THE Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has dismissed an appeal by obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Prakashbhan Persad, confirming that he was negligent in his management of an emergency caesarean section that resulted in severe brain injury to a child born at St Augustine Private Hospital.

In a judgment delivered yesterday, the UK-based apex court upheld a ruling of the local Court of Appeal which found that Persad failed to ensure proper foetal heart rate monitoring during a critical period before delivery, leaving the medical team unaware that the baby was in severe distress.

Persad was the consultant obstetrician in charge of the delivery of Christopher Singh in 2012. Christopher was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, and multiple related medical conditions arising from oxygen deprivation at birth.