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To say I was disappointed is an understatement

Posted By Suzanne243

"To say I was disappointed is an understatement"

About: Maternity care / Antenatal and Postnatal (Ward 38) Maternity care / Labour Suite

(as a service user),

I recently gave birth to my daughter by c-section under general anaesthetic. The care we received on the first night in hospital on the labour suite was second to none and I felt supported.

However, on moving up to the ward that care deteriorated significantly. I felt there was no consistency to the staff we saw and each person who arrived, when they arrived, seemed to need to learn about my case all over again. One even commented that I was meant to have medication at 14:00 and it was then 21:30.

At one point I ended up with a bleed on the wound of my cannula started to bleed significantly and I almost fainted, however was left standing outside the midwife office and seemed an inconvenience until they realised what happened.

On being discharged from the hospital I was told that they would let the community midwives know I was home but this did not happen. I had to phone the community midwives to enquire about the next step in our care to find that no one from Ninewells had let them know we were home. This was deeply concerning to me as although I am the type to follow up on care I’m sure there will be many people who wouldn’t and therefore risk being lost in the system.

To say I was disappointed by Ninewells is an understatement. 

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Responses

Response from Lee-Anne Abel, NHS Tayside 3 months ago
Lee-Anne Abel
NHS Tayside

Submitted on 11/01/2024 at 12:20
Published on Care Opinion at 12:20

Dear Suzanne243

Congratulations on the birth of your baby and thank you for taking time to share your feedback with us in Maternity Services.

My name is Lee-Anne Abel and I am the senior Midwife for acute inpatient maternity services within Tayside.

I am sorry to hear that the care provided to you fell short of your expectations and would like to stress this is not the experience we want women or families accessing our services to have. It is regrettable that you felt the team caring for you did not seem to appreciate your situation or background. I will share your feedback with the Senior Charge Midwife for the maternity floor to take forward for learning and reflection within the team. I can assure you that our clinical teams do handover care as a formal process within the ward and any key clinical details relating to individual women are shared with the assigned midwife and other health care professionals caring for you. I am sorry if it felt like this was not the case for you and can hear that your experience meant you seem to have met a lot of different staff across your stay. Without accessing your clinical record I cannot offer greater insight into why this may have been the case for you.

I am pleased to read that you felt your care experience in labour ward was positive and the team provided high quality care to you and your new family. Care ratios in labour ward are very different to the ward setting due to clinical acuity of that area so I can understand why the two areas felt very different for you. It may have been useful if this has been explained to you prior to moving to the maternity floor - I will discuss this with the leadership team in labour ward for reflection to ensure women are prepared for the change in care levels more holistically.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps us understand care from the perspective of women and families accessing our services. Care opinion is a platform that supports anonymity of the person submitting feedback however I would be more than happy to discuss any of your concerns with you in greater detail if this would feel helpful to you. I will ensure your feedback is shared with the areas and teams who provided care to you and your baby during your stay in maternity. ~This helps us learn from experience and put the voices of women at the fore of our service improvement and learning.

Warm regards,

Lee-Anne Abel, Senior Midwife.

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