'I will never know if my baby would have survived'

A woman whose daughter was stillborn in a maternity ward at the centre of an investigation has said she will never know whether her baby would have survived if her concerns had been acted on sooner.

Ashleigh Welsh lost baby Billie at 28 weeks in 2022 after attending the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh’s obstetrics triage and assessment unit twice concerned about reduced movement.

She was told her baby had no heartbeat during a routine midwife appointment at her GP surgery, days after being sent home from the hospital, where she felt her pleas for a scan were ignored.

The mum-of-two from Edinburgh said she “wasn’t surprised” to read reports outlining concerns from whistleblowers surrounding staff shortages and a “toxic culture” between management and midwives.

Speaking to STV News, she said: “I wasn’t surprised, but it makes me angry as well because we had gone through the review.

“I have been through the complaints procedure and Ombudsman, and they all came back saying that yes, I should have had the scan, and they partially upheld the complaint. They’re not taking it any further, but they acknowledge that.

“Hearing all this, that makes sense. If they’ve been short-staffed, they’ve just been in a rush to get us in and out and not actually taking the right procedures or listening to us properly when we’re saying there’s something wrong, we’re worried and we’ve got concerns.

“They’re doing the bare minimum probably and getting us out the door.”

‘The chance for Billie was taken away from us’

Ashleigh believes things on the unit were not “running better” when she returned to have baby Riley eight weeks ago.

“I think because of what happened before, I knew just not to give up and push and basically say I’m not happy, I want to be seen”, she explained.

“Now, looking back on the pregnancy and everything with Billie, my one regret is not digging my heels in and saying, look, ‘I’m not leaving until you’ve scanned me’.

“Because I knew in my gut that there was something wrong, I had told them on three separate occasions that I had reduced movement.

“What hurts so much is that I’ll never know. They never gave Billie the chance.

“If they had scanned me and picked up that the fluid had been reducing or that there was something wrong with the growth or there was very little fluid, could they have delivered her and got her out?

“I know she would have been very small, and it would have been a long, long road. But I feel that that chance has been taken away from us, and we’ll never know.”

Ashleigh Welsh with daughter Riley STV News

The NHS Lothian maternity unit deals with around 1,200 pregnant women who require urgent care every month.

One midwife told STV News there have been high levels of burnout, absences and staff turnover.

Leah Hazard, an NHS midwife who has been campaigning for change and has written extensively about the profession, said that staff have long raised concerns about patient safety, lack of resources, and toxic workplace cultures.

Following the reports, NHS Lothian said an improvement plan has been implemented to enhance patient safety and the working environment for staff.

‘The staff are being let down too’

Despite the unit representing a place of “trauma and anxiety” for Ashleigh, she believes the staff are not to blame for the level of care she received.

She added: “The staff are lovely and they want to do their best and you can see that and they’re great at what they do. I can’t stress that enough.

“I don’t blame the midwives, I don’t blame the staff that are on the floors. They’re rushed off their feet, and they’re trying their best.

“It is higher up. They need to look at this and the staff need to be more supported.

“When I had Riley, I was under a consultant who was absolutely brilliant. The staff in the hospital on the day that I delivered were absolutely brilliant.

“I remember a midwife coming to me at whatever time at night it was to give me painkillers and saying, ‘I’m really sorry but we are short-staffed’ and I felt so sorry for them because they were.

“They were running about, and they were trying their best.

“I guess they’re being let down too.”

Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “I extend our sincere condolences to the family involved.

“We would reassure women that their health and the health of their baby is our paramount priority and we have taken a number of concrete actions to ensure we are providing safe care.

“Since concerns were raised, an improvement plan designed with staff to enhance patient safety, quality of care and improve the working environment and experience for our teams of dedicated staff is already underway.

“All aspects of patient care and workforce have been reviewed as well as staff working patterns, training and environment, as part of an open and transparent plan to work with teams.”