Mums protest at Newham University Hospital over maternity care
Dozens of mums have gathered outside Newham University Hospital to protest the level of care at its ward for the sickest newborns.
The demonstration on Friday followed a small Twitter storm over the use of screens to hide breastfeeding mothers and feeding babies formula without the mother’s consent at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Sian Murray Huynh, who helped organise the group, said: “Right now, it feels like their biggest concern is just to get us to be quiet and stop protesting, stop making noise.”
Barts Health, the trust that runs the hospital, denies that there is any policy to forcibly screen breastfeeding women.
A spokeswoman said that, when screens are used, it is because the mother wants them.
Mothers have said that the screens are claustrophobic, can prevent nurses from seeing when mothers need help and that they create a stigma around breastfeeding.
It is illegal to prevent or obstruct a woman trying to breastfeed in public — including a hospital.
The problems at the unit came to the fore after a meeting with two mums who experienced the treatment at the NICU with trust staff. The mums at the meeting, Karis White and Carolyn Hounsell, were told the screens are there because of a man in the past complaining about seeing breastfeeding.
Mums protested outside Newham Hospital to oppose the use of screens to hide mums breastfeeding in the neonatal intensive care unit among other issues with the ward. Picture: Luke Acton.
The two shared their experiences with a WhatsApps group of 256 Newham mothers.
“As we started sharing on the group, lots mothers have either had similar issues or others issues with a lack of compassionate care,” said Karis.
She gave birth to her second child, Percy, August last year. He was in the NICU for 24 hours for an issue with blood incompatibility.
“I think that’s one of the reason’s why it’s united everybody, because this is about rights, our right to feed our baby how we want (with our breasts or not) and where we want, especially in hospital.”
Bianca Parish deeply wanted to breastfeed her baby Judah, who is now 13-months-old.
He was in the NICU with a lung infection after being born 17 weeks premature. He still has tubes for oxygen.
“I came in one day to find they had bottle-fed him without my consent, which was really discouraging when you’re trying to breastfeed and it’s hard work because your baby’s on oxygen,” she said.
“We were also told later on that if we wanted him to come home then we should bottle-feed him, so it was quite manipulative.
“You want your baby to come home, that’s the ultimate goal.”
It’s an event the Plaistow mother is still trying to process. Tears rolled down her face as she spoke about the experience.
But Bianca has sympathy for the nurses, who have been stretched by widespread NHS cuts.
“They have a really difficult job,” she said. “But it’s not their choice. It’s the mother’s choice.
“To take that out of the mother's hands and make that choice for her is unacceptable even if they don’t have the resources, even if they’re stretched, even if it’s the easier option. Newham Hospital robbed me of my choice.”
It’s a question of the extra bond she and her baby could have had if she had breastfed. Despite this experience, Bianca is grateful to the staff there.
“The team that surrounded me at my labour were incredible. They fought so hard to save Judah’s life and I’m forever grateful to them here at Newham for that.”
Pooney Sekar, divisional manager of Women’s and Children’s Health at Newham Hospital said: “We know the vital benefits of breastfeeding and will always support and encourage women who wish to breastfeed their babies.
“Our midwives and neonatal team are absolutely committed to the baby-friendly initiative and share the same goals in supporting women with their choices.
“There are, in some circumstances, clinical reasons to offer formula feed in addition to breast milk, however, this follows discussions with the neonatal team and with the consent of the mother. Following suggestions and feedback from parents, we will ensure that there is clearer signage and relevant information shared about their baby’s feeding requirements.”
NHS staff face growing violence in east London's hospitals
The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Picture: Barts NHS Trust.
Violence against staff at east London hospitals is on the rise, new figures reveal.
There were 331 assaults against staff at the five Barts Health hospitals from April 2018 to March 2019 - 60 per cent more than the 12 months from April 2015, which saw only 206.
This April to June has been the most violent over the past five years, with 98 recorded assaults. In 2018 there were 84 over the same period and only 50 during that period in 2017.
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request by this paper, revealed that Newham Hospital has seen 231 assaults since April 2015, Mile End saw 22 and St Bartholomew's saw 89.
By far the worst hospital in the five-year period for assaults was the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. It had 504 incidents.
That's almost double the amount seen at the next worse hospital, Whipps Cross in Waltham Forest, which had 258 assaults.
The Royal London is easily the biggest hospital, with 845 beds at the end of 2018, according to Barts Health FoI data. Whipps Cross had 679.
A Barts Health spokeswoman said abusive or violent behaviour will not be tolerated, adding that staff safety is a top priority.
Training is available to them, focusing on identifying aggressive behaviour, personal safety, de-escalation and conflict resolution.
The spokeswoman said security personnel are at all five hospitals 24 hours a day and support is available to staff if they face violence or aggression.
"Our staff deserve to be treated with respect, and patients or visitors who behave violently or aggressively may be issued with a formal warning," she said.
"If the behaviour continues, the trust will actively seek criminal or civil proceedings."
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in England, with 16,000 staff, operating five hospitals and providing care for 2.5 million people in Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest and the City of London.
Violence against NHS staff is a national issue, with former health secretary Matt Hancock trying to address it last year with the first-ever NHS violence reduction strategy.
It included working with prosecutors to speed up the trial process and having health watchdog the Care Quality Commission look at violence in their inspections.
Refugees from the Calais ‘Jungle’ share their stories in new UEL book with Dr. Aura Lounasmaa
Refugees from the Calais ‘Jungle’ share their stories in new UEL book with Dr. Aura Lounasmaa
Article in the Newham Recorder featuring our very own Dr. Aura Lounasmaa:
Refugees from the Calais ‘Jungle’ share their stories in new UEL book
“There was this community in the Jungle. We saw fights, people who didn’t get along, when you have got 10,000 people living right next to each other that’s going to happen, but a lot of people talked about the friendship and community and kind of a new…
