Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

High risk maternity care

Posted By Hannah131642

"High risk maternity care"

About: Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / Delivery Suite Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / Maternity Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / Wheal Fortune (postnatal) Ward

(as a staff member posting for a patient/service user),

I received fantastic care from the antenatal maternity ward during a 2.5 week inpatient stay before my son was born premature at 32 weeks. In particular the midwives Jess and Hannah who cared for me frequently made me feel at ease and were friendly and supported me through a hard time. 

My consultant Mr Holmes and Miss Haynes were fantastic at monitoring and making the right decisions about our care. I’m forever grateful for them to decide to deliver my son when they did and it was a positive outcome for both of us. I was even more happy as Miss Haynes delivered my son by c-section alongside Dr Henessey, who I was fond of as he was always kind to me and gave me time to discuss my worries and feelings. 

The midwife on delivery, Jane, was exceptional at keeping me calm and informed of what was happening whilst I was waiting for my c-section and during when it took a while to cannulate me. All the theatre staff were amazing! 

I was cared for overnight on delivery and received exceptional 1-1 care, I was grateful for the support through this hard time when my son was not able to be with me. A msw helped me express and delivered my milk to my son on NICU. 

Unfortunately, my care on the postnatal ward was not as high standard as the other care I received. I waited a long time for pain relief when on the ward and was given pain relief that I was not allowed due to my kidney function. Luckily, I highlighted this before taking it! I had to wait a long while for adequate pain relief which then led to me being in extreme pain and struggling to get on top of it. I went a few days without seeing a ward doctor. I was challenged about not being on the ward at ward round or drug rounds but I explained I was on NICU visiting my poorly premature son. 

I feel that self-medication should be implemented for women in my position who feel competent to do this so time spent on NICU is maximised. Trying to juggle timing of being on the ward for drug rounds, seeing your baby, holding them, eating, expressing and sleeping is very challenging. Also having to wait on the ward for lengthy time periods due to business for pain relief is not ideal when you want to be with your son, so self medication would help ease this.

Working as a nurse in the trust, I know this is possible and I think it is something that seriously needs looking into in the maternity ward, as I did ask on multiple occasions and was told this was not possible. 

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Angela Bellamy, Deputy Director of Midwifery, Maternity, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 2 years ago
Angela Bellamy
Deputy Director of Midwifery, Maternity,
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 09/09/2022 at 09:00
Published on Care Opinion at 09:00

Dear Hannah131642,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you on here. I was pleased to read about your experience on Wheal Rose before your son was born and we will make sure that Jess and Hannah receive your kind comments. I am glad that this positive experience continued with the care provided to you by Mr Holmes and Miss Haynes who were able to make the right choices about your care, including the decision to deliver your son early at 32 weeks. It is lovely to see how Dr Henessey took the time to speak to you about your worries and feelings, then the same care and compassion shown to you by Jane whole kept you calm during delivery.

I was saddened to read about your experience on our Postnatal ward where you experienced delays in receiving pain relief and when you did, it would not have suited you because of your kidney function. We will speak to the matron of the postnatal ward and the neonatal areas to ensure this is fed back to staff but I would like to reassure you that we are currently undertaking a large-scale review of the postnatal ward based on feedback from families and staff and have a number of actions that will work towards addressing issues similar to those you have experienced. We also have a workstream where self-medicating and giving people the freedom to take their own medication is being explored.

If you would like to discuss your experience further or like some more detail around our review on the postnatal award, please do not hesitate to contact me on 07984 292470. Or, if you would like to raise your concerns formally, please contact our Patient and Family Experience team using the following details:

Tel: 01872 252793

Email: rcht.patientexperience@nhs.net

Thank you again for taking the time to share your story with us, we will ensure that everyone mentioned in your feedback receives your comments.

Best wishes,

Angela Bellamy

Deputy Director of Midwifery

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Holly Kiernan, Patient Experience Manager, Patient & Family Experience Team, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 2 years ago
Holly Kiernan
Patient Experience Manager, Patient & Family Experience Team,
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 09/09/2022 at 11:38
Published on Care Opinion at 11:38

Thank you for taking the time to give us your opinion as we truly appreciate your feedback. We would love to contact you in future to help us inform decisions about our services and the way we work. This could range from small queries to larger projects so that you can be involved as much or as little as you like.

If this is something you would be interested in please contact the Patient Engagement Team at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust on rcht.patientengagement@nhs.net or telephone 01872 252793, so that we can record your details.

Thank you again for taking the time to tell us about your experience.

Best wishes,

Holly

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k