A MUM says she was sterilised without her consent while giving birth at a hospital being monitored for inadequate care.
Furious mum claims she never gave consent for the op
Victoria Hutchinson, 36, claims she only agreed to a caesarean.
She said: “It has turned my life upside down.” TRAUMA Victoria is devastated
AS they gazed at their newborn baby Harrison, Victoria Hutchinson and fiance Garry Gregory were in floods of tears – realising that he would be their last child.
For Victoria claims, after his C-section delivery, she had been sterilised against her will.
The couple now can’t have more children and Victoria’s dreams of acting as a surrogate for her younger sister have been dashed. She said: “I’m just devastated I can’t be a mum again.”
The alleged blunder occurred at Lincoln County Hospital, which is currently in special measures for a second time, following a damning Care Quality Commission report.
Victoria said: “I feel like they have taken something away from me.”
And she claimed: “I made it very, very clear I didn’t want to go ahead with the operation. “It’s turned my life upside down.” In May last year Victoria and Garry visited LCH to speak to a doctor about the birth.
The couple, who already had daughter Isabella, four, claim they were asked if they had considered a “tubal ligation” sterilisation op.
The medic explained that the procedure – where the fallopian tubes are cut or tied – is impossible to reverse. Victoria claimed: “I said ‘that sounds very final’ and she replied ‘don’t worry you can make your mind up later.’
At the end of the meeting, Vicky signed a form agreeing to an elective caesarean and “+/- tubal ligation”. Vicky added: “I only signed one form at the hospital, a month before the birth.
“I said I would think about whether we wanted the sterilisation operation. That’s why the medic wrote “+/- tubal ligation” on the form.
She added: “But as soon as we walked out of the hospital, we decided it was a definite no.”
But Victoria claims hospital records show the doctor wrote down that she seemed “keen” on the surgery, which differs from her account.
Vicky says there was no medical reason why she was offered the sterilisation. She says a medic mentioned the surgery during the meeting as part of a conversation about contraception following her son’s birth.
On June 9, Victoria returned for the caesarean and says she was asked again about sterilisation.
She claimed: “A female anaesthetist gave us a questionnaire and said: ‘are you going ahead with the tubal ligation?’ We both told her absolutely not, we have decided we don’t want it doing.”
She added: “Neither of us agreed to the sterilisation at any time.”
Victoria says there was no further mention of the op until it was carried out. But she claims, when she arrived in theatre, a new male anaesthetist was there. The C-section was carried out under epidural. Victoria was awake throughout.
Midway through, she says the male doctor felt faint and had to be replaced by a female surgeon. Victoria believes these staff changes may have caused confusion.
She claimed: “After two-and-a-half hours I asked the midwife why it was taking so long.
“She said ‘they’re just cutting your tubes’ and I immediately replied ‘I didn’t want that doing’.
“She said ‘oh’, got my paperwork out and then left the room and we never saw her again. Garry had tears in his eyes and I was in bits and I was in so much shock.”
Mum-of-three Victoria, who also has a child from a previous relationship, lodged a complaint.
She and courier Garry, 39, both of Lincoln, met with hospital bosses last week. Victoria claimed: “The meeting took two hours and they apologised on so many occasions. They ended by promising to keep investigating.”
The couple, who recently celebrated Harrison’s first birthday, are now considering legal action. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said yesterday: “We met Mrs Hutchinson to provide information and clarity around any issues she had with her care. We are unable to comment further on individual cases.”
In April the CQC placed ULHT into special measures a second time. Overall it was rated as “inadequate” while the safety of maternity services was listed as “requires improvement”.
ULHT was one of 11 NHS trusts put into special measures by Sir Bruce Keogh in 2013.
The latest inspection found the trust only met “good” standards in one out of five areas.
Midwife said they’re cutting your tubes, I said I didn’t want that VICTORIA HUTCHINSON ON ALLEGED BLUNDER