THE boss of Basingstoke hospital has said reduced staffing levels have sometimes resulted in patients on its maternity ward not always receiving “the best possible care”.

A report about a ‘serious incident’ at Basingstoke hospital’s maternity department sparked a debate on the quality of the service on social media.

One mum said staff at Basingstoke hospital tried to give her medication which she is not allowed while she was in labour.

Sarah Hastings is one of dozens of parents who have spoken about their experience in the maternity unit at Basingstoke over the last decade, after the Gazette ran an article about a ‘serious incident’ involving the birth of a baby.

Read more: Basingstoke hospital awaiting outcome of 'serious incident' involving birth of baby

As previously reported, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) reported the ‘serious incident’ which happened in October 2021 to the Health Safety Investigation Branch for investigation and is now awaiting the outcome.

The article prompted dozens of parents to share their own birthing experiences in the Sherborne Building at the Aldermaston Road hospital, with many blaming staff shortages on poor care and errors.

Ms Hastings, who has two sons, told the Gazette that when she was in labour, staff tried to give her medication she is not allowed to have.

“They tried to give me Voltarol which I’m not allowed to have, which was in my notes. Luckily, I was awake enough to tell them to stop,” she said.

The 34-year-old, from Kempshott, also said an epidural stopped her heart beating after the numbing effects spread up to her neck.

Ms Hastings, who works as an accounting assistant, said her stay in Basingstoke hospital following the birth of her second son in 2012 was stressful because she ended up also caring for a relative’s baby.

The mum lodged a formal complaint with the hospital and was told staff would be spoken to.

Laura Miller also said her notes were not read properly, resulting in her being set up with a drip for intravenous antibiotics, which she was not meant to have.

“Hours later as I stood up to go home, I haemorrhaged,” she said.

Marta Jones recalled her baby boy choking when he was born, explaining: “I rang the emergency bell six times but there was absolutely no one to be seen. I panicked because he was turning blue, so I started running and shouting across the hospital corridor for someone to help me, anyone.

"I eventually pulled out a doctor from procedure room who helped. I was very lucky but this experience will stay with me forever.”

Laura Ward had her first daughter at the hospital in September 2020 and said she was “waiting forever and ever” for help when she pressed her buzzer.

She added: “If I was to have another child, for sure I wouldn’t have it there again… I’m sure there are great midwives there, but not when I had my daughter.”

Gabi Ceska, who now lives in Prague, said she was sent home four times with contractions when she was 13 days overdue.

The mum, who ended up having an emergency caesarean, said: “We were so lucky my husband saw the monitor behind me because my son’s heart stopped and no one else noticed. It could have ended up very bad.”

She said the hospital told her it did not have enough staff at the time, adding: “I was so angry and so upset but at the end I’m so happy we’re both alive.”

Luke Henderson, however, said he had “exemplary” care at Basingstoke when his son was born in August.

“Midwives didn’t leave our side for 12 hours, felt in such safe hands," he said. 

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of HHFT, said: “Our maternity teams work very hard to provide the best possible care to our patients. However, we know that there have unfortunately been occasions where this has not been achieved, and like other trusts, this is often as a result of reduced staffing levels.

“In recent years, we have made significant investments in our maternity services, recognising the need to increase the maternity establishment and focusing on retention and recruitment. We have been successful in our recruitment such that we are forecasting that all roles within our maternity teams will be filled by the end of 2022. This is against a backdrop of a national shortage of midwives.

“I understand how important it is that every family in our care has a positive birthing experience. We will never stop seeking to improve and we really value feedback from the women who use our service so that we can continue to shape and develop our services in ways which meets the needs of mums, dads and babies.

“I am hugely thankful for the tireless efforts of all our teams, including our midwifery colleagues, who endeavour to provide outstanding care in a challenging environment. If anyone has any concerns about their experience, I would encourage them to please get in touch via our customer care team.”

In November last year, more than 12,000 midwives and their supporters held vigils across the country to raise awareness about the UK’s maternity services, in protests led by grassroots movement #MarchWithMidwives. 

A survey carried out by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) revealed that more than half of staff were considering leaving the profession, with many midwives feeling staffing levels are “unsafe”.

This month, some maternity units in England have been forced to temporarily closed because of staff shortages.

A statement on #MarchWithMidwives’ website says: “This year we have seen the maternity services so undervalued in the UK that we are at a forced point of breaking, we are facing a maternity crisis of epic proportion and still we rise to self-initiate the call to action required to demand improvements.”

The movement is blaming the “broken power systems and our government” for “not valuing our efforts, despite our continuous demands for improvement”.

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