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Care Opinion

Emotional rollercoaster of maternity services

Posted By Mummy56

"Emotional rollercoaster of maternity services"

About: Dumfries & Galloway Community Services / Midwifery Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary / Maternity care Scottish Ambulance Service / Emergency Ambulance

(as the patient),

During my pregnancy, I understood maternity care was different from my pregnancy 3 years prior.

The care I received from the Stranraer midwives was brilliant, although I feel it was evident that the midwives were very short staffed. Furthermore the staffing issues became evident the morning I went in to labour and phoned the DGRI maternity unit for advice. My labour developed much quicker than expected and when I phoned the unit again I was advised to get to DGRI as quickly as I could, being advised there were no midwives on duty that day between Stranraer and Castle Douglas.

Due to the intensity of my labour and the distance I had to travel, the midwives from DGRI organised an ambulance and I required blue light ambulance transfer to Dumfries and only arrived at the maternity unit 12 minutes before my son was born! Luckily the ambulance was available and came straight away, what would have happened if no ambulance had been available and there were no midwives available within 50 miles? 

I feel this added a lot of anxiety to my labour and emotionally it has been hard to overcome that my partner was not present at the birth as he was still on the A75 when baby was born. Although the two midwives who assisted the birth were amazing and made my feel very much at ease.

The midwife service in Stranraer had been very limited in the two weeks leading up to my due date with annual leave and sickness and the only communication I could get was a daily phone call with a midwife. Again this was helpful but if I had been able to see a midwife in the days leading up to my labour would it have been noted then that I was progressing towards labour and this would have saved the emotional rollercoaster that I endured that morning? 

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Responses

Response from Lesley Kay, Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service nearly 2 years ago
Lesley Kay
Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 09/06/2022 at 11:27
Published on Care Opinion at 11:27

Dear Mummy56

Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback here on Careopinion.

I am delighted to read our crew got you to the hospital in time with just a few minutes to spare! I am glad your wee boy arrived safe and sound.

I am really sorry to read about the other issues you have mentioned. I am sure NHS D&G will be in touch soon in relation to this.

Many congratulations to you and your family

Best wishes and thanks again

Lesley

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Response from Emma Murphy, Patient Feedback Manager, NHS Dumfries and Galloway nearly 2 years ago
Emma Murphy
Patient Feedback Manager,
NHS Dumfries and Galloway

Submitted on 15/06/2022 at 10:17
Published on Care Opinion at 10:17

Thanks very much for your feedback and for your kind words about our midwives. I am delighted to hear that the care you received from the Stranraer Midwives was brilliant and that the midwives that assisted with the birth of your baby were amazing. I know that your feedback will mean a lot to them. I am sorry that there were parts of your journey that were not as positive. Feedback is really important to help us understand what we have done well and where we can improve, and I am grateful that you have taken the time to share your story with us.

I am sorry that there were no midwives available between Castle Douglas and Stranraer the day that you went in to labour. Although our main community midwifery hubs are in Castle Douglas, Stranraer, Dumfries and Annan, the teams work across a large rural area, planning their travel routes on a daily basis depending on which mums and/or babies need to be seen on any particular day. This means that there is not always a midwife in every area of the region. The Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) is available 24 hours a day to offer support to women in labour or in an emergency. Given a community midwife was not available to see you the day you went in to labour, the MAU midwife was correct in transferring you straight to Dumfries.

I am sorry that you felt that you had limited face to face contact with your midwife in the 2 weeks leading up to your due date as a result of annual leave and staff sickness. In response to your question about whether these appointments could have potentially predicted labour, it is important to note that predicting the onset of labour is very difficult, therefore extra appointments would have been unlikely to accurately identify this. I do not underestimate how emotionally challenging it is to arrive at hospital so soon before the birth and for your partner not to be present. Unfortunately, as labour is an unpredictable event, there are occasions where women and/or their birthing partners don't make it to the hospital in time, from every area of our region.

I hope that you and your partner are enjoying your new addition and that you are all well. If you would find it helpful, I would be more than happy to meet with or speak with you further to discuss your experience with a view to identifying any learning. I would also be happy to organise a 'de-brief' session for you with one of our midwives if you feel that may be beneficial to you. If you would like to take up that offer, you can reach me via our Patient Experience Team at dg.dgpatientexperience@nhs.scot.

Thank you once again for taking the time to share your story with us.

Jenny Rendall

Senior Charge Midwife

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