene" as chaotic staff allegedly argued over how to correctly perform CPR on an infant. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has apologised for the missed opportunities in Mason's care, and says it has since taken measures to improve its training and processes, Glasgow Live reports. Mason was "completely healthy" when he was born on January 29, 2023 at the nearby Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, but Julie noticed something was wrong the night he came home from the hospital. Julie, who is an ICU nurse, said: "He was doing brilliant, and then the first night he was home, I noticed he became unwell straight away. He was like a different baby. He was a lot colder and unable to feed." Julie said a routine visit from the midwife the following day was the beginning of his fatal illness being dismissed as "normal newborn behaviour." She says the midwife mistook Mason's sepsis symptoms for jaundice, and decided not to refer him to the hospital. The midwife said she would pay the family another visit the following day, but Mason didn't make it through the night. Julie said: "[The midwife] left me with a baby that was dying of sepsis, and said 'I'll just be back tomorrow'." After several unsuccessful phone calls to medics Angus and Julie were eventually advised to go to A&E at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital by NHS 24. By this point, Mason was "clammy, having difficulty breathing" and had stopped wetting his nappies. Julie, who has since had two more children with partner Angus, said: "It was only because I was getting upset that they allowed us to go to the hospital for Mason to get checked over. "I think they should've sent an ambulance, if someone says their baby is finding it difficult to breathe. And he died within six hours [of that call]. After a "horrible", frantic drive in rush-hour traffic to the Queen Elizabeth, they arrived at A&E where Mason was seen to straight away - though the care he received was "very, very poor", Julie said. Julie also said Mason's face had begun seizing and she was told by hospital staff that "all babies make funny faces", and that she was praised for having such a quiet, "well behaved" baby - when in fact "he was dying and he couldn't react because he was so sick". Julie says Mason was then taken to the special care baby unit, and claims the nurse didn't take his observations. A reflex test showed that Mason was extremely weak at this point, and the doctor advised that he "just needed a really good feed". The doctor then left the ward, Julie said. She eventually came back to take Mason's observations, when Julie said he let out a "gasp", which she believes was his last breath. "I remember thinking, 'there's no way a doctor can have a baby in her arms and for him not to be breathing'. I had a lot more faith in them than I should've." Julie explains what happened next as a "horror scene." She said the doctor began "screaming" Mason's name, running up and down the room and to the resuscitation room shouting "how do you turn this equipment on?". The nurse and doctor began arguing about how to do CPR on a baby, Julie claims. She added: "It was like a horror scene, they weren't doing any compressions. It was so bad. They were like headless chickens. The doctor was a deer in the headlights. "My baby was dying in front of my eyes." Julie says the correct resuscitation equipment was not on the ward, and staff had to go to two different floors to get it, which the mum described as "appalling". "That could've been the difference between his heart getting started straight away and his heart getting started five minutes later. And then the doctor said there was nothing more they could do and that we had to say goodbye." Since the loss of their first child, Mason's parents have been pushing for change in maternity services, and met with Health Secretary Angela Constance this week. Julie said: "I told every single person that he was sick and everything that was wrong with him, and I was made out to be insane, and as an overprotective first-time mum. "If anybody had done their job that night, he would still be alive… It shouldn't be a lottery if your child lives or dies depending who's on shift that night." Julie and Angus have also launched the Mason Matters campaign to advocate for reform to maternity care in Scotland. A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We continue to extend our heartfelt condolences to Mason McLean's family. While we are unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, we again sincerely apologise for the missed opportunities in Mason's care. "A Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER) was completed in August 2025 and improvements to processes, training and equipment, have been implemented. "We also strengthened our neonatal guidance, updated clinical pathways, and enhanced processes for temperature monitoring and clinical observations to help improve the care provided to newborn babies. "A SAER is a formal review process that examines significant adverse events to understand what happened, identify learning, and support improvements that help prevent similar incidents from happening again."