Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Rubbish midwife - but only one at my surgery

15 replies

BeedeBee · 20/07/2010 10:35

Hi,

I've just had a TERRIBLE booking-in interview - I'll spare you the details! Clearly, I need to complain to her supervisor to save other people this trauma, but this midwife is the only midwife based at my rural GP surgery. So I'd have to face her again in the future after complaining about her, which I obviously don't want to do. I wouldn't trust her to look after a pot plant, let alone me and the baby.

My GP confirmed, off the record, that this midwife is regarded as rubbish, a

Any ideas about how I can complain and request the services of an alternative midwife, without actually having to move GP surgery? Am so stressed and upset, when I should be excited. Aaagh.

Thank you in advance...

OP posts:
SloanyPony · 20/07/2010 10:37

Can you see a community one?

Go on, spill, what did she do or not do?

gingernutlover · 20/07/2010 10:40

Seeing as your GP seems to agree with you I would suggest you ask him for some advice on how to get another midwife. It may mean you travelling but that wouldnt bother me if I ended up in the hands of someone I trusted. Does the hospital/birthing centre where you plan to go have a clinic you could attend?

And yes do complain. I am sure you can ask to remain anonymous to the midwife you are complaining about. And if she really sint up to her job then hopefully you wont be the only one complaining either.

2boysandbean · 20/07/2010 10:41

You dont have too see a midwife your gp can do your appointments my last surgery didnt get a midwife in we just saw the gp.

angelbabe1982 · 20/07/2010 10:42

hey BeedeBee - sorry to hear you had a bad time.
I'm at a rural practice too and ours is linked with 2 or 3 other rural practices - we can use anyone we like as they all have access to our records.
If you don't mind travelling and if there are linked surgeries, are you able to go to one of them? Or maybe ask for GP/hospital led care?
Hope you get someone better!

Original poster
BeedeBee · 20/07/2010 10:55

Thanks very much everyone. Will try picking the GP's brains again and get them to explain what other care is out there. I didn't know I could ask for a hospital-based midwife.

I've no idea about what other options are out there, since this rural community midwife missed the entire 'birth options'/'care options' section out of the booking-in appointment (among other things). Oh joy.

Thanks again!

OP posts:
thatbuzzingnoise · 20/07/2010 11:00

you can contact the Supervisor of Midwifery at the hospital where you are intending to give birth (or if a homebirth which is coordinating your HB) and request a different MW. It may mean you travelling to a different location in order to do so. But IME it was worth the peace of mind.

I changed my midwife after she lied to me about home birth provision and tried everything she could to put me off having one.

There is a draft letter on either www.homebirth.org.uk or www.aims.org.uk which you can use as a template to get this change sorted.

all the best

HarderToKidnap · 20/07/2010 11:02

Ring up hospital
Ask to speak to community midwifery manager
Complain
Ask for alternative arrangements.

This happens all the time, tis a well known phenomenon amongst community midwives, that some women will always complain after their booking in and not want to see you again. Just do it and they will find other arrangements for you and you can relax.

Booking in isn't really appropriate to discuss birth options either, really (except to briefly outline hospital/birth centre/home are options). Stuff like pain relief, positions etc - just isn't the right time.

Vallhala · 20/07/2010 11:04

Certainly you can have your GP carry out your pre-birth checks and so on. I did with DD1 (admittedly only when I felt the need to rather than by the book!), as the midwife I would otherwise have seen was a patronising cow and I refused to deal with her!

I found my GP to be great.

sapphireblue · 20/07/2010 11:06

tbh I wouldn't expect birth options to be discussed at your booking appointment.......other than to establish which hospital you want to go to for your scans etc. The booking appt is just to get information on your medical and family history and answer any questions you may have IME.

LutyensCBA · 20/07/2010 11:07

Is that your only complaint? Just asking because birth options generally aren't discussed till you're in the third trimester.

Like others say, ask to switch to a hospital based midwife. My community midwife is rubbish...in my booking-in interview, she refused to include my second-trimester miscarriage at 17 weeks in the Pregnancy Losses section. I lost the baby in November so the wounds are still raw, and when she said "oh, let's not focus on that. It wasn't a real baby, was it?" I just went red with fury. It so was a real baby, you stupid bint! I asked her very calmly to leave the house and called the hospital to say I didn't want to see her ever again.

coraltoes · 20/07/2010 11:26

it doesn't matter when things are normally discussed, if the patient raises the question it should be addressed, and even explained eve if just briefly with a: "but dont worry we'll look at it all in more detail later down the line"
it is only natural for people to ask and have questions! Make sure you raise your complaint with the hospital and seek an alternative, you do have options!
x

Colliecross · 20/07/2010 12:04

Lutyens how awful. I am furious on your behalf.

AngelHMum · 20/07/2010 12:41

When I had my booking in appointment when pregnant with my 4th baby (so I knew what was involved) the midwife turned up with a hangover and my husband strongly suspected she was still over the limit from the night before.

She made loads of mistakes in the notes - she got dates, weights and other information wrong and by the end of it with all the crossings out my notes looked like a 3 year old had written them.

As I was classed as high risk though (never made it past 34 weeks) I was transferred straight over to consultant only care and never saw the GP midwife again.

It did make me laugh when she put little crosses to see me every week from 36 -40 weeks though. In your dreams I was thinking !!

I have always thought though that you can change midwives if you don't get on with yours. Op - can you see if another community midwife from the hospital could look after you? Failing that as another poster said - make the appointments with your GP instead.

Comewhinewithme · 20/07/2010 12:47

I have had similar my MW has over my past two Pg's:

Left a box of sharps in my house.

Constantly forgot my name/due date/appts.

Confused the hospital who called me in to be checked as she had left a sample of mine in the high risk fridge on a ward.

Turned up at the house and took more blood as she had lost the previous one .

I also know she dropped someones baby out of the cloth weighing thing they put newborns in as she didn't secure it.

Thankfully she hasn't delivered my babies and I know she is a running joke on the wards.

Comewhinewithme · 20/07/2010 12:48

Sorry OP meant to say you can change Midwifes if you want.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page