Heckmondwike mum's delayed care after birth injury

Ashley Roper, 37, suffered a buttonhole tear of her perineum while giving birth to her son Albi at Pinderfields Hospital in June 2017.

Doctors did not seek the opinion of a specialist surgeon before attempting to repair the injury, said Ashley’s lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.

Ashley, who lives in Heckmondwike, was discharged the following day.

Ashley and Albi (Image: Submitted)

However, the surgery carried out to try to repair the tear failed, Ashley’s lawyers argued.

She continued to suffer symptoms including incontinence and wind.

Four days after being sent home from hospital, she was readmitted.

Doctors should have diagnosed that a gap had developed in her perineum and suggested repair surgery. Instead, Ashley was sent home and advised to do pelvic floor exercises and undergo physiotherapy.

Ashley continued to suffer symptoms that affected her life. She was later referred to a colorectal surgeon who diagnosed her injury in the January after she gave birth.

She underwent repair surgery which broke down after a few days. Ashley underwent a further two operations to try and repair the injury, but these also failed. More than 18 months later, she was referred to a specialist surgeon for a fourth repair operation which was successful.

In total, Ashley underwent seven operations following her diagnosis, including having a stoma fitted and reversed.

(Image: Submitted)

Following her ordeal, she instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, to investigate her care under Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

The Trust admitted a breach of duty and that when Ashley returned to the hospital four days after initially being sent home, she should have been diagnosed with a gap in her perineum and offered repair surgery.

Irwin Mitchell has now secured Ashley an undisclosed settlement to fund the ongoing support and rehabilitation she requires following her injury.

Ashley, a payroll specialist, said: “When you go into hospital to have a child you never expect this kind of thing to happen.

“When I was initially sent home after giving birth to Albi I didn’t feel right so I was surprised when I was sent home for a second time with the advice I was given but I didn’t think I had any reasons to doubt what I was being told.

Ashley and Albi in hospital (Image: Submitted)

“However, my symptoms continued, not only for a few weeks but months. The longer they went on the more they affected me, not just physically but emotionally. I suffered discomfort as well as embarrassment as to what I was going through.

“I was desperate for my symptoms to stop and felt my life was just a series of hospital appointments and operations. Each time I hoped surgery would put an end to what I was going through. It was devastating to then be told the repair surgery hadn’t worked. It felt like I was back at square one every time.

“I went from being a resilient, independent woman to needing significant help. I needed large periods of time off work and felt like I was missing out on special time bonding with Albi because of my condition.

“While my friends were meeting in the park and attending baby groups, I was barely able to leave the house.

“After many dark months to be told that the fourth repair surgery had worked was such a relief. I’m still not right and am at risk of developing complications in the future, but I’m learning to adapt and regain more of my life.

“It's taken me many years to come to terms with and find the courage to speak about what happened to me.”

Talib Yaseen, chief nursing officer at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “We are incredibly sorry that Mrs Roper suffered complications following the birth of her son, and regret to have identified that aspects of her care should have been better. We sincerely wish Mrs Roper all the best for the future.

“We reported in August last year that an internal service assurance audit identified 52 women - out of the 17,648 who birthed at the Trust between January 2020 and December 2022 - who had experienced a third or fourth-degree perineal tear during childbirth, and where the required postnatal referrals to both urogynaecology and physiotherapy services had not been made.

“We are sincerely sorry that those referrals were not made, and we have individually apologised to those women who were impacted and offered them follow-up appointments.

“We remain committed to providing the best possible care to our patients, ensuring they receive the right diagnosis and treatment they need to get better.

"We take responsibility for our actions and remain dedicated to learning from any shortcomings to continually improve our services.”