Hull Royal Infirmary's 'Big Push'

Healthwatch Hull and Healthwatch East Riding of Yorkshire wanted to undertake further engagement on maternity care following the publication of an inspection report by CQC which rated the maternity care provided by Hull Royal Infirmiary as inadequate.  They engaged with women who had recently given birth and their partners.

Issues in communication - parents identified problems with communication with healthcare professionals, including not being told about medication.  This is problematic as previous research has shown that one of the factors in traumatic births is a lack of communication from medical professionals.  There was also poor communication between healthcare professionals, resulting in parents having to tell their story over and over again.

 Issues in patient notes - parents told of professionals seeing them with other patients' notes.  This can result in them receiving treatment they don't require.  

Issues in accessing appointments - parents described problems in accessing GP appointments for their 6 - 8 week check up. When they do take place, parents reported being concerned that GPs were more focussed on the baby than the health of the mother. Post natal appointments at the hospital were problematic due to a lack of childcare.

 Issues with Health visitors - some parents reported not being able to see a health visitor.  Others reported feeling judged by health visitors or not being able to see the same health visitor.

Lack of representation of birthing partners - Birthing partners felt they needed support after witnessing traumatic births, and the healthcare professionals not communicating with them.  They often felt left out of the decision making process during antenatal appointments and letters were not addressed to both parents.

Antenatal Day Unit (ADU) wait times  - Healthwatch heard about long waiting times at appointments - up to 7 hours.  This was because all emergency non appointments were also directed to this unit.  In late 2023, a triage unit was set up to allow parents to ring up before coming in and speak to a midwife.  This initiative has received a lot of positive feedback.

Staff attitudes - Some patients felt they were not listened to by staff and felt they were judged.  There are reports of staff being rude.

Bed availability - people reported a severe lack of beds within the wards, with some patients being put in spaces that should have been used for storage of medical equipment. This could be dangerous and could lead to patients being forgotten about.  Parents in labour have been told to return home or make their own way to another hospital over 30 miles away.  

 Issues with access to counselling - parents who have had a traumatic birth need counselling after it.  However, there were long waiting times for help.  When they could access help, parents were very grateful for it.

Breast feeding support - when mothers want to breast feed, the care and support from NHS staff is available and has positive outcomes. However, this isn't available if breast feeding isn't on mothers' birth plans.  Some parents reported a lack of support when they attempted to breast feed in hospital.

Lack of awareness: Epidurals - Many patients reported that they were being encouraged not to have epidurals during labour without understanding the reasons why.

Staff training - staff reported not having the time they needed to complete the necessary training as they are too busy with patients.

The report includes nine recommendations and a response from the provider to the recommendations.