Text size

Theme

Language

"Avoid this place"

About: St Mary's Hospital / Maternity care

I had a c-section at this hospital in 2016. I am not writing this review in order to receive an apologetic reply from them and a reassurance that they will make sure "this will not happen to anyone else". I am writing this to warn all mothers to be to avoid this hospital and choose to give birth somewhere more humane. The c-section itself went well with no pain and caring staff. The nightmare began in the antenatal ward 65. They were about to remove my catheter at 21:00 but no one appeared in my room until 1:00. Up to this time, I was left alone, unable to move, with my baby away from me in a cot they had placed him because, as they said, it was too dangerous for me to hold him because I could fall asleep with him in my arms. But falling asleep was impossible for me because they did not given me my painkillers on time. I repeatedly pressed the button to call a midwife, but I was ignored. When someone finally arrived, I was upset and in horrible pain, I could barely talk and I was shivering. I asked for painkillers, only to be informed that a midwife mixed my notes with someone else's and that they should find my notes before they gave me pain relief. That meant that I waited in terrible pain for another hour. When they finally found my notes, they gave me the painkillers and told me I had to go to the bathroom to give them a sample. They left me go unassisted which was extremely difficult and unacceptable, the bathroom was the dirtiest bathroom I have ever seen in my life, there was blood and urine everywhere on the floor and on the toilet sit. When I was done, I pulled a string they had in there to call for assistance because I could not get up. No one appeared. In the meantime, me newborn baby was alone in the ward. I was in pain, extremely stressed and scared. I managed to drag myself back in the ward, I passed in front of a room full of doctors and midwives, I knocked on the door to ask for help but they ignored me. The painkillers started wearing off again, I kept pressing the button but no one came to my room until 5 in the morning, a very rude midwife took mine and the baby's temperature and told me off because I had him in my arms and not in the cot. When I told them that I needed pain relief, I again had to wait another hour because they had to go ask someone.After this horrible night was over, less than 24 hours since I had my c-section,they rudely informed us that we had to leave because they had no free beds and a woman was about to finish her c-section and they had to use my bed. I was exhausted, in horrible pain. I asked them if they could give me a couople of hours, but they refused. One of the midwives started shouting at me, they said "you have to leave now! Start packing your things". They did not give me a wheelchair and my partner had to carry me. The same night, my stitches started bleeding. I would give more details if I could. This is not the way a hospital should treal vulnerable new mums who just had major surgery.

nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 7 years ago
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 07/12/2017 at 11:06
Published on Care Opinion at 12:01


We were very sorry to receive your comments and concerns via the NHS Choices / Patient Opinion website about your experiences on the maternity Unit at Saint Mary’s Hospital last year. It is very difficult to respond to the specific concerns you have raised without being able to explore your concerns in more detail. Mrs Mary Symington, Deputy Head of Midwifery would like to offer you a face to face meeting to discuss all aspects of your care. Meetings between staff and complainants are one of the approaches the Trust takes in responding to an expression of dissatisfaction or a complaint. The spirit of the meeting is to create an environment in which all parties can express their concerns and/or offer an explanation to the matters complained about. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) department act as the coordinating body to set up such a meeting.

Mrs Kathryn Mitchell Deputy Head of Facilities Management, has noted your comments regarding the poor cleanliness of the ward environment last year and has discussed this with the teams responsible for ward cleanliness.

We take all issues surrounding patient care very seriously and would very much like to hear from you directly about your experience. If you contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk quoting reference number PO17/0265 and they will be able to discuss this with you.

Karen Connolly (Mrs)

Chief Executive Saint Mary's Hospital

Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k