Hundreds of mothers lodge complaints against hospitals' maternity services

Mothers have made hundreds of complaints about maternity services at Suffolk Hospitals.

Data retrieved by the BBC has revealed that 481 complaints have been made to West Suffolk Hospital and Ipswich Hospital since 2019.

The results of the Freedom of Information request show 99 of the complaints made to Ipswich Hospital cited poor communication, while 55 took issue with the level of patient care.

West Suffolk Hospital said it was unable to provide information on the specific nature of the complaints it had received.

The publication of the figures comes three years after West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds,  was told to make improvements after inspectors raised concerns about patient safety.

Ipswich Hospital was also previously found to have put the lives of mothers and their babies at risk after a review by health and care regulator, Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Martina Darling, 37, from Stowmarket, who has given birth twice at West Suffolk Hospital, said she had two “completely” different experiences.

She said: “The first one was horrendous, especially when looking at customer care and patient care. I felt very out of control and was made to feel like I couldn’t do it, whereas my latest birth was completely different and I felt very empowered and there was so much support and customer care.

“During birth you are very hormonal and emotional and you want everything to go perfectly, but nine times out of 10 it doesn’t, so I can see why people complain, but I wouldn’t go anywhere else to have a baby, we love it at West Suffolk.”

Emily Harris, 36, from Ipswich, gave birth to her daughter at Ipswich Hospital two years ago, and said her time in the maternity ward was “positive” but she was left unhappy with how her husband was treated, although she decided against making a complaint.

She added: “The main downside was some Covid restrictions were still in place so, when I went into maternity triage, my husband was not allowed to go with me.

“In the throes of labour that was unsettling and they didn’t let him know what was happening he just had to wait out in the stairwell. That was about an hour and a half of us not being together and me not having my partner as my support.

“We didn’t think it was serious enough to formalise it. After a couple of weeks of having a baby, your memory starts to fade and it doesn’t seem important any more.”

The government had said that it will invest £35m  to fund specialist training for staff and additional midwives to improve services across the country.

Rebecca Wiggans, 44, who runs The Mum Club South Suffolk and gave birth to one of her two children at West Suffolk Hospital, believes more resources are needed.

She said: “When I went in on the day I gave birth they did say they were understaffed but they were still doing their very best. I didn’t think I was missing out because they are so underfunded. I am sure the midwives were under a lot of pressure but they didn’t let it show.

“They were very professional and very good at listening to my opinion and hearing my point of view. It is an emotional time for people and they want the best for themselves and their babies, so people are inclined to make a complaint.”

Hospital managers have moved to reassure mums-to-be in the county, suggesting the number of complaints they receive pales in comparison with the number of births.

Midwifery director at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich Hospital, Amanda Price Davey, said: “Safe, compassionate care for women, babies and their families is our top priority.

"There are around 7,000 births every year in our hospitals. It's so important to us that each of those experiences is positive and families are well supported. When we don't get things right, we listen to ensure we learn from that feedback so we can make improvements.”

Director of midwifery at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Karen Newbury, said more than 2,500 pregnancies were supported by the hospital every year.

She said: “Our expert and dedicated maternity teams work incredibly hard to provide everyone with the highest quality and safest care.

“We really value hearing from everyone that is cared for by our maternity service, and when things don’t go as planned, all complaints are taken incredibly seriously.”