MNHQ here: Bounty Mutiny (get Bounty and commercial reps off wards) - UPDATE

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

Thought some of you would be pleased to hear that as the petition to ban commercial reps started by Lauren Harris has passed 10k signatures, the government had to provide a response.

In it, they praise Ipswich hospital for introducing:

'a system where mothers are only approached by a commercial representative if they indicate that this is something that they would like. Mothers can show their preference by placing a card on their bedside table. This is a good example of how Trusts can put processes in place to give new mothers clear control over their interaction with commercial representatives.'

They go on to say:

'The Government is considering how to clarify guidance, so that that the interaction between commercial representatives and new mothers on NHS wards is consistently more positive across the UK.'

So, a small step but hopefully a good one. For the GDPR mavens among you there's also some commentary on that issue in the response on the petition page (please let us know what you think!)

Please do sign the petition if you feel strongly about this - every signature demonstrates the strength of feeling on the issue, and if the petition reaches 100k it will be debated in Parliament.

If you've already signed, you could:

1. write to the hospital where you had your baby (or the hospital where you will be having your baby, or would have your baby at if you had a hospital birth). Bring the response to their attention (they may not be aware of the petition), and point out that the Government has clearly indicated hospitals should have this sort of opt IN system and that other mothers should be left alone.

2. Tweet/share a Facebook post to East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (@ESNEFT on Twitter) to commend Ipswich hospital on its policy, and tag in your local hospital trust asking them to do the same.

3. Tweet/share a Facebook post with the Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) asking them to prioritise new guidance for trusts on this issue.

If you have any ideas for other useful actions to take please add them here!

Thanks
MNHQ

Firsttime I posted 2 experiences. Good and bad. I'm not exaggerating either episode. My friend is due to give birth to her third and is looking forward to the Bounty lady visiting as it's tradition in her family to get the photos done so they all look the same. Do they though? I took a photo of all my 3 in their little placcy cots on my digital camera (smart phones were only becoming a thing around my thirds birth).
Did anyone notice they had Bounty man in Corrie when Eva gave birth?

My Bounty experience was being hassled to find my credit card when I was 4 hours post general anaesthetic...you know in that period where they don't deem you safe to go home on your own, or drive a car etc.....still drifting in and out of consciousness.... and being told to get out of bed despite the pain and bleeding I was suffering from because she wanted a nicer blanket in shot than the one my baby had been given.

I eventually came around enough to tell her to get out.

The only reason I didn't go more berserk about the whole thing was that i found it even more mind bending that I was left alone to look after a newborn in that state. My complaint to the hospital focussed on the primary safety issue of leaving people just out of GA to look after newborns and only took on in passing the further irresponsibility of allowing high pressure sales people the chance to scam my card details out of me.

Sorry for my ignorance (maybe they don't exist in Scotland, or my bit of Scotland - remote- or I was just lucky) but what are they selling? Is it the photos? Are they harvesting data so they can sell it on to companies?

Are they harvesting data so they can sell it on to companies?

exactly that.

If you’re NHS Highland Tinlegs then they booted Bounty out after the big MN campaign a few years ago.

Tinlegs my best friend from uni gave birth in Scotland in early 2018 , she definitely mentioned one being on the ward (id warned her about my experience). so she told the woman to go away - think she came back a second time a day or so later but cant recall if it was a different Bounty woman, so unsure if her experience was ignoring a previous no or just a communication problem between reps.
definitely had them there though.

It was through my rubbish experience that I went to the Bounty website for a whinge and got stuck on Debates. Ah Debates...

The thing is they give themselves an air of importance by wearing something similar to a healthcare professional. When I was last in hospital after giving birth they wore a white top and trousers with a tabard. (I could be wrong about the colours but they looked the part). I definitely remember feeling a bit hurt that dh had to wait outside the door as I got visiting hours for partners wrong by an hour but this sales person was wandering up and down the wards whipping back curtains and switching lights on/off.

I don’t know what the gdpr data protection consents are for Bounty now. But in the old days I was informed they kept that harvested data about the family long term.

