"I felt in very safe hands"

I gave birth to my baby following an over a month of additional monitoring at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. At all times I felt very supported and well looked after by the staff there.

The Maternity Daycare team at the hospital were just wonderful. I was attending Daycare twice weekly and, from my first visit, it was clear that there was a nurturing and caring ethos on the ward. I’d particularly like to thank Gillian, Cheryl and Fiona who were so attentive, professional and caring whilst looking after me and my baby. I felt in very safe hands with them, despite the period of extra monitoring being a concerning time for me.

I was required to be admitted to the QEUH for an inpatient induction. However, due to baby’s heart rate following induction, I was taken down to Labour suite for ARM. My midwife, Raj, provided wonderful care for me and consulted colleagues about the baby’s heart beat. It was Raj’s decisiveness that led to me being taken down to Labour suite due to concerns over baby’s safety. In the end up, ARM did not happen and within minutes, I was told I would have an emergency section under general anaesthetic. I will never forget being taken down the corridor on my hospital bed for the emergency C-Section. When the doors to theatre opened and I was taken in, even though it was a highly stressful situation, it was clear that the multidisciplinary team was highly professional and skilled at their work. This put me at ease enormously. Having such a talented team of professionals on hand to deliver such excellent care at point of need is one of the NHS’s real strengths and I am so proud to come from a country that has a national healthcare provider.

Despite not being prepared for a section, I felt in safe hands with the team in theatre. They got my baby out safely and looked after me during surgery and for that I feel utterly indebted as I didn’t meet any of them in advance or know any of their names to thank them. I just hope they know what a truly amazing job they do and I am so grateful to them for looking after me when my husband was not present at the birth.

Following my emergency section, I was under the care of midwife Jane and then, at shift change, Jackie, who both worked on Labour ward. Both Jane and Jackie were so attentive and supportive to me as I was waking up from the GA. They were caring and compassionate and I felt very well cared for by them. Again, these two members of staff are an asset to their hospital and the NHS.

As my baby was struggling to breathe following her birth, she was transferred to neonatal - first in the QEUH and then we were transferred to the Princess Royal due to bed capacity. I’d like to thank the staff who cared for our daughter in both hospitals and also the skilled nurses who transported our daughter to the Royal by ambulance. From our interactions with the neonatal teams it is clear that they are a highly specialised, cohesive teams for whom caring for premature and ill babies is a vocation. Again, we felt our daughter was in very safe hands and also had excellent care.

Following my own transfer to the Royal to be with my daughter, although the ward was very busy, the staff were diligent and attentive to my baby and I and we had a very positive experience despite the longer than anticipated stay in hospital. From the care assistants and caterers to the midwives and doctors, everyone was very supportive and caring and I am very grateful for this. I’d particularly like to thank the infant feeding team. First of all Tanya who got me started on my breastfeeding journey. This was a challenge as I had not had the opportunity for skin-to-skin/ the golden hour post-birth, and then Elaine who checked up on me during ward rounds and supported me with establishing breastfeeding both in hospital and at home via telephone. This team is an absolute asset to mums post-partum and there should be more of them to support mothers to breastfeed.

Following my discharge from hospital, I was grateful to receive checks from the same community midwife, Karen, who was very helpful in the early days of my daughter being at home. Karen was able to give me very helpful advice having had a different birth experience. Thank you Karen.

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all members of staff that had interactions with my daughter and I - without which the outcome could have been very different. I feel particularly grateful to the staff I never met in person: they kept me and my daughter safe during the emergency section and for that I feel utterly indebted to them. Thank you so much the maternity and neonatal staff at QEUH and PRM - you are the really assets to the NHS.