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A woman with stage 4 endometriosis said she was told she needed to "be more positive" before her diagnosis - despite heavy blood loss and pain. Anna Cooper, from Newbridge, Wrexham, started her periods at 11 and by the time she turned 14, her mother was pushing for a referral. Since then she has had 13 surgeries, with a 14th due in the coming months. She said: "It is not taken seriously enough. It seems to be that we are just not being heard at the minute." Watch video Source: BBC News, 9 September 2021

Folic acid is to be added to UK flour to help prevent spinal birth defects in babies, the government will announce. Women are advised to take the B vitamin - which can guard against spina bifida in unborn babies - before and during pregnancy, but many do not. It is thought that adding folic acid to flour could prevent up to 200 birth defects a year. Mandatory fortification - which the government ran a public consultation on in 2019 - would see everybody who ate foods such as bread getting more folic acid in their diets. Neural tube defects, such as spina bifida (abnormal development of the spine) and anencephaly, a life-limiting condition which affects the brain, affect about 1,000 pregnancies per year in the UK. Many babies diagnosed with spina bifida survive into adulthood, but will experience life-long impairment. Kate Steele, chief executive of Shine, a charity providing specialist support for people affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus and which has campaigned for mandatory fortification of flour for more than 30 years, said she was "delighted" by the decision. "In its simplest terms, the step will reduce the numbers of families who face the devastating news that their baby has anencephaly and will not survive," she said. "It will also prevent some babies being affected by spina bifida, which can result in complex physical impairments and poor health." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 September 2021

Changes to periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding after having a Covid vaccine should be investigated to reassure women, says a leading immunologist specialising in fertility. Writing in the BMJ, Dr Victoria Male, from Imperial College London, said the body's immune response was the likely cause, not something in the vaccines. There is no evidence they have any impact on pregnancy or fertility. The UK's regulator has received more than 30,000 reports of period problems. These include heavier than usual periods, delayed periods and unexpected bleeding after all three Covid vaccines, out of more than 47 million doses given to women in the UK to date. After reviewing the reports, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says it "does not support a link" between Covid vaccines and the symptoms. However, writing in an opinion piece in the BMJ, Dr Male says "robust research" into reports of period problems would help to counter misinformation around the vaccines. "Vaccine hesitancy among young women is largely driven by false claims that COVID-19 vaccines could harm their chances of future pregnancy. Failing to thoroughly investigate reports of menstrual changes after vaccination is likely to fuel these fears." "If a link between vaccination and menstrual changes is confirmed, this information will allow people to plan for potentially altered cycles," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 September 2021

Glen Burley, an acute trust chief executive has said NHS England risks ‘levelling down’ safety in some maternity services by ‘disproportionately’ directing additional funding to struggling trusts. This comes after NHS England said the funding prioritised the trusts which needed the most support to meet the essential actions in the Ockenden Report, where in March, NHSE invited trusts to bid for a share of £96m extra funding for maternity services. A spokeswoman for NHS England has said: “The NHS made an additional £96m investment in maternity services following the Ockenden Review, the majority of which will bolster the workforce by funding an additional 1,200 midwives and 100 obstetricians. While the funding for additional workforce is for all NHS trusts, it is right that those who most need the support are prioritised.” Read full story. Source: HSJ, 02 September 2021

A new study has found stress in the workplace could be leading women suffering from warning signs of heart disease. These signs included work-related stress, sleep disorders, and tiredness - which are important but non-traditional risk factors for having a heart attack or a stroke. Dr Wagner, a neurology professor at the University of Zurich, said "Traditionally men have been perceived to be more affected by heart attacks and strokes than women, but in some countries, women have overtaken men. There is a gender gap and further research is needed to find out why”. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 31 August 2021

A same-day blood test that can rule out pre-eclampsia, in pregnant women is being rolled out across the NHS in England. The test, known as placental growth factor (PLGF) testing, is already being used in three quarters of maternity units in England. NHS clinical director for maternity and women‘s health Matthew Jolly said: “Pre-eclampsia is a life-threatening condition for both mum and baby if left untreated and this is why the NHS takes every precaution possible when soon-to-be mums have some of the early signs, like high blood pressure. This new way of testing means we can rule out the condition in a much quicker and easier way - it removes the stress that comes with the uncertainty around not having a diagnosis and will reassure thousands of pregnant women every year.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 25 August 2021

