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maternity and labour care

Posted By newmummy

"maternity and labour care "

About: Forth Valley Royal Hospital / Maternity unit

(as the patient),

I feel I was treated shockingly from the beginning of my labour until I was discharged. I was shouted at by midwife for going to delivery suite without phoning …we had tried for an hour and a half with no answer.

Then after having baby I was left in filthy sheets covered in blood and amniotic fluid for 5 hours. After having stitches internal and external I developed a terrible infection.

The bed was also left too high up so I had to jump off with the baby in my arms to put him down as staff were too busy to help.

I have post natal depression which I feel was mostly caused by this atrocious care.

I will never ever have another baby for fear of this happening again.

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Responses

Response from Arlian Mallis, Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing, NHS Forth Valley 10 years ago
Arlian Mallis
Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 02/05/2013 at 13:57
Published on Care Opinion at 15:19

Hi this sounds like its been very traumatic for you. I have shared your posting with our maternity staff and await a response, however I would like to apologise that this has been your experience. I would be happy to discuss your care in person, my phone number is 07827820353. I will post another response as soon as I the response of our maternity staff.

Thanks Arlian

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Response from Arlian Mallis, Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing, NHS Forth Valley 10 years ago
Arlian Mallis
Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 09/05/2013 at 16:05
Published on Care Opinion on 13/05/2013 at 09:41

Apologies for the delay in responding, it is difficult to give you a detailed response, however we would like to assure you that your comments will be shared with staff.

We do not considered it acceptable for any member of staff to shout at a patient, under any circumstance. We take these comments seriously however, and we will highlight this to all staff via the staff hand-over meetings.

The usual pathway for women in labour is to contact maternity triage however support and advice can be obtained via the labour ward. Both areas are prone to high activity and there may be a delay in answering calls. It is however extremely unusual for the telephone not to be answered by any member of staff especially if ringing continues. We are able to access call and line usage but would require dates and times to follow this up.

The majority of mothers stay in the labour ward after delivery and are discharged home directly from their delivery room. It would be the expectation that the linen should be changed if soiled, so that the mother may rest if required. Again the fact that this was not done will be highlighted to staff.

Staff would normally advise on personal hygiene and care of the stitched area. However some mothers resistance is lower due to the tiredness associated with a new baby and they can be more prone to infections. Having stitches does not mean that an infection will be acquired.

When staff are not in the room, it is normal practice to ensure mothers have access to the call buzzer should assistance be required. Again this, along with the height of beds, will be highlighted to staff.

We are sorry that you feel your experience has caused postnatal depression and a fear of having other children. We hope you feel able to get help and support from your Health Visitor or GP but If you wish to discuss any of these issues further please contact the unit on 01324 566000, and a member of the management team will be happy to speak with you.

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