***PANORAMA TONIGHT!*** Filmed at my local PCT BARNET GENERAL HOSPITAL, and they have issued a statement.....

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Dated 26th April 2007

"Dear Mothers To Be

Re: Panorama

We are writing to inform you that Barnet General Hospital will be featured in a 1 hour Panorama Special on Maternity Services.

The Trust is being featured as a result of undercover filming that took place at the start of the year at Barnet Hospital. The programme will make a number of accusations about the care our women receive which are either untrue or taken completely out of context.

At Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust we endeavour to provide the best possible care for mothers and babies. We have recently received an external award for the systems and processes we have in place to ensure that we provide women with a safe and quality Maternity Service.

Whilst the Panorama programme may highlight some concerns in the provision of Maternity care, we have conducted a thorough investigation of the issues Panorama has raised with us. We would like to reassure you that we have found no evidence of our mothers and babies receiving a substandard care or coming to any harmm. As a Trust we strive to give all our motehrs and babies the best possible care.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to speak to either your Midwife or the Doctor caring for you.

Yours sincerely

Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Clinical Director Women's and Children's Services.

Carol Littlehales, Head of Midwifery.

poor woman

This is making me so

Why cant our government put money into our bloody hospitals instead of efin art gallaries & crap

Our local hospital where I had DD and DS was fine by comparision. The food was horrible. I used to order the sandwiches coz at least they are meant to be cold.

DH brought me takeaway curries in....yum.

Welcome to capitalism! Where any aspect of society that is not producing wealth is considered superfluous.

Including babies and children.

Hills... the have put money in, but it gets sucked up by administrators and managers. Everytime our Trust has been given an extra million or something, up go the job adverts for a team of administors to 'manage' this new money. All on cracking salaries too.

expat - you a commie?

themoon66 that is shocking and typical, it makes me so cross, we raise money ourselves for equipment but we shouldnt have to, our hospitals used to be the best but not anymore.

I'm just a human being and mother of two daughters who believes society has a moral obligation to make the most vulnerable people a priority.

If that makes me a 'commie', I'm okay with that.

I've been called worse.

No midwife could ever properly use CTG on DW...They actually asked her to keep still while she was in contractions with DS2.
You can guess her response...

expat - i was only kidding. i'm a socialist btw...

I am, too, Dr.

Woohoo!

I'm deliberately not watching this as there have been reports in our (rather cr*p most of the time) local papers in recent months/years of severe staff shortages at my local hospital - especially the Maternity Unit - and seen as though I'm giving birth there in just a few weeks time I'd rather stick my head in the clouds than watch this.

F*kin disgraceful
The trust has a lot to answer for.

poor baby
Will have to stop watching this it is too upsetting.

The brainiacs who built our new hospital deliberately cut back the number of beds in the maternity ward from what they were at the 'Old Simpson'.

Women have had to be sent to Dundee to deliver.

That's about 1.5 hours away.

Or to Glasgow.

You only have to take jewellry off in case it goes missing FFS. What the hell was that all about??

So the baby got brain damaged because they were taking the mother's nailpolish off??? WTF?

I am really not surprised by any of this. My mum works as a HCA on a maternity unit and they are regularly left with only 1 qualified midiwfe and 1 HCA in charge of between 4 and 20 women.

Dogworth!! Great name!

Dongworth I mean

averil dongworth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

drdaddy - they check the nails for something but am not sure what exactly it is

i think it is if they go blue = lack of oxygen