Appletree Hospital in Durham, a unit that provides female patients needing mental health care, has received an urgent enforcement notice from the Care Quality Commission. According to a report published by the CQC today, the hospital had “ineffective leadership”, also warning staff were carrying out “inappropriate” restraint on patients and that restraint was used “as a first line intervention”. The CQC report revealed staff had also claimed managers accepted the use of “unnecessary” restrictive practices. A spokeswoman for Cygnet’s Appletree unit said: “We move forward with strengthened local leadership, including a new hospital director and safeguarding and quality improvement leads.” Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 25 August 2021

According to a new study, mothers at risk of premature birth could be identified as soon as 10 weeks into their pregnancy. The study, conducted by King's College London and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found that by looking for specific bacteria in the in a pregnant woman’s cervicovaginal fluid, it could reveal warning signs for premature birth, meaning inflammation can be found and treated early to protect mothers and babies. Study author Andrew Shennan OBE, who is Professor of obstetrics at King’s College London, explained: “Premature birth is very hard to predict, so doctors have to err on the side of caution and mothers deemed to be at risk often don’t actually have their babies early, putting undue strain on everyone involved. My team has developed preterm birth prediction tools that are very accurate later in pregnancy, like fetal fibronectin tests – but at that stage, you can only manage the risks, not stop it from happening. The sooner we can find out who’s at risk, the more we can do to keep mothers and babies safe.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 23 August 2021

1,500 safety recommendations have been made to NHS trusts a year after hundreds of babies were left brain damaged and dozens of mothers and infants died. Safety watchdog Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has outlined key themes from 760 investigations of maternity incidents, taking over investigations for NHS trusts in 2018 after concerns were raised over the poor quality of investigation by trusts and a lack of involvement in families. Sandy Lewis, associate director of maternity said: “The publication of the HSIB maternity programme year review provides crucial details of the work that has been undertaken in the last year. We would like to thank all of those who have worked with us in the past year, sharing their experiences, insights and expertise. Many families have not only told us their stories but have also trusted our investigators to reflect their perspectives and share their experience. Trusts have responded promptly to this insight, this has contributed to improving safer care of mothers, babies and families across the country.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 16 August 2021

At a virtual event held by The Independent last night, experts agreed maternity services needed to be overhauled. The panel discussion, NHS maternity scandal: Inside a crisis, laid out the facts surrounding the problems around maternity care and concerns around safety amid repeated examples of poor care in multiple cases. Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who has been leading the inquiry into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals explained "I think one of the major issues around maternity services is that we’re not treated in the same way as A&E. I think that people fail to see that actually, maternity is a woman’s A&E department, you can start a shift in any maternity unit, you can plan what you think you’re going to do. But actually you don’t know what is going to come in the front door.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 12 August 2021

After an unannounced inspection at the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in June, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found an “emergency c-section was being performed without the correct equipment available to monitor the mother”. According to reports, the inspectors stepped in immediately to raise concerns, which was then corrected straight away. In a letter to the trust, the CQC wrote, “Overall, we were concerned that the safety culture in the service was underdeveloped. There were no dedicated maternity safety huddles in line with national guidance. Handovers doubled up as safety huddles. During our observations of handovers, we saw that staff did not discuss safety issues and the format was not safety focused.” Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 6 August 2021

Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, England's chief midwife has sent a letter to midwives, obstetricians and GP practices urging them to encourage pregnant women to get double-vaccinated. "Vaccines save lives, and this is another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones, safe and out of hospital." Dunkley-Bent has said and recommends advice on jabs be offered at every opportunity. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 30 July 2021

Midwives working at the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) Trust have told The Independent that "women are still at a risk of harm". This comes after Nottingham hospitals were investigated after it was found there was a high number of baby deaths and injuries on the maternity ward. However, midwives have revealed to The Independent that there are still not enough resources and support to help women deliver their babies safely. One midwife working in the community told The Independent: “They keep saying ‘We’ve learned our lessons, it’s not like that now’ – but it’s even worse now. It’s worse because we know about it and it’s still bad. Women are still at risk of harm. Even more so in the community.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 25 July 2021

