"Worrying lack of care on Dacre and Gloucester..."

I was induced on Dacre ward 11 days over my baby's due date. Pessary was put in at 12.45pm and I was not then examined until 6am the following morning when the midwifes face dropped in shock realising I was 8cm dilated. After being frightened into thinking the cord was coming out ahead of baby ( it was in fact the essay that should have been removed) over 4 hours of pushing followed, then a horrifically rough examination by a doctor, ending in a brutal forceps delivery. While the delivery is largely down to what baby does, I feel my labour could and should have been very different. On Gloucester ward the staff were beyond busy to the detriment of the women on the ward in my opinion. I didn't have any follow up conversation as to what happened in my labour and why, and it was my partner who had to help me to the toilet 18 hours after delivery because her midwife kept forgetting to come back and help me. I was discharged 8 hours after being told we could go home. The whole experience felt like a complete shambles. Bonding with my baby has been difficult and the very thought of being pregnant again and delivering at the Lister complete terrifies me. I can say that the midwives on the MLU when I was eventually taken there were brilliant, as were the team in theatre. The new unit at Lister has fabulous facilities which should provide as pleasant as possible an experience for labouring women and new parents, but the lack of care and follow up on Dacre and Gloucester mean I could never recommend the unit to anyone else.