Ms T complained to the Trust about the lack of midwifery care she experienced following her discharge from hospital after she gave birth to her son. She felt that the lack of support affected her son's and her own health. Ms T was also unhappy about the Trust's complaint handling.
What happened
In autumn 2013 Ms T gave birth to her son in hospital and was discharged. Trust staff told Ms T that a community-based midwife would visit her the next day but this visit did not happen. Ms T telephoned the hospital and a midwife saw her the following day. Another visit was scheduled for two days later.
Ms T telephoned the hospital because the midwife did not visit her as arranged. The midwife then visited later the same day. Ms T's son was admitted to hospital for tests and further investigations because he had lost some weight.
A week later, Ms T attended hospital and reported that she had passed a piece of placenta that her body had retained after labour. A doctor examined her and she was discharged after a review that found there was no evidence of a retained placenta.
When Ms T complained to the Trust, it maintained that staff had given Ms T and her son an appropriate standard of care and treatment. However, it acknowledged that it had not adhered to its own policy in relation to the timing of the midwifery visits. The Trust apologised and also told Ms T about the steps it had taken to address these failings.
Ms T remained unhappy and came to us.
What we found
We did not uphold this complaint. After carefully considering all the evidence, we were satisfied that the Trust had reasonably addressed all of Ms T's concerns. The Trust had given her appropriate apologies and had also demonstrated that it had drawn organisational learning from her complaint.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Blackpool
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