More than 20 families have said they want a completely independent inquiry into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust. One mother, Hayley Coates has said her baby was delivered with forceps, a fractured skull and was starved of oxygen, suffering major brain injuries after a very difficult labour. An inquest this year found serious failings in the service Hayley received after her baby Kaylan, died of an infection a week later. "I was pushing and pushing and nothing was happening. I kept saying the baby isn't coming and I need to go for a Caesarean, but staff kept saying I was going to have the baby naturally," Hayley has said. NUH chief executive Tracy Taylor has said, "We apologise from the bottom of our hearts to the families who have not received the high level of care they need and deserve, we recognise the effects have been devastating". Read full story. Source: BBC News, 22 July 2021

Health professionals have warned that if Covid-19 rates continue to rise, Maternity services may struggle to keep running. The Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have said home births have been cancelled amid ambulance shortages. Leah Deutsch, a senior registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Royal Free Hospital in north London, has told The Independent that some women were unable to have their home births during the first and second wave of the pandemic. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 21 July 2021

Now, almost two years after a consultation on inquests into stillbirths was delivered, the government has yet to respond. It has recently been reported by MPs that 1,000 babies die preventable deaths each year due to understaffing and a culture of blame among the maternity ward workforce. However, despite pressure from campaigners and a promise by the government that a response would come in September 2019, it is yet to be published. The Department for Health and Social Care has told Byline Times, “work on analysing the responses to the consultation on coronial investigations of stillbirths has been delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Read full story. Source: Byline Times, 14 July 2021

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has warned there may be a risk to pregnant women when next weeks restrictions relax. Experts are warning that infection rates among pregnant women may increase once the restrictions are lifted and encourage them to protect themselves and their families as women who are pregnant are more likely to become severely ill with Covid-19. RCN chief executive Gill Walton, has said: "Along with mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing, vaccination is a vital tool in the fight to protect yourself against this virus. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 15 July 2021

A new independent inquiry has been launched after reports of mother and baby deaths at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. According to patient safety minister Nadine Dorries, the inquiry will be led externally and will be examining cases going back to 2016. The review has been welcomed by families but they have said they want to be fully involved in the process including setting the terms of reference and making sure it is a truly independent inquiry. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 13 July 2021

Spire Health Care in Bristol and the Mercy Hospital in Missouri have been awarded contacts by the Scottish government to perform surgical mesh removal for Scottish women, with costs for travel and surgery covered by the hospitals, the BBC reports. Each procedure has been estimated to cost between £16,000 and £23,000, with contracts to remove the mesh outside of Scotland expected to start later in the summer. Marian Kenny, 62, from Glasgow has said, "It has given me and lots of other women hope - and that's not something I've had in my life for quite some time." Read full story. Source: BBC News, 12 July 2021

The Care Quality Commission has downgraded another maternity unit over 'blame culture' and concerns over safety. After an inspection was carried out, Salisbury Foundation Trust , which was downgraded from 'good' to 'inadequate' has been told it must make improvements after concerns were raised about safety and leadership of the maternity unit. Head of hospital inspection at the Care Quality Commission, Amanda Williams has said: “Following our recent inspection of Salisbury District Hospital’s maternity services, we found that women and babies using the service received effective care and treatment which met their needs most of the time. But most of the time is not good enough. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 10 July 2021

A year on from the vaginal mesh scandal and ministers have failed to take action. The new health secretary Sajid Javid has been called on to intervene by families, lawyers and campaigners and has been asked to implement recommendations made by the Cumberlege Inquiry. Emma Hardy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Surgical Mesh Implants has said “Women deserve better than the government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, but they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 08 July 2021

