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Original poster

Failing maternity services: call to action!

8 replies

LadyofLaundry88 · 31/10/2023 20:15

Just listened to today’s episode of Women’s Hour: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ryd3

I imagine most of us on here are parents or parents to be. Please give this sobering episode a listen—we are now at crisis point and both the lives of babies and mothers are in danger.

The Maternity Safety Alliance are campaigning for a national public inquiry in England to address a pattern of systemic failures in Care. I am a nurse and expecting baby number three—I am angry, terrified and sympathetic to the staff on the ground in equal measure.

Woman's Hour - Failures in maternity care, Spain's Princess Leonor turns 18, Women's Ballon d'Or - BBC Sounds

Families call for a public inquiry into maternity care in England.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ryd3

OP posts:
OP posts:
wherethewestwindblows · 12/12/2023 16:52

It's not just maternity services; emergency services are the same. The problem is bigger than each discipline, and ultimately, bigger than the NHS. It's actually mind blowing how big the web of issues is. It's a rabbit hole to say the least.

Cvn · 12/12/2023 17:59

I can save them the millions they'll spend on an inquiry. Midwives are leaving the profession in droves because its really, really shit to be a midwife right now.
My contract is 2 days a week as band 6. To afford to do that - i.e. just to cover the cost of a second car (which we only bought to facilitate my working), parking at the hospital, and childcare that accommodates the unpredictability of shift work - I have to take on additional night shifts. Has to be nights, because otherwise the need for childcare makes the work pointless. To do the night shifts, I had to wean my baby earlier than I wanted.
When I get to work, we're frequently operating with 3/4 of the staff we need to provide safe care. I have been on a shift - only one that was this bad, thank God - where 1 midwife was responsible for 2 labouring women, with the result that changes in one baby's heartbeat were missed while the midwife was in the other woman's room and that baby ended up going to NICU. The same shift, the postnatal ward of 28 women and their babies (i.e. 56 patients if no twins) was staffed by 2 midwives.
When I was pregnant, the coordinators pulled allll the strings available to them to ensure I could get a break in my 12.5 hour shift - and often that break was only 20 minutes long. Non-pregnant midwives regularly only got 5 minutes for a cup of tea.
We have to do hours and hours of mandatory training, unpaid, in our own time, or risk losing our registration. We also have to pay >£100 a year in "admin fees" in order to stay on the register.
I've stayed because I believe in free-at-the-point-of-care healthcare and because I honestly think good maternity care could empower parents to change the world by how they parent. But right now, we physically can't provide good care. We can't even provide basic care.
It's not always shit. Some days are better than others. Also, there are Trusts where the culture on the maternity ward is unprofessional and doesn't prioritise women's or babies' safety and that's the primary problem for those Trusts.
But by and large, midwives are burned out and struggling to cope. And until maternity is properly resourced (and that doesn't just mean more money; it's also about how the money is allocated. There is so. much. waste, inefficiency, bureaucracy, and needless tiers of management that just eats up the money that should be spent on staff retention (yes, including a decent wage) and functioning equipment.

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Families
Cvn · 12/12/2023 18:01

Oops, didn't finish my rant 😂
"Until maternity I'd properly resourced... it won't get any better."
is what that should have said.

Cvn · 12/12/2023 18:01

*is!

whisperclip · 12/12/2023 19:14

@Cvn thank you for your insight. It’s so scary to see how it’s become, I really feel for you all. Can I ask please, were TTC so I’m just researching. Would you value ratings? Lots around us are rated inadequate/requires improvement. I imagine staffing is variable on the day so it would be hard to say for sure but can you generally expect better from a ‘good’ rated maternity department or are they much of a much.

Original poster
LadyofLaundry88 · 15/12/2023 09:55

Cvn · 12/12/2023 17:59

I can save them the millions they'll spend on an inquiry. Midwives are leaving the profession in droves because its really, really shit to be a midwife right now.
My contract is 2 days a week as band 6. To afford to do that - i.e. just to cover the cost of a second car (which we only bought to facilitate my working), parking at the hospital, and childcare that accommodates the unpredictability of shift work - I have to take on additional night shifts. Has to be nights, because otherwise the need for childcare makes the work pointless. To do the night shifts, I had to wean my baby earlier than I wanted.
When I get to work, we're frequently operating with 3/4 of the staff we need to provide safe care. I have been on a shift - only one that was this bad, thank God - where 1 midwife was responsible for 2 labouring women, with the result that changes in one baby's heartbeat were missed while the midwife was in the other woman's room and that baby ended up going to NICU. The same shift, the postnatal ward of 28 women and their babies (i.e. 56 patients if no twins) was staffed by 2 midwives.
When I was pregnant, the coordinators pulled allll the strings available to them to ensure I could get a break in my 12.5 hour shift - and often that break was only 20 minutes long. Non-pregnant midwives regularly only got 5 minutes for a cup of tea.
We have to do hours and hours of mandatory training, unpaid, in our own time, or risk losing our registration. We also have to pay >£100 a year in "admin fees" in order to stay on the register.
I've stayed because I believe in free-at-the-point-of-care healthcare and because I honestly think good maternity care could empower parents to change the world by how they parent. But right now, we physically can't provide good care. We can't even provide basic care.
It's not always shit. Some days are better than others. Also, there are Trusts where the culture on the maternity ward is unprofessional and doesn't prioritise women's or babies' safety and that's the primary problem for those Trusts.
But by and large, midwives are burned out and struggling to cope. And until maternity is properly resourced (and that doesn't just mean more money; it's also about how the money is allocated. There is so. much. waste, inefficiency, bureaucracy, and needless tiers of management that just eats up the money that should be spent on staff retention (yes, including a decent wage) and functioning equipment.

Just seen this as turned off notifications. I’m so sorry it’s so awful. You’ve summarised exactly what is wrong: the reality of what happens after decades of underfunding from the Govt. It’s truly appalling and I don’t blame the staff one bit.

I don’t understand why it’s not more widely acknowledged or understood by the public and by those in positions of power—you’re never going to get a good or SAFE service without a well remunerated, fully staffed and supported workforce. We’re not robots!

Time for some radical changes to be made. I don’t think that many people would mind paying something towards their care if it meant safe care.

OP posts:
tim320 · 25/04/2024 15:43

I am just going to right about my experience I was a fast birth at the qe2 hospitial in Welwyn Garden City. My mother had some sadness over birth. We have no oxygen deprivation at birth act in law to compensate families. I know Rachel Sylvester has been campaigning in the times. For a non fault compensation scheme when it happens. I think this is good and should be accepted. Saving time and money so that famalies dont have to go to court
When is this country and the politicans realise that you cant have shortages in the maternity ward. You are bringing new life into the world. With Mothers and Fathers hopes and dreams. The mother need excellent care when it is time for the baby to be delivered. why has this gone on an on in our country. Mothers need free counselling if they have had a traumatic birth and the child is left with a preventable disability. After all mothers and fathers are taxpayers

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