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MNHQ

Bounty Mutiny campaign: we're off to meet the Minister for Health...

4 replies

RowanMumsnet · 17/03/2014 14:43

Hello

Hopefully most of you will know about Mumsnet's Bounty Mutiny campaign, which asks for commercial sales reps to be kept off hospital maternity wards.

We just wanted to let you know that a meeting has been arranged between Justine and Dr Daniel Poulter, Conservative MP and minister for the relevant part of the Department of Health.

Dr Poulter has expressed concern about this issue in the past, saying in a letter to NHS Trusts,

"I am asking you to review your practices for allowing representatives from private companies on maternity wards to assure yourselves that you are maintaining women’s dignity and respect shortly after the birth of a baby when they can be tired and vulnerable."

So we're looking forward to discussing the campaign with him and seeing what he has to say. We'll update you here to let you know how it went.

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MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 18/03/2014 13:59

Hi all,
So we had a full and frank meeting with health minister, Dan Poulter, during which the Minister agreed that the key issue was to protect women from undue harassment and invasion of privacy at a vulnerable time. As he said: "We have got to get to the point that nothing detrimental takes place on maternity wards to compromise the dignity and quality of women's care."

Dan Poulter agreed to the following actions:

  1. To develop clear guidelines for individual NHS trusts on what constitutes good and bad practice and what can and cannot take place on maternity wards with regards to sales reps. The intention is to produce this (possibly in conjunction with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)) by this Summer and to share an initial draft in 2-3 weeks.
  1. To write to Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, to ensure that the CQC undertake inspections on this specific issue, and to outline their plans for ongoing monitoring.
  1. To write to NHS Trusts where Mumsnetters have shared examples of bad practice. (So please do let us know if you've had a bad experience with Bounty reps in your hospital, either on the boards or by mailing us at [email protected], so we can pass them on to the Minister.)

Thanks for all your input, please do share this news and we will keep you updated with any further developments #bountymutiny

MNHQ

KatieMumsnet · 18/03/2014 21:06

Thank you all for your comments, and very sorry to hear so many tough stories, especially NicNak71. Dan Poulter did also say he would write to every individual NHS Trust where Mumsnetters have received poor treatment, so please do email us at [email protected] with your experiences, the hospital and date, so we can pass these complaints on.

MNHQ

JessMumsnet · 19/03/2014 11:35

Hello

We've published some further info on how to complain to your hospital. If you'd like to let your hospital know about your experience, and ask them to reconsider their relationship with Bounty, here's how.

MNHQ

KatieMumsnet · 16/07/2014 10:19

Hi All

Just wanted to update - Care Quality Commission have confirmed the action they'll now be taking, to include Bounty (and all sales) reps on the wards. You can read the detail here but essentially:

The CQC maternity services inspections are now including questions about the presence and practice of commercial representatives on maternity wards for the first time, as well as asking women about their experiences.

Whilst not and end to sales reps on maternity wards, we hope it's quite a good step in the right direction. Do let us know your views and keep us posted with your experiences.

Dr Alice Roberts, will also be talking about the issue live on You and Yours, on Radio 4, at 12pm today Weds, 16th, you can listen here if you like.

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