Wednesday, December 17, 2008

British woman driven 200 miles to give Caesarian birth to premature twins and then finds after delivery that the hospital has only one incubator available!

Vast lack of facilities. Even a Caesarian was too hard for three hospitals. And as for incubators for premmies! What do you think you are? In the 21st century? And this is in London, not on some remote island!

A new mother was sent to four different hospitals in four days to give birth only to have her premature twins separated after they were born. Angela Breeds, 30, was forced to make a 200 mile trip because surgeons were unable to perform a necessary caesarian section at the first three hospitals she was sent to. And when she finally gave birth to Suzie and Sonny, the twins were separated after just five minutes because of a lack of cots.

Ms Breeds, a self employed hairdresser from Stanford-le-Hope said: "I'm just so angry about being pushed around everywhere. "Then when I found out they had to be separated I was completely gutted."

The mother's ordeal started on December 3 when doctors at King's College Hospital in south east London told Miss Breeds she needed a caesarian section because one of the twins was not getting enough nutrition. She was transferred 31 miles away to Basildon Hospital in Essex that night for the operation. But after she arrived, she was told the hospital did not have the right facilities for the procedure so she was sent to Peterborough Hospital in Cambridgeshire, 96 miles away.

She waited in the hospital for three days before being told surgeons at the facility could not perform the operation either. So she was again transferred to Whipps Cross Hospital in east London, another 86 miles away, on Sunday December 7 where she gave birth the following day. But there were not enough incubator cots for both tots and within five minutes of giving birth, Sonny was taken away from his mother and sister to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

Katrina Coulson, an NHS East of England spokeswoman said the NHS in the region was hoping to increase the number of special and intensive care cots

Source

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