King’s Mill hospital: I won’t hold my breath

As recently as Thursday,26th September, it stated on teletext: King’s Mill, criticised in the Keogh Review, is under fire again. The CQC found five out of eight quality and safety standards not met.

In the 70s and 80s, I thought King’s Mill second-to-none. My two daughters were born in the Dukeries Centre in 1978 and 1980 - and the Robin Hood Ward was a godsend for my youngest Denise, who suffered with asthma until she turned seven.

King’s Mill’s decline started in the run-up to the PFI Contract of 2005 - when safety was sacrificed in the pursuit of targets, whistle-blowers were silenced and cover-up was encouraged.

Denise and her unborn daughter, (our first grandchild), died unnecessarily, in 2005, in the same birthing unit that had brought her safely into the world almost twenty-five years before.

We will never set foot in King’s Mill again.

We can never forgive those responsible for our loss.

We have lost all trust in matters of a medical or legal nature.

Eileen Kirk

Via email