Medical Negligence Solicitors Experience and Advice

An e-mail from someone else….

A couple of weeks ago I posted on behalf of a friend, Claire, who had pre-eclampsia; I've just been able to catch up with her, 12 days after the birth, to find out exactly what happened, and thought that some of you might be interested. (This lady is a Medical Negligence Solicitor and the hospital knew this.)

- top anaesthetist would be there, and they would make every attempt to accommodate her birth plan.
- The consultant and the consultant anaesthetist gave her a THREE HOUR consultation
- This included things like squeezing the baby around a lot before delivering it, to try to simulate contractions and to make sure it was wide awake and alert at birth,
- and the baby not being separated from her at all unless absolutely necessary, etc..
- The operation itself went well, the doctors took great care to follow her birth plan,
- the baby was fine (Kate, 6lbs 8oz) and Claire cuddled her all the time she was being stitched up. They have not been separated apart from a one-minute weighing session!
- Apparently the placenta was looking very 'scrappy' so Claire is satisfied that it was the right time for the baby to be born, especially considering her blood pressure.
- Unfortunately some hours after the operation she started bleeding heavily from the wound when two nursing auxiliaries turned her on to her side to help her feed Kate, and she lost so much blood at this point that she needed a transfusion.
- She transferred to a cottage hospital, midwife-led unit I think, after 2 days.
- able to have the baby in bed with her during most of her stay, so that she did not have to ask other people to hand her the baby when she needed feeding or cuddling.

- Claire says that she certainly would not choose a c/s again unless she felt it was really necessary, and would warn any woman against choosing it as the 'easy' option. She thinks that it is a good job the baby is so small as she would have trouble carrying her otherwise, because of pain in her abdomen.

Advice

- She has even found time to think of tips she would give other women who have planned caesareans, which I thought was really great... here are her suggestions:

- Don't have a caesarean, if you can avoid it.
- Insist on a thorough consultation with both the obstetrician *and* the anaesthetist beforehand. The anaesthetist's role is very important and you may well find that you are talking to her/him a lot more than the surgeon during the op.

- Prepare lots of questions beforehand (and get lots of information!).

- Check who will be operating, and who the anaesthetist will be, *on the day the operation is scheduled*. It would be a shame to spend hours talking to a consultant and an anaesthetist about your preferences, only to find that they are off-duty on the day, and the doctors on the team have only your notes to go by.

- Book an early morning appointment if possible, then there is less risk of your operation being postponed as emergencies/delays crop up through the day. She chose 7AM!! You will also have, hopefully, experienced staff on hand to look after you in the immediate recovery period.

- Discuss relative merits of spinal vs epidural anaesthesia with the anaesthetist, and find out what their options are for caesareans. Spinals are apparently associated with fewer side-effects and less risk of dural tap.

- Having a catheter is not mandatory during a caesarean. You can refuse to have one. Claire chose to go to the loo lots beforehand instead, on the grounds that the whole experience was going to be demeaning enough without catheterization too... avoiding a catheter also reduces the risk of infection and post-op discomfort.

- Walk to the operating theatre and put yourself on the table; don't be wheeled in as if there was already something wrong with you.

- Think about whether you want the surgeon to talk you through the operation or not, and make sure she/he knows your preference. Some people find it reassuring to be told exactly what is happening, others just do not want to know when the first cut is being made.

- Make sure birth partner has a camera in the operating theatre so they can take pictures of anything mum might not be able to see, eg baby being weighed.

- Cuddle baby while you are being stitched up, if possible.

This is all in addition to the birth plan that she prepared before the op... no wonder the consultant needed 3 hours to go through it all!!


** Compare this to Annas experience **

An e-mail from someone else….

A couple of weeks ago I posted on behalf of a friend, Claire, who had pre-eclampsia; I've just been able to catch up with her, 12 days after the birth, to find out exactly what happened, and thought that some of you might be interested.

top anaesthetist would be there, and they would make every attempt to accommodate her birth plan.
** I was never asked about my birth plan, but they did know that I did not want needles or a hospital birth

The consultant and the consultant anaesthetist gave her a THREE HOUR consultation
** mine was why don’t you try for a birth in hospital and given a booklet on caesareans to take home (which later changed to you will kill your baby if you have a vaginal birth)
I had to ask for a list of what to bring with me, the consultant said it was in the booklet – it wasn’t. This maternity unit had no birthing rooms/pools/stools/bean bags etc. It seemed only to have tens machines if you hired them. I said if they wanted me to try for a hospital birth why could I not have a home birth as they are safer.

This included things like squeezing the baby around a lot before delivering it, to try to simulate contractions and to make sure it was wide awake and alert at birth,
** I admit I know nothing about this or the benefits of it, I doubt this was done for mine

and the baby not being separated from her at all unless absolutely necessary, etc..
*** I said I wanted to have skin to skin contact with the baby as soon as it was 'born' as I did not want it (as it was an it then) to be at a disadvantage just because of the caesarean. This was refused as I was told it was not possible as the tent would be there. I did not want the tent to be there as I wanted to see what was happening and my baby being 'born'. In my birthing plan at home I would have been cutting the cord. As a result I found it / and still do find it hard to realise he came from my tummy.

