That Someone should demand white only staff when delivering a baby

[pigletmania]

I was reading the local paper and it said that a lady demanded that white only staff deliver her baby at the local hospital min Milton Keynes, I am that someone could have that kind of attitude tbh, thought this kind of thing happened in the very distant past.

I am not a troll but a regular but just shock that someone can be so blatantly rascist.

I have heard news stories saying people have requested this before, but never heard of the NHS making any efforts to fulfil such requests. Delivering at Milton Keynes she should be grateful of any staff attending.

Sadly racism isn't at all in the distant past.

It's her choice and as far as I am aware it is not illegal to express a preference of this kind.

I think there was a thread on this at the time...

Surely it's illegal? On what basis would anyone request such a thing, other than a racist one?
It's not even covert racism.

More fool her. The two best midwives I have had, one was Sri Lankan, and the other was West Indian. Foolish woman to allow racism to cut her off from skilled and compasionate support.

I have witnessed racism by patients , some patients requesting that they not be nursed by certain nurses.

Of course they didn't state is was becasue of race but on more than one occassion patients have confessed why to me.

It is appalling and in my cases I obviously told them in no uncertain terms that it would not be tolerated.

These patients were elderly.

Oh tethersend did not know that, but just skimmed the local rag and saw this. Redbin even though its her choice she should not have it granted, be thankful that her baby is being delivered safely should be the main concern.

It probably isn't illegal to request it. You can request what you want. Whether you get it, or if you're inciting violence, is another matter.

she would not be catered to, btw

they would specially call in the biggest, scariest, snappiest, ass-kicking-ing-est black midwife to attend her

I had a black midwife and she was fantastic, very experienced but damn scary

I think it is pretty sick that someone is able to request all white delivery staff.

I don't give a stuff whether it is legal or not, the hospital should have refused the request point blank.

MK has come in for a kicking when it comes to maternity services so when pg with dd i was dreading it, but the service was wonderful, I was attended to by an Indian doctor who was fantastic, and was happy despite some complications that dd was delivered healthy and alive.

have you got the link?

I'll bet she didn't get what she wanted.

Of course nobody should be allowed to request a specific nurse/midwife on the basis of race/colour, but I do wonder whether it isn't reasonable to request one that speaks English in the UK!
When I gave birth to DS1 I had a difficult labour with a midwive whose only word of English was 'push' . She couldn't help me/ explain what was happening or anything. Her gibbering on in her own language really stressed me, and I ended up with an emergency C-section, and to this day (10 years later) I sometimes wonder if things might have been different with some better communication .

sadly - many hospitals have allowed people such requests in the not too distant past - \link{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1462159/Nurse-wins-20000-after-mother-objected-to-her-colour.h tml\in the case of Rosie Purves) -

gah sorry - \link{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1462159/Nurse-wins-20000-after-mother-objected-to-her-colour.h tml\Rosie Purves case from a not too many years ago)

ahem

2ndcoming, there's a world of difference between a patient requesting and a professional refusing. Because a request is simply that, a question. Doesn't mean they get it. I frequently request a bed of roses, champagne on tap and a million pounds. I don't get it. A professional refusing is a completely different matter.

Semantics maybe but we don't actually know what story we're looking at here.

I'd want a midwife who spoke English, yes, but that has so little to do with colour... would a German midwife be any more help than a Ugandan one?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1462159/Nurse-wins-20000-after-mother-objected-to-her-colour.html

I dont have the link as I saw it in a newspaper will try and see if they have a website

do people really come out with that sort of crap still???

www.mk-news.co.uk/mknews-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=476420

thats the link, its MK news

original story (sorry google skills letting me down tonight can only find local rag

latest update (today) from same paper

Thanks i am so rubbish at doing links

I know you'll come down on me like a ton of bricks for even saying this but.... my sister recently had a baby at a hospital in West London (having previously had one there a couple of years ago). All the midwives seem to be black African. She found them to be cold, unsympathetic and disdainful. Both times. I met a couple myself when visiting and can confirm they were not exactly the sort of people you'd want to ask for help with breastfeeding etc.

They would speak to each other in their own language - even during the delivery - and offered very little in the way of emotional support or comfort.

Clearly horrible midwives can be of any creed or colour.

So who knows if this is cultural or just bad luck? But my sister felt they were looking at her as a spoiled white woman who didn't know how lucky she was to be having a baby in a hospital at all. (Maybe she is!)

She wasn't in the least bit bothered about the colour of their skin. Just their attitude - which she felt was not random, but cultural. It really upset her and spoiled her birth experience.

I'm only offering this up as an anecdote. I imagine quite a few people have sometimes felt this way, but are afraid to say.