"Appalling care"

Left 62 hours with waters gone. Wasn’t monitored. Discovered my blood pressure and temperature was high and rising on arrival to delivery.  

Blood pressure was so high that the midwife tried several times to put a line in and each time my vein blew, only then did she approach a consultant to insert the line.  Almost double dosed me on paracetamol.  

Both myself and baby had sepsis.

Didn’t have a theatre available so left me having contraction and baby’s heartbeat dropping to nil every time.  My son had to be resuscitated for such a long time before he was well enough to be moved to NICU.  I haemorrhaged in surgery.   

My stay on wards was the most harrowing experience I’ve ever had.  I believe the majority of midwives that were involved in mine and eventually my son’s care behaved like bullies.  I explained to them every time I walked down to NICU I had a massive bleed that made me feel hot and dizzy and I had a bowel obstruction that was pressing on a nerve in my back  so could I please be wheeled down.  They said I was supposed to walk. I felt like I was at school and bullied by the majority of people caring for me.  They didn’t listen to me about my conditions or appear to even know and given at that time I was vulnerable both mentally and physically I would never have thought that kind of behaviour was allowed.

 I wasn’t well enough to complain.  Needed to concentrate on recovering and my son.  I struggled with PTSD from the whole ordeal and every time I decided to start it triggered me in a way that I thought easier to just let it go.  I requested the hospital notes and the wards didn’t record my pain relief requests, urine (with blood) or the multiple requests for medication for the bowel obstruction.  They also refused to get my prescription list from my GP. 

Apparently there has been a staff restructure but I would still not return to the maternity department of this hospital.