To make a complaint against midwife who turned me away

[Toobloodytired]

So yesterday, I was feeling a bit worried as baby had gone a little quiet, his movements had reduced (not stopped), I've been staying with a friend in her area which is outside of where I normally receive my usual pregnancy care.

I tried to ring the hospital to get advice but after so many calls I had to go in.

Saw a healthcare assistant who asked if I had an app and my name, told her my name & said no, then very rudely replied with "well I'm still going to need your name aren't I!"

So I firmly replied with "I just told you my name was .....".

She went off to speak with the midwife right outside the door, midwife was asking a lot for of questions & finally came in to see me.

She then told me that I had to go back to the hospital who normally deals with me as they don't have a computer system & know nothing of me, I informed her I brought my notes which would tell her everything they needed to know.

She told me it didn't matter

She then "advised me to go to my hospital of care"

I asked "are you telling me you won't check to make sure the baby was okay?

She then repeated "I advise you to go to the hospital who usually deals with you".

I then very firmly asked again, "so you are turning me away & wont monitor me?"

Her reply?

"Yes, we are a bit busy too".

She turned me away, told me to go to the hospital I usually deal with even though I explained I was completely out of area, she then lied & said my notes made no difference, which is shite. Then told me I had to leave even though I was concerned about my sons movements.

I'm 36+2 btw.

toobloody you have not done anything wrong. Yes. There are correct ways of accessing care and it might have been easier for them had you rung but given you aren't local/booked there you didn't know the number.

You actions were understandable given you were worried about your baby.

They were negligent turning a pregnant women concerned about foetal movements away, regardless of how busy they were.

Please ignore others saying you didn't go about it the right way. Given the situation that is irrelevant.

All the very best for a safe delivery.

But we don't know if it was a maternity assessment unit the OP went to

She said 'it was a maternity unit where they deal with assessment and whatnot'

Sounds like a MAU to me rather than just a random ward.

Did you tell them about the OC? You must complain if you did.

To the posters saying 'you don't have to go via A&E' for things - actually for a lot of things you DO have to go through A&E. Readmissions for newborns often go via A&E. Maternity out of area in SOME hospitals is taken via A&E. If there is no MAU attached to the maternity unit then sometimes referrals will come via A&E although in this instance until we know how far away from home the OP was it's a bit moot!!

TBH I think if they had the facilities to see her they should have seen her- but if her booked unit was within a 30 minute journey I think the OP should have gone to the booked unit.

Complain to the head of midwifery or PALS. I'm a midwife and if I did that I'd be in so much trouble.

For all the midwife knew the reduction in movements could have been a sign of a major problem. Potentially she could have put you on a monitor and the baby's heartbeat be horrendous and you need a crash section. It does happen. In which case it could have been too late by the time you had gone elsewhere.

We never turn anyone away where I work, out of area, unbooked, to be checked over, or in labour.

You absolutely should be able to turn up anywhere and be seen.

Why did you go so far from your own hospital area at this stage of an OC pregnancy when you are within a few days of a planned induction ?

I hope all is okay but if you didn't tell them about the OC they wouldn't have known it was serious, however, they still should have checked the baby.

I went to a MAU for that area.

I didn't have access to immediate travel back home as I travelled by train, I was 300 miles from my area.

Why did I go away so close to being induced?? Because I was told by my midwife & a doctor in my usual hospital that any hospital with a midwife unit would see me should there ever be an issue.

I was only away for the weekend, had been monitored 2 days previously as routine so of course thought oh it'll be fine!

I have Obstetric Cholestasis

Which I did explain to her

I have been told never to go to a&e otherwise il be asked why I didn't go to MAU first.

Why didn't I ring the contact numbers on my notes??

Because they are all numbers for my area.

Why didn't I ring 111?? Because they'd have simply checked where my nearest MAU was & told me to go there.

I did exactly what I was told to do just in a different area, the midwife should have seen me & assessed the baby.

Well as ever, an op starts a thread asking for advice and then just ups and leaves so no questions can be asked and it becomes conjecture and imagination by all other posters. God this is my pet mumsnet hate.

OP I hope all is well. Please do complain, she could have told you it would be a long wait, or to go to A and E if that was what the hospital policy was, but to turn you away was totally wrong.

Please complain.

Knew I'd cross posts on that!

Oh & I did call....I called over 20x but couldn't get through so headed up there.

You're right op. You did the right thing, and i would definitely complain.

Hope you and the baby are ok x

If you had rocked up in the unit I work in, we would have monitored you. Turning away someone with OC and reduced foetal movements is indefensible IMO

I've had a relatively straight forward pregnancy, until Tuesday of last week. I had a blood test, Wednesday was asked to go to hospital for monitoring & then told I had OC.

I saw an obstetrician on Thursday and given a date for an induction which will be on Saturday.

Everything was okay, the doctors were happy. I was only going away for a couple of nights. I was told if ever there was an issue, I can simply present at a MAU.

I didn't head off not checking, I made sure I covered any of the what ifs.

I did and then had a pretty shitty midwife.

Complain. You would be helping to ensure it doesn't happen to the next woman.

As a midwife of long standing there is no doubt you should have been seen, checked and advised accordingly in the circumstances you describe. Email Pals and the head of midwifery and explain what happened if only to ensure that it never happens again.

It is a pain having to deal with women from other hospitals on a purely admin basis and there's a strong chance the hospital won't be paid for the admission but none of that defends what happened.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

I'm sorry but I'm with the midwife. You can't just turn up at any old hospital and expect to be seen without an appointment.

Wow, really? Your system (I'm not in the UK) must be in a terrible state if that's the case. I don't see that the OP did anything wrong.

Toobloodytired please do complain, it sounds like you did everything right and you should not be restricted in your movements because hospital staff do not know what to do.

Just read your Sun 19-Mar-17 15:28:56 post, Toobloodytired.

Complain. For sure.

Hope everything is okay for you and your baby.

What a dick head.

And before anybody starts, working for the precious NHS does not anybody exempt from criticism. The NHS is great, but that midwife was a dick head.

Changes in fetal movements should always be taken seriously.

She should have slotted you in somewhere in the queue based on priority, ask you to take a seat and wait your turn, do a check up, doppler, BP, urine, measure etc and either discharge you and update your hand held notes, admit you there or refer you back to your own hospital as a matter of urgency if needed.

That not being your main hospital should not have mattered, an NHS hospital is an NHS hospital. What about people who randomly go into labour without warning and they are in another city? Tough shit go back home with a head on its way out? Don't think so!

Wonder how she would feel if she had a stillbirth on her hands after refusing to see somebody with concerns?

I don't think you did anything wrong OP. That's exactly what I'd have done. Indeed, in my last pregnancy I had some bleeding so went to the MAU near work in central London rather than travelling the hour home on the tube, even without my notes they were happy to see me and even gave me a scan.

Sorry the whole thing is bollocks. You can go to any hospital maternity ward in the country and be seen and/or give birth. That's why you keep your own notes. Not exactly sure why you didn't kick up a huge stink?

Please ignore those saying you didn't go about this the right way. You have at least 3 midwives and a Doctor in here saying you did exactly the right thing. And I would complain, yes.

I turned up at a MAU (admitedly on Labour ward) who didn't know me and had a baby 90 seconds later. On an ambulance trolley.