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Brighton midwife "randomly hacked" at mother and baby with scissors

1:26pm Wednesday 27th January 2010 in News

INJURED: Victoria Anderson and her daughter Daisy INJURED: Victoria Anderson and her daughter Daisy

A midwife from Brighton who committed a catalogue of failings during a woman's pregnancy and labour has been struck off.

Susan Rose, 55, was earlier found guilty of misconduct over her handling of the pregnancy of Victoria Anderson, 39.

The conduct and competence committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in London said there had been "multiple failures" in Ms Rose's care.

Chairman Catherine Hinton said: "This is a case of serious professional misconduct, involving multiple failures of care and professional standards at all stages of the care of the patient, from the date of the retainer, when she failed to explain that she was not covered by indemnity insurance, her ante-natal care, her care during and after labour, and her conduct in the course of the subsequent investigations."

The committee heard that Mrs Anderson, of Storrington, West Sussex, needed reconstructive surgery after the uninsured midwife "randomly hacked" at her and her 12lb baby with a pair of scissors.

The hearing was told that Mrs Anderson employed Ms Rose to deliver her third daughter at her home in September 2004. She paid £3,000 for the home birth service because she lived some distance from the nearest hospital. But she developed diabetes while pregnant and as a result baby Daisy had grown to 12lb inside her womb.

Mrs Anderson, who now has four daughters, told the hearing: "I got in the birthing pool but I was struggling to get the head out. I've got a history of having big babies so I asked Sue to cut me to get the baby out. She did cut me and I could see the head so I thought I was home and dry - but then nothing happened. I thought I would deliver the shoulders and Daisy would be out but suddenly Sue started to get stressed. She was sweating.

"Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting. It was as if I was a piece of meat. I was shouting 'get the baby out' and she literally just cut her out of me."

Mrs Anderson told the panel that her bowel was permanently damaged during the procedure and she has since had to have reconstructive surgery. Daisy suffers from Erb's palsy, a condition which causes paralysis in the arm because of the nerves being severed when she was born.

Comments(25)

patchamgirl says...
1:40pm Wed 27 Jan 10

SHOCKING! i was told about this yesterday and thought it was an internet viral!!! poor lady!! what a thing to go through.

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another 1 says...
2:36pm Wed 27 Jan 10

That is horrendous. No words really. All the best to the mother & daughter.

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eastofbrighton says...
2:42pm Wed 27 Jan 10

Sue Rose was not represented and did not attend, why? Also, she is not quoted in the story or really mentioned, why not? If you do some research you will find she is an excellent midwife with a long successful career and many, many happy clients. This sounds like an awful experience but has anyone questioned the word of Victoria Anderson, i quote "Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting.", a heavily pregnant woman with a 12lb baby, really?

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spanos says...
2:42pm Wed 27 Jan 10

Horrific...and terrifying. I hope that both can gain a little comfort that the midwife concerned will never be able to do this again. My best wishes to both.

My wife 8.5 months gone - this is the stuff of my nightmares.

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Tambourine Man says...
3:27pm Wed 27 Jan 10

eastofbrighton wrote:
Sue Rose was not represented and did not attend, why? Also, she is not quoted in the story or really mentioned, why not? If you do some research you will find she is an excellent midwife with a long successful career and many, many happy clients. This sounds like an awful experience but has anyone questioned the word of Victoria Anderson, i quote "Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting.", a heavily pregnant woman with a 12lb baby, really?
According to the Daily Mail, her husband was present, and his evidence supported his wife's account.
There would also be medical evidence of the injuries suffered by the mother and daughter.

If the midwife didn't give her version of events, it was her choice.

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Whitedot says...
4:25pm Wed 27 Jan 10

spanos wrote:
Horrific...and terrifying. I hope that both can gain a little comfort that the midwife concerned will never be able to do this again. My best wishes to both.

My wife 8.5 months gone - this is the stuff of my nightmares.
The moral of the story, never opt for a home birth.

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eastofbrighton says...
4:28pm Wed 27 Jan 10

the moral of the story, don't believe what you read in the paper.
this kind of stuff sells papers.

