Share review of Community Services - South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Community Services - South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2016-08-09 Person 1 5 0

I had a less than straightforward pregnancy. However, despite this I was placed under the care of 4 different community midwives (3 at my doctors surgery and 1 where I had no choice but to use a drop in as there was no available appointments). The issues I have had were anxiety (due to a history of miscarriage), high blood pressure with a query over white coat syndrome, GBS and SPD. I strongly feel that with that combination of issues, consistent care was vital. It just did not happen. I spent every appointment feeling rushed as the first part of the appointment was spent explaining my history to a different midwife and explaining that I was under the care of a consultant and being monitored using the telehealth service so my blood pressure reading did not warrant a further referral for example. It raised my anxiety levels to such a high level I would have physical symptoms before I had to attend the midwife such as headaches. I did not have the time to have basic questions answered e.g. If I go into labour, how soon do I go to the hospital due to GBS? Also how likely I was to be able to stay active in labour when I may need monitoring? I did not have the chance to develop any sort of relationship with a midwife and when I had genuine questions I felt i could not ring for advice easily in line with other peers who I met through my antenatal classes. The whole experience left me feeling quite isolated and unsupported in a difficult pregnancy. By contrast, I found the consultant I was under at JCUH to be very efficient and on the ball despite the appointments being shorter and the clinic very busy. I have no complaints in that the midwives I met were all personable and clearly knew what their jobs were. However, the most draining thing was to explain everything over from the start every time a new staff member was met. I really feel consistency of care should be prioritised where possible and if it's not possible across the board, it should be the focus for those with less than straightforward pregnancies. Sorry to be so negative.