Published Date: 05 September 2008

By Sophie Barley

A MOTHER who gave birth at Scarborough Hospital says she was "disgusted" by the state of the maternity ward.

Rhiann Askew, 33, of Staxton, took photographs which show ripped chairs and insulation packets hanging from the ceiling.

Mrs Askew gave birth to her third daughter, Willow, by caesarean.

She said: “I was in for four days and the ward was only mopped once and no-one came to wipe down the sides or anything else to the best of my knowledge. Overall, it was not a very pleasant experience.

“This was my partner's first child and you go in and expect a nice experience, but the whole place was just nasty to look at.”

“There are newborn babies who are obviously not that strong and women who have just had surgery on the ward. They need to be in a clean place. When I was in my bed I looked up and all I could see was an insulation packet coming down from the ceiling. It was terrible”

Mrs Askew said she was also given no pain medication as her medical card was lost. “I was also sent home with the wrong birth information written in my daughter's red book – the details given were that of the lady in the bed opposite. My daughter's length was also recorded incorrectly. They definitely need to do something to improve the cleanliness and overall standard.

“However, I do want to sing the praises of the healthcare assistants on the ward who were very helpful and supportive, and also the community midwives and health visitors who have visited us at home as their care towards my daughter and myself has been absolutely brilliant from the start.”

Chief nurse Teresa Fenech said: “I am pleased Mrs Askew was happy with the care she received and would like to apologise for the concern she felt due to the physical condition of the maternity ward.

“This ward is now more than 20 years old and does appear ‘tired'. However, it is scheduled to have improvement work soon and this should be completed within weeks. Once the work is finished I would like to assure Mrs Askew that accommodation for patients will be improved and we will have a better working environment for our staff.”

The full article contains 385 words and appears in Scarborough Evening News newspaper.