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davyboy says...
5:19pm Wed 27 Jan 10

eastofbrighton wrote:
Sue Rose was not represented and did not attend, why? Also, she is not quoted in the story or really mentioned, why not? If you do some research you will find she is an excellent midwife with a long successful career and many, many happy clients. This sounds like an awful experience but has anyone questioned the word of Victoria Anderson, i quote "Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting.", a heavily pregnant woman with a 12lb baby, really?
you could look at this 2 ways. 1) she did not attend or be represented because she had something to hide, OR 2) she felt she had done nothing wrong in her treatment. it seems unbelieveable to think that she 'threw' a pregnant woman across the floor during a birth. if she is as well thought of and popular as you say, why not put her side of the story? maybe urgent action was required, due to the baby being in distress, but without her evidence we will never know. clearly something did happen, as the child is disabled. maybe mrs anderson HAS over-done the truth a little, but it seems obvious that problems occured during the birth. sue rose needs to give her side, for clarity.

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TheInsider says...
7:14pm Wed 27 Jan 10

I was talking to my wife about this case as she is a nuse and she would like to know why Sue Rose agreed to deliver a baby at home for a woman with a history of giving birth to big babies, this woman also had diabetes which can cause complications and any nurse would know the risks, but my wife also suggested that this mother should/would have been given advice about the suitability of a home birth in these circumstances. Why did this mother then have to pay a private midwife?
Would the NHS not do a home delivery in these circusmtances?
The midwife should not have agreed to do the delivery, but can we have some more details about how this home delivery was alllowed to go ahead.

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eastofbrighton says...
7:41pm Wed 27 Jan 10

davyboy wrote:
eastofbrighton wrote:
Sue Rose was not represented and did not attend, why? Also, she is not quoted in the story or really mentioned, why not? If you do some research you will find she is an excellent midwife with a long successful career and many, many happy clients. This sounds like an awful experience but has anyone questioned the word of Victoria Anderson, i quote "Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting.", a heavily pregnant woman with a 12lb baby, really?
you could look at this 2 ways. 1) she did not attend or be represented because she had something to hide, OR 2) she felt she had done nothing wrong in her treatment. it seems unbelieveable to think that she 'threw' a pregnant woman across the floor during a birth. if she is as well thought of and popular as you say, why not put her side of the story? maybe urgent action was required, due to the baby being in distress, but without her evidence we will never know. clearly something did happen, as the child is disabled. maybe mrs anderson HAS over-done the truth a little, but it seems obvious that problems occured during the birth. sue rose needs to give her side, for clarity.
I quite agree, and with the comment afterwards. There are so many holes in this story. It seems to me that the mother wants the public attention for whatever reason and the journalists have just written her side of the story.
It would be good to hear from Sue Rose what happened and more importantly what has happened since.

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Floridagirl says...
8:58pm Wed 27 Jan 10

it is all very sad and yet again maternity services are slated. This mother knowing she had previously had big babies chose to have a home birth knowing she had diabetes as well. She paid this midwife yet failed to check her creditials and insurance! flung her? threw her?.. the midwife was obviously aware that this was one large baby she was not going to pass, with the shoulders stuck she would have wanted her to change position to see if the baby shoulders would pass, yes it is very sad and assistance should have been sought.. but the baby is alive! maybe left the baby would have been starved of oxygen and suffered from brain damage or worse..

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TheInsider says...
9:09pm Wed 27 Jan 10

Floridagirl, please see my comments.
I agree with you.
My wife's best friend was a midwife for ten years and left the profession because of the increased levels of personal liability the nurse takes for another human being for what is really a paltry salary and little professional support for such a vital job.
This is the real reason the NHS cannot recruit and retain midwives. She now works in occupational health for a private company and earns three times as much with a car and without the responsibility.
My wife has asked what advice the paediatrician gave this lady before she embarked on employing a private midwife particulalry with her birth history and the likelihood of a large baby with her diabetes.
These comments are not meant to detract from this lady's terrible experience, but if readers have the bigger picture it may put other mother's minds at rest with regards to home births and selecting one.

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Knufflebunny says...
10:15pm Wed 27 Jan 10

What total nonsense... Home births are just as safe as hospital births for mother and baby and the number of interventions are substantially less even if the mother is transferred into hospital during labour.