** I never met the surgeon, don’t think so anyway. I met and spoke one the anaesthetist on the day and then a different one did the needles. As I hated the idea of a needle in the spine I wanted a general however they would not allow my husband to be there. I wanted him there so I knew my wishes were carried out – ie no vitamin K injection. So I had the spinal block

The operation itself went well, the doctors took great care to follow her birth plan,
** as I say I was never asked

the baby was fine (Kate, 6lbs 8oz) and Claire cuddled her all the time she was being stitched up. They have not been separated apart from a one-minute weighing session!
** I did not get to hold him until we were in recovery, my husband had held him but he was covered up, I just saw this bewildered face looking at me.

Apparently the placenta was looking very 'scrappy' so Claire is satisfied that it was the right time for the baby to be born, especially considering her blood pressure.
** my husband ‘heard’ that mine was just large

Unfortunately some hours after the operation she started bleeding heavily from the wound when two nursing auxiliaries turned her on to her side to help her feed Kate, and she lost so much blood at this point that she needed a transfusion.
** I was not given a blood transfusion until they were 1/2 way through mutalation they guestimate I had lost 2 units by the time going back into theatre was mentioned. I was asked whether I could have a transfusion / religious beliefs. I refused consent for a blood transfusion

She transferred to a cottage hospital, midwife-led unit I think, after 2 days.
** Within 36 hours I went up on to the ward, where I was then expected to do everything for myself

able to have the baby in bed with her during most of her stay, so that she did not have to ask other people to hand her the baby when she needed feeding or cuddling.
**I was strongly dissuaded and condemned every time they found me in bed with him and he had finished feeding. Once on the ward I had to get up out of bed (which was even worse when I had the milk coming though) and lift him from the cot and carry him to the bed to feed/cuddle him. I was sooo scared of dropping him, especially with the mutilation pain.

Claire says that she certainly would not choose a c/s again unless she felt it was really necessary, and would warn any woman against choosing it as the 'easy' option. She thinks that it is a good job the baby is so small as she would have trouble carrying her otherwise, because of pain in her abdomen.
** humm mine was 8 12!

She has even found time to think of tips she would give other women who have planned caesareans, which I thought was really great... here are her suggestions:

- Don't have a caesarean, if you can avoid it.
- Insist on a thorough consultation with both the obstetrician *and* the anaesthetist beforehand. The anaesthetist's role is very important and you may well find that you are talking to her/him a lot more than the surgeon during the op.
** no one spoke to me except occasionally the midwife and husband :->>

- Prepare lots of questions beforehand (and get lots of information!).
**I got what I could but wasn’t given any stats at all

- Check who will be operating, and who the anaesthetist will be, *on the day the operation is scheduled*. It would be a shame to spend hours talking to a consultant and an anaesthetist about your preferences, only to find that they are off-duty on the day, and the doctors on the team have only your notes to go by.

- Book an early morning appointment if possible, then there is less risk of your operation being postponed as emergencies/delays crop up through the day. She chose 7AM!! You will also have, hopefully, experienced staff on hand to look after you in the immediate recovery period.
** I was given one around 9 – 10 am but told that if an emergency was there I would not been seen until after that not even if I was the Queen – wonder if that says anything about how the obstetrician saw me?

- Discuss relative merits of spinal vs epidural anaesthesia with the anaesthetist, and find out what their options are for caesareans. Spinals are apparently associated with fewer side-effects and less risk of dural tap.
** I didn’t get that information at all

- Having a catheter is not mandatory during a caesarean. You can refuse to have one. Claire chose to go to the loo lots beforehand instead, on the grounds that the whole experience was going to be demeaning enough without catheterization too... avoiding a catheter also reduces the risk of infection and post-op discomfort.
** I said I did not want a catheter, I was told I had to have one if I was having a caesarean

- Walk to the operating theatre and put yourself on the table; don't be wheeled in as if there was already something wrong with you.

- Think about whether you want the surgeon to talk you through the operation or not, and make sure she/he knows your preference. Some people find it reassuring to be told exactly what is happening, others just do not want to know when the first cut is being made.
** I would have liked to have known – I wasn’t given the option

- Make sure birth partner has a camera in the operating theatre so they can take pictures of anything mum might not be able to see, eg baby being weighed.
**we had a camera but completely forgot to take it in (always regretted that), first time it was used was when the midwives asked if I had one on day 2 when they gave him a bath. I really wish someone had reminded us even on his actual arrival day, I was so worried about the needles, which I screamed though I might add, that I completely forgot. Then I was falling asleep on the morphine.

- Cuddle baby while you are being stitched up, if possible.
** refused on that one

This is all in addition to the birth plan that she prepared before the op... no wonder the consultant needed 3 hours to go through it all!!
** I got about 5 – 10 minutes, longer if you include the phone call to book me in.