New Sutton mum praises King's Mill's 'completely person-centred' maternity care

These are the words of Sutton mum Emma Evans, 29, who has praised the support offered by King’s Mill Hospital following the birth of her new baby Rosie.

Emma is one of many new mums who have praised our hospital for the care they received during the birth of their baby, according to a recent patient satisfaction survey.

Emma, who is diabetic, says she received “completely person-centred” care from midwives, highlighting how staff were “consistent throughout” when baby Rosie was born on January 27, 2020.

She also says her partner George was encouraged to be “completely involved” throughout the birth, making it a special experience with the family.

“I know that they’re very busy, but the care I received at King’s Mill Hospital has been completely person-centred and consistent and even just the small things, like being checked on, make a difference”, she said.

“For me, my journey didn’t start when I came in to have Rosie. It started months before as I am diabetic so had to have regular ante-natal counselling and the specialist midwife I see even delivered Rosie, which made the whole experience even more special and emotional.

“It’s really important that partners are involved and staff communicated with George, explaining what was going to happen next and why.

“This was vital as I think it can be easy for partners to panic when they don’t know what’s happening but the way the staff addressed him and communicated put us both at ease.”

She added: “Skin to skin was definitely something that was important to me and I did it with my previous baby. It was very much encouraged by staff, but I was asked if it was something I wanted to do and it was never just assumed.”

New data from the Care Quality Commission’s national survey of maternity experience shows that Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs King’s Mill Hospital, is performing well.

The national survey asked 17,151 mums across the country about their experiences. A total of 86 positive responses came from women who had given birth at King’s Mill Hospital.

Penny Cole, acting divisional head of nursing and midwifery at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “We’re very proud that feedback from our new mums shows that we’re doing well as a trust when it comes to maternity and having their baby with us.

“The care we provide to women and their babies, and the experience they have while giving birth with us, is very important to us and these findings are testament to the hard work and dedication of our maternity team.

“It’s important to us now that we look at the findings in detail and celebrate what we are doing well, but also looking at where we haven’t scored quite as well as we would have hoped and put improvements in place to ensure that we’re giving new mums, their partners and babies the best experience possible.”