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Knufflebunny says...
10:21pm Wed 27 Jan 10

What total nonsence was referring to whitedots suggestion that the moral of the story is never opt for a home birth.

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alyn, southwick says...
10:42pm Wed 27 Jan 10

eastofbrighton wrote:
Sue Rose was not represented and did not attend, why? Also, she is not quoted in the story or really mentioned, why not? If you do some research you will find she is an excellent midwife with a long successful career and many, many happy clients. This sounds like an awful experience but has anyone questioned the word of Victoria Anderson, i quote "Then she threw me across the room on to all fours and started cutting me with scissors. She cut me randomly and she just kept cutting.", a heavily pregnant woman with a 12lb baby, really?
Neither I nor any other member of the general public need to do any research, it's already been done for us, by the body that struck her off. Unless of course that body was made up of the victims in this case, or perhaps the journalists and editors of this and every other paper and media that ran this story, or perhaps even us commentators. As it is a body of professionals who would have considered the facts from every-one's perspective even if any interested party choose not to present their version of the facts, I can see no grounds to complain. (If anyone friend, or the ex-midwife wanted to complain and put their side of the story, the time to have done it was during the official hearing.)

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mycroftmill says...
8:04am Thu 28 Jan 10

The conduct and competence committee really swung into action on this one!
5yrs to take disciplinary action. Their heads must be spinning.

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belleofbrighton says...
9:25am Thu 28 Jan 10

Sue delivered my niece's baby. She was very friendly and comforting but I was concerned about her lack of application and she was quite rough (but then I've never seen any other midwives). She talked of going to Africa to help a local charity, goodness only knows what damage she may have done in those circumstances.

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eastofbrighton says...
9:36am Thu 28 Jan 10

alyn, fair point.
My point was really about how the story was being presented not the enquiry, it seems full of holes and very one sided.
I read the judgement and it sounds quite damning.

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Leeds Seagull says...
10:00am Thu 28 Jan 10

It was irresponsable to put herself in that situation in the first place. A diabetic with a 12lb baby should have gone for an elective.

We have hospitols for a reason Duh

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Muffin_top says...
1:18pm Thu 28 Jan 10

Anyone can view the Fitness To Practice hearing for this case through the NMC website), it's freely available. Therefore no need to speculate. Unfortunately in this case it would seem that the midwife did act improperly in a number of elements of this lady's pregnancy and birth, including omitting vital observations, attempting to break the baby's collar bone to aid delivery and in not declaring her lack of public liability insurance as a private practitioner. The NMC has come under a huge amount of criticism for its long winded processes, however there are reforms under way within the organisation which should increase efficiency and result in faster turnaround of cases.

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Jo-scuba says...
7:11pm Fri 29 Jan 10

All I can say is "12 lbs....ouch!!!"

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Txa says...
3:59pm Sat 30 Jan 10

I might be wrong, but for what I hear, the weight of the baby hasn't make the birth more difficult. It's the size of the head circumference that matters; if the head can go through so the rest of the body.

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hvroe says...
12:03pm Wed 3 Feb 10

Txa:

Yes, you are wrong, very wrong. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the head has been delivered but one of the babies shoulders impacts against the mothers pelvic bone, thus preventing delivery of the shoulders. Large babies (over 4.5kg) are at greater risk of this complication, although not all large babies suffer from it.

I think we should all stop pointing the finger when
a) we don't know the whole true story and
b) we do not have the knowledge to contradict someones midwifery practice.

Yes what happened was very sad but the midwife ultimately saved that babies life.

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Hollingdean says...
9:13am Tue 23 Feb 10

There is an interesting article in the Independent which seems to go some way to redressing the balance and answering some of the un-answered questions about this case.

http://www.independe
nt.co.uk/life-style/
health-and-families/
health-news/im-not-a
-butcher-says-struck
off-midwife-1906485.
html

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eastofbrighton says...
9:31am Tue 23 Feb 10

Interestingly the article mentions how the incident had been investigated already by a supervisor who found the midwife fit to practise.
It seems to me that this so called inquiry is not fit for purpose.

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