So if, for example, you signed up for a TV package at a later date, the provider could buy your family data from Bounty and sell you products based on that information, including children’s ages. Chilling frankly and amazing that the NHS allow it to be linked to services like providing child benefit forms.

They are definitely in Scotland too

They were claiming they don't sell details on anymore (due to gdpr) when I was in recently. Still didn't hand over any details.

NHS Highland must have seen the light before mine were born (or we're having a day off).

Littlebelina - it’s interesting they claimed they don’t sell the info on because of gdpr.

Gdpr of course doesn’t necessarily stop Bounty harvesting and selling on personal data, it depends on what the consent box says.

It would be interesting if someone could post that up to date consent box so we can all see what new mums are signing themselves -and their baby - up to.

After my first birth I heard a Bounty rep tell the woman next to me she wouldn’t get any child benefit if she didn’t give her details over. Informed the ward sister as she was taking advantage of someone who had just given birth and was not a native English speaker. Second time around I was in a private room and the rep kept opening my door. Eventually told her to piss off. It’s disgraceful they can barge in on our most private and vulnerable moments for the sake of a washing powder sample and an easily accessible benefit form.

My ds was premature and in the NICU. I was very sick and hooked up to machines on the ward away from him and I was still visited by the reps 6 times. Even when I was well enough to drag myself the 100 yards to the NICU they tried to see me there , while I was bonding with tiny baby.
What annoyed me the most was that when I'd return to my bed in a private room, obviously exhausted, both physically and mentally, my bed was covered in crap that they had laid out. So I had to clear all of that before I could rest just after a c c section and nearly dieing.
Plus who the hell just lets them selves into someone else's private room, staff I understand but not reps, that was my private space

I forgot to say that I even found Thier crap on my son's incubator. So they had been at my son's bedside while I wasn't there too

The Bounty rep when I had DS1 wasn't too bad, but I strongly believe they shouldn't be allowed on wards and will sign the petition. It's completely bizarre that it's become the norm.

@Tinlegs

NHS Highland must have seen the light before mine were born (or we're having a day off).

NHS Highland dropped Bounty in response to our original campaign back in 2013 - you can see here which trusts took action at the time

Signed.

With DD1 I took the pack as she told me it had the Child Benefit form but I refused the photos. I was pretty out of it for the first 24 hours - it hadn't been a great birth.

With DD2, she walked up to my bed and I just smiled and shook my head firmly. She just walked off. But DD2 was born in 2013 when there was a lot in the press about Bounty.

I warn all new Mums I know now about them.

Place marking.

The postnatal wards stuff is the worst example but I’d really like to see them detangled from the maternity system in general. This is from their FAQ:

My midwife did not give me a Pregnancy Information Pack, what do I do now?

If you have already had your appointment, ask your midwife or healthcare professional at your next antenatal visit or your 20 week scan and they should be able to provide you with your pack.

No bloody wonder people assume they’re part of the NHS when they appear on the postnatal ward!

I had my son almost 19 years ago, I was disabled and had to have a c-section. I was very ill and bled heavily so two of the nurses came in to strip me and the bed, now I’m not sure if it was a bounty rep but while I was naked and covered in blood someone pulled back the curtains the nurses had closed and HE told me to hurry up and get sorted out so he could take my sons photos. I was on my own as visiting times were finished, in extreme pain, head spinning from the drugs I had been given and this MAN is standing there going on about the small size of my son, completely ignoring the midwife and another nurse that were trying to remove him I was in tears and eventually he closed the curtains after I agreed to have the photos taken. I had the photos done and they were terrible it didn’t even look like him. I felt so violated and dirty that this MAN was allowed to do that to me. I had a lot of problems during my pregnancy but I didn’t expect that the worst thing I would have to go through was that. Has anyone else had a Male photographer when they were on the ward?

I’ve just read their privacy policy and they say they will retain data relating to you or your family until your youngest child is 5!

I guess that this means if you have more than one child they must keep enough info to be able to link your second child to your first child as part of the family unit - if my understanding is correct, that’s rather unnerving.

And if you contact them by phone/email/social media, they will keep your info “as long as is necessary” 😳

Stiff - does it also say what they will do/how they will process the retained data?