La La Land (Aka the NHS) « A Midwife’s Muse

La La Land (Aka the NHS)

September 23, 2007 at 8:15 pm | In Maternity Services, Midwifery, Rants, Work | 10 Comments

As far as I can see we are now going into the realms of some horribly distorted fantasy with regard to costcutting in the Maternity Services. Today I was told that there are no, none, delivery packs. Interesting one that. Instead we are to use a vaginal examination pack as our equipment when we are at a homebirth. In a delivery pack:-

1 bowl 500mls (cleansing the perineum)
1 cord clamp ( for baby’s cord )
10 cotton wool balls (extra large) (wiping ‘bits’ down)
1 green wrap 75 x 110cms ( for putting under the woman )
1 gallipot ( useful little receptacle for KY )
1 dressing pad ( for when the baby is out )
paper crepe 100 x 150cm ( wraps everything up )
pulp kidney dish ( if she vomits )
4 x swab 10 x 10 cms ( cleaning up so you can see if suturing is required )
Quilted paper baby wrap ( giving baby a good wipe over )
plastic tray ( for the placenta )

All this is sterile so you hope you are not introducing any bugs into the immediate area. In a vaginal examination pack:-

1 bowl 250mls
5 cotton wool balls ( small )
1 gallipot
1 paper crepe 40 x 40 cms

I think there might be a few problems here but what the hell, it’s saving the Trust money. That’s a relief, they might have had to get rid of a few managers. Probably just one really would have saved them the amount of money they will save by, once again, devolving all their cuts down to where the work happens with the people who require the equipment because one of them is having a baby ( it is the MATERNITY services after all ) and the other one is crawling around on her hands and knees helping a new life come into the world. Yes I am cross, seething and absolutely incredulous that things have come to this hand-to-mouth way of providing care to women.

The items on the list may not seem terribly important but they are there for a reason. Okay, with the exception of the cord clamp not having them is not life-endangering but what it boils down to is that you don’t have useful bits to hand and when you are in the middle of helping a woman give birth, or trying to see where bleeding is coming from, or kneeling there with a placenta in your hands you don’t have the hands or the the time to ferret around looking for a suitable receptacle or a pack of sterile gauze. In a delivery pack was a small selection of useful items. If things start happening quickly, or you arrive just as the baby is arriving the woman’s partner can open the one pack whilst you put your gloves on and you are ready. Now it will be just be farcical, stressful for the midwife and hardly a relaxing experience for the Dad as he delves through a bag trying to find the pack you are asking for.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot in all the excitement of no packs, we won’t be carrying oxygen cylinders either. Lets all just sit around and have a little chuckle about that one.

10 Comments »

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*speechless*

Comment by disgruntled — September 23, 2007 #

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That is a shocking state of affairs. Do we not hear the politicians constantly spouting how they’re going to ensure that the money goes to the point of service delivery? That obviously does not apply to the delivery of babies! In my own local area I don’t believe that there is a single medical service that has not deteriorated in recent years and you can never find out who is responsible. Nobody seems to be accountable any more.

Comment by Murchadh Ruisia — September 23, 2007 #

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I hope some journalist sees this entry and writes a large article on it. How on earth can any politician justify this one?????

Comment by mumof4 — September 24, 2007 #

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So you’re back to asking dad to sterilise scissors in the pots of boiling water over the fire???

Comment by geepeemum — September 24, 2007 #

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(Note I’m not surprised. Nothing about the NHS surprises me any longer. Except when things go really really smoothly of course).

Comment by geepeemum — September 24, 2007 #

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In a suitably anonymous form, this ought to reach news sites like Sky News, etc. to spark some “investigative journalism”. I am horrified and gobsmacked–but then, what I’ve learned about what has happened to the NHS maternity services since I was in the UK has saddened me terribly.

Comment by Antigonos — September 24, 2007 #

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Surely the smaller packs are for women who want a more natural birth?

Comment by Renal — September 26, 2007 #

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Renal – Not at all, the hospital are also using the smaller packs. The smaller packs are designed for use when undertaking a vaginal examination not for when a baby is entering the world accompanied by the etcs that babies, whether a natural birth or a birth complete with epidural and drips, will have with them. That is amniotic fluid, blood, faeces and the placenta.

Comment by midwifemuse — September 26, 2007 #

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[sarcasm] But it’s only a WOMAN. [/sarcasm]

Apparently just like in the US – the UK doesn’t think women are worth spending any extra money on – whether that be in terms of research, actual care, or prepackaged clinical packs.

We’re only women. We’re not important.

Comment by Sewmouse — September 26, 2007 #

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ACK!

Looks like we are going to go back to using bloody shoelaces to tie off the cord and bare teeth to cut it.

I wouldn’t say that it’s a woman only problem (in reference to sewmouse), the NHS has crap resourcing for pretty much everything – there are numerous times that I’ve gone out on the road missing rather important bits of kit.

Just the usual mismanagement from those not on the coalface…

Comment by Tom Reynolds — September 27, 2007 #

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