"The morning after, my cannula was falling out. No one came to check or remove it…I took it out myself."

A mother's experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2024:

My actual planned c section went very smoothly but the aftercare was awful. I was put in a private room and forgotten about.

No staff actually entered the room again for around 6 hours, when a midwife asked me if I'd been up and about yet and why not. I explained that no one had been in. I hadn't even been given any food. This was at 8pm. The midwife said she would try to find me a sandwich and never came back.

Another midwife came around 22:00 and lifted the bedsheets to check my bleeding, without asking. She then called another midwife to check me. She did and they both left without explanation.

At around midnight, 2 lovely ladies came to move me up to postnatal level 5. I asked about food again and they were shocked I hadn't had anything. They got me the ad hoc menu and I finally ate.

On postnatal, I asked for some warm water so that I could clean baby with cotton wool when changing him. The lady wasn't happy about it and told me I should have brought baby wipes. I didn't ask again and just used water from my jug. I pressed my buzzer a couple of times in the night but found the staff to be rude and unhelpful.

The morning after, my cannula was falling out. No one came to check or remove it, despite me asking several times. I took it out myself.

I was told just before lunchtime that they needed my bed and that I could wait in the day room for my husband after I had eaten. I was told to pack my bags up and they would be brought down to me.

I took my baby and went down to the day room. My husband collected my bags when we were leaving. My bed was still empty as I left it so I might as well have still been in it.

I was glad to get out.