New mums rate King’s Mill Hospital as joint best for giving birth

New mums have rated King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton the joint best in the East Midlands for giving birth.
Mum Samantha Appleby with her new-born son, Seth, at Kings Mill Hospital.Mum Samantha Appleby with her new-born son, Seth, at Kings Mill Hospital.
Mum Samantha Appleby with her new-born son, Seth, at Kings Mill Hospital.

According to a patient satisfaction survey, they also say King’s Mill has the joint best staff in the region for delivering babies.

The praise emerges from a national survey of maternity experience carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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The survey reveals that Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs King’s Mill, is the top-performing NHS trust in the local area, alongside United Lincolnshire Hospitals.

Covering 129 NHS trusts across the country, more than 17,600 mums who gave birth in February 2018 were asked about their experiences.

A total of 93 responses came from women who had given birth at King’s Mill, including Samantha Appleby, 32, from Tuxford, who now has a baby son, Seth.

Samantha said: “My whole experience was such a positive one. As soon as Seth was born, I was strongly encouraged to have skin-on-skin contact, which is important.

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“All the staff we encountered were reassuring throughout. My partner, Dan, was also encouraged to be involved at every stage.”

Partner Dan Cupit, 30, was at Smanatha’s side throughout the birth. He said: “It was important to me that I was involved.

“I was able to encourage her and get involved in supporting her in different positions, which helped to keep her calm.

“I was also given the opportunity to cut the cord which made me feel involved. Sometimes, dads can feel a bit helpless when it comes to the birth.

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“All the staff made us feel very welcome. They introduced themselves, spoke to us kindly and were reassuring.

“It was good that they spoke to me and explained what was happening, rather than just to the mum.”

The results of the survey delighted staff at King’s Mill, especially Penny Cole, who is deputy divisional head of nursing and midwifery at the trust.

Penny said: “We are very proud to have been recognised as one of the top trusts in the region, particularly as it is based on feedback from our new mums.

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“The care that we provide to women and their babies, and the experience they have while giving birth, is very important to us.

“These findings are testament to the hard work and dedication of our maternity team.

“It is important now that we look at the findings in detail and celebrate what we are doing well, but also look at where we haven’t scored as well as we would have hoped and put improvements in place.”

King’s Mill scored highly in areas such as treating new mums with respect and dignity, and giving them time to discuss their pregnancy.