"Absolute embarrassment to the NHS"

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some feedback about your recent experience of care and treatment under the Maternity Service at Conquest Hospital; we particularly appreciate this, given it must be an exciting yet busy period of change as you and your partner enjoy parenthood with your new baby.

The Trust works very hard to provide all patients with a high standard of care, and therefore we are very concerned to read this was not the experience that you and your partner had. Please allow us to start by offering our apologies for the obvious distress caused to you and your partner, together with our belated congratulations on the birth of your baby.

As part of the care and treatment we provide, all patients should be treated with the values of kindness, compassion, dignity and respect, together with everyone’s right to be treated equally and fairly, regardless of any difference.

The fact that you and your partner are a same-sex couple should have absolutely no bearing on the standard of care you were both entitled to receive, and the Trust will not accept nor tolerate discrimination on any level. The Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer with a robust Equality, Diversity and Human Rights programme of training and education, together with a LGBT+ forum for staff however, it is evident we need to learn from your personal experience of care. If you would like us to investigate your concerns and formally respond to you both, then please contact our Complaints Team at esh-tr.complaints@nhs.net for details on how to make a complaint. Alternatively, if you would just prefer for us to hear your story and to learn from your experience, then contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at esh-tr.palsh@nhs.net with some details and the team can take this forward for you.

We very much hope that despite the experience of care you have described, you and your partner are well, adjusting to life with your bundle of joy (even if there are some sleep disturbed nights!) and able to enjoy all that parenthood brings. If you feel able to share your experience with us, it will certainly help the Trust to consider any changes required to the care provided to new parents regardless of their gender, sexuality or any other strand of the equality and diversity framework. In the meantime, we will share your anonymised feedback with senior staff for reflection, and wish you and your partner all the very best for the future.