Midwives’ festive fancy dress in hospitals branded ‘stupid’
MIDWIVES working at a controversy-hit health board have been criticised for wearing fancy dress on the wards over Christmas.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board’s maternity services Facebook page shows dozens of staff donning festive costumes on the maternity and neonatal wards in Merthyr, Llantrisant and Bridgend.
One image shows NHS staff in what appears to be a Nativity scene wearing Mary, Joseph, shepherd, angel and king costumes, while another shows them dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
While many members of the public have praised their festive spirit, others have criticised the move, branding it “stupid” considering the recent failings in maternity services at the health board.
An internal investigation by a consultant midwife, followed by an external review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology and the Royal College of Midwives, unearthed “systematic failings” at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
In response to the costumes, one disgruntled midwife stated: “I’m all for having a bit of Christmas cheer, especially as the winter season can be unrelenting sometimes in the NHS. But allowing staff to wear fancy dress on a maternity ward is stupid. Not only does it make them look unprofessional, but it raises health and safety issues.
“Sometimes on maternity you get mothers who lose their babies. Imagine if that happened to you and you saw someone dressed as Snow White or a Christmas elf?
“One of the managers has even donned fancy dress, which baffled me even more. And then they’ve plastered it over a Facebook page.
“I’m not trying to be a Grinch here – there’s very good reasons why nurses have uniforms. And to go against these policies is damaging to the profession.”
In response, Sharon Hopkins, interim CEO of Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB, said she was supportive of staff who make efforts to celebrate Christmas with their patients and families and are actively encouraged to do so.
She said: “Working at this time of year can be difficult for our staff and we would like to thank them all for their dedication to care for those in hospital over the festive period and make efforts to mark the celebrations with them.
“In general, patients and families are hugely appreciative of Christmas activities as being in hospital over the festive season is a difficult time.
“Teams across all of our sites organised Christmas activities and they would have taken great care to ensure that during this time they acted accordingly and appropriately for the needs of everyone within their care.
“We are not aware of any complaints about Christmas activities from women using our maternity services at this time, and would like to pass on our congratulations and best wishes to all families who welcomed new arrivals over the festive period.”