Women deserve better, say campaigners Women have voiced their frustration that a year since Baroness Cumberlege published her scathing First Do No Harm report the only thing the Government has achieved is a half-hearted apology from Matt Hancock. Politicians from all parties are meeting to call for action in a debate in Parliament on the one-year anniversary since the Cumberlege report was published https://firstdonoharmappg.org.uk/category/news/ The back-bench debate is on Thursday July, 8, and is being led by MP Emma Hardy and Shadow Health Minister Alex Norris. Emma Hardy, MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) into mesh, said: “Women deserve better than the Government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.” The First Do No Harm report looked at the dismissive attitude towards women harmed by mesh implants, and also women and their babies harmed by Primodos pregnancy testing drug and epilepsy drug Sodium Valproate. Primodos was discontinued in the 1970s. Sodium Valproate is still used today and there are fears women are still not being warned of the risks to their unborn baby if they take it during pregnancy. The debate is calling for all Cumberlege recommendations to be implemented without further delay, including financial redress for women and sweeping reform of the healthcare and regulation framework. It is also calling for a retrospective audit of mesh to work out the number of women suffering. The Cumberlege report suggests contacting all women who had mesh in the year 2010 to see how they are in 2021. Kath Sansom, founder of campaign group Sling The Mesh, which has 9,000 members, said: “Mesh for stress incontinence was suspended in 2018 and we believe it should not be brought back until the audit is carried out until we know the true scale of complications. Scottish Government have pledged to never bring it back. Sadly, surgeons in England are pushing for it to be used again.” Included in the recommendations is a call for industry to declare all monies and gifts to doctors, teaching hospitals and research institutions. Kath said: “In post pandemic times it is more important than ever to know who is funding our research and prescribing decisions. In America there is a Sunshine Payment Act, forcing healthcare giants, who make billions in profits, to declare all the money and non-financial gifts they hand out. It has been proved such funding leads to bias in prescribing and bias in the scientific research. We need this legislation for the UK. That way campaigners and patients can see who is funding a doctor’s voice.” Meantime, in Northern Ireland and Wales, mesh injured women have been left virtually high and dry and will be looking to the debate for hope. Susan McLarnon of Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland, said: “Mesh services are next to non-existent. No formal announcement has been made since the new centres opened on 1st April. Patients who are lucky enough to get a gynaecology appointment are still being told mesh isn’t the issue. They are still in denial. Women have been left in limbo. Suffering horrendous pain with nowhere to turn. Some are being told to complain to their MP yet nobody is listening to us.” Karen Preater, of Mesh Awareness Wales, added: “Other than when the Cumberlege report came out, there has been no statements or correspondence, I have emailed several times asking about a Patient Safety Commissioner and have had no responses. South Wales have their centre. North Wales are told to use Manchester. Total silence from the Welsh Government.” The Parliamentary debate will look at the black hole in official statistics, which means nobody knows how many women have been harmed. Kath said: “We are deeply concerned about a significant discrepancy between NHS figures and surgeon data on mesh complications – we fear surgeons have downplayed complications by almost ten times. The truth is nobody knows the scale of this women’s health scandal and the only way to get to the bottom of it is a retrospective audit.” See the question to Parliament on discrepancy of the figures about the number of women suffering here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-04/163289 USEFUL LINKS BLOG by MP Emma Hardy: Mesh surgery is costing the NHS millions https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2018/04/18/mesh-surgery-failure-is-costing-the-nhs-millions-of-pounds/

A call for action on the one-year anniversary since the Cumberlege report was published will be happening in Parliament today and is being led by MP Emma Hardy and Shadow Health Minister Alex Norris. Emma Hardy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (AAPG) has said “Women deserve better than the Government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.” Read full story. Source: Medical Plastics News, 07 July 2021

Baroness Julia Cumberlege has said she is angry and frustrated at the lack of progress being made after she led a critical review into how the health service treats female patients. During her review, she spent 2 years speaking to 700 women and their families who experienced complications linked to two drug treatments and a medical device. The four UK governments are still considering her recommendations and say they will respond fully later this year. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 08 July 2021

Analysis from leading psychiatrists found from 2020-2021 out of 47,000 women, only 3,1261 were able to get help from perinatal services. Whilst it was deemed the pandemic was not the main reason women were being denied access, it was established that due to lack of investment and funding, services were unable to provide support when needed. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for funding in the next spending review. Read full story. Source: The Guardian, 1 July 2021