My Blog

I’ve arrived home after being on the Victoria Derbyshire LIVE show on BBC2 this morning. I was part of an invited audience of 80 people – a mixture of NHS staff and patients; two MPs; leaders and representatives from health bodies such as the BMA and Royal College of Nursing.

Here are my thoughts and an account of what happened:

I received a call and invitation last week from one of the team, Ashley John-Baptiste. I have learned from 12 years of media not to be 100% certain that such a call will mean an appearance will actually happen! It was only a subsequent call and emails late on Friday that ensured that I did know for sure.

Logistical arrangements were made and in between one of my current part-time retail jobs, I got a late train into London last night (Sunday). I slept surprisingly well, despite the excitement and the rushing around! Often before a television  appearance I have a sleepless night – mainly for fear of sleeping in! Solution – I set my own alarm AND booked an early morning call.

At 6 I was up and at 7 was in the foyer at BBC House, along with others. We were told that the programme would involve some key areas of different aspects for discussion.

After passing through security, we then went through to the cafe.  Part of it had been set up as a studio. Apart from a few people who had been given an opening introduction, the rest of us were seated around the room. I was on the second row. We had been told that dress was to be informal.

Almost immediately Victoria, the producer Louise and a whole team of assistants appeared.  Then there were all the production team, for example, camera and lighting. It is quite incredible how many are involved in a programme.

We were thanked for attending and also told that Ashley may be familiar to us.  He has an incredible story – have a look at his website.

From 8 a.m onwards we had a rehearsal. This included the opening sequence.

Then we were told that they would attempt to get as many of us to speak as possible.  It would depend if we had anything relevant under the sections. In the rehearsal section, I was handed the mic and very briefly explained that my passion was around perinatal mental health.

There was a short break during which I seized the opportunity for a selfie with Victoria. She is just the same off-camera as on. She said that they believed that mental health is important to be addressed. I mentioned my friend Mark Williams had been on her show last year, speaking on paternal mental illness.

Around 10 minutes before we were live, the VIP guests took their front row seats.

We were then live! In between some of the video taped sections, that highlighted reports, statistics or stories, Victoria and her team directed questions and comments from the floor.

Two hours passed incredibly quickly!

I was aware that I was probably on camera quite often.  It was across the room, so wasn’t intrusive.  At one rather heated point of the debate, I was between a man from the Conservative think-tank and another who vehemently opposed his comments on finances. I didn’t quite know where to look!

The Labour MP, Jon Ashworth, looked “scared” most of the time. Next to him was the Conservative MP for Stafford Jeremy Lefroy. The ‘government’ received much angst about cuts and threats of privatisation.  Here I am behind them.

There were examples of care that could have debated for hours.  One lady, Carolyn Gammon, described her treatment for cancer during pregnancy and now having to fund raise herself for the £150,000 needed for the drugs to keep her alive.  I wanted to know if she was involved with the excellent charity ‘Mummy’s Star’ that helps support families affected by cancer in the perinatal period.  I wanted to comment on the charges by the pharmaceutical companies. Surely that must be questioned too?

Part of the debate was around Social Care.  Opinion was divided as to if we all should pay more tax and/or National Insurance.

Other people from the NHS spoke out about the pressures they are under; the heart-break to have to tell someone their surgery is postponed again; the ‘brain drain’ of our trained healthcare professionals to other countries.

Another lady, Leslie Channon, mentioned that she had suffered with postnatal depression. I didn’t get chance to pick up that point.

Every time someone spoke, hands would go up to make comments.  If you did, a member of the production team appeared at your side to ask what you wanted to say.  You whispered it and presumably they reported it back to the producers.  If they liked it, you were given the microphone and asked to stand up.  If time allowed, Victoria would bring you in.  We all were advised to be as concise as possible.

We all knew that not everyone would have the opportunity to speak, so you knew if you got the microphone, you had to make it count.

My moment came when a lady called Sylvia shared that her daughter had died on a midwifery unit leaving behind a brain-damaged little girl that she now was going to have to give up her job to look after full-time. (See at 1 hr 36 mins)

“How many lives are going to be lost, like my daughter’s, before something is done about the NHS” #VictoriaLIVE pic.twitter.com/NLH7ZPC2aw

— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) February 6, 2017

Up to this point nothing has been mentioned about midwifery care. There was a huge feeling of sorrow in the room for this lady.  I put my hand up; received the whisper and then the microphone. I was on my feet and Victoria brought me in …. I felt so conscious of the pain and tragic situation for this lady.  There was no way I wanted to use her situation and dismiss it just to get my comments in. I also was aware that it was an opportunity to give a focus on the pressures of midwives.  You can watch the whole programme here and my contribution at 1:40:47.

There were many other stories that could have filled countless programmes. The debate touched on a very wide range of conditions and situations without any real conclusions.  I know that the intention had been to conclude with some ideas around what could help the current ‘crisis’ of the NHS.

These are some of my thoughts:

• I believe passionately that the NHS is something the UK should fight for and cherish. We have some fantastic care and thousands of dedicated members of the workforce. Other countries in the developed world, like USA, have to sell their homes, in some cases, to pay for treatments we take for granted here. My shoulder surgery and care last year, for example, was excellent.  Perhaps we need to have far more examples of happy and successful outcomes to motivate staff? On feedback forms why is the emphasis on ‘what went wrong’ rather on ‘what went right’? We need to keep the balance.
• There are examples of wasted money in the NHS. Some of the audience spoke about the holes in the system, that no amount of extra funding could fill. One such example I know of is the sending of letters out for appointments for a deceased person. Not only is this painful for loved ones who have to call and cancel, it is a waste of admin and lost appointments.  Surely there should be an instant system within the NHS to update when a person dies?
• In regards to perinatal mental health I believe that it is ‘Everyone’s Business’, as highlighted by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. As a society we need to continue to fight the stigma and misconceptions around mental illness. Often people hide their feelings for fear of judgement and the concern their baby will be taken away. The longer they suffer in silence, the greater risk of their illness becoming worse and then needing possible crisis care and/or long term challenges with their mental health.
• As a society we need to look out for our friends, colleagues and relatives around the perinatal period. We need to offer support as opposed to judgement. I outline many examples of this in my second book.

• As individuals we need to take some responsibility for our own mental health. If you do get an appointment with a healthcare professional, be honest about your feelings. I felt ashamed and guilty post-natally about being diagnosed with postnatal depression. I refused offers of help because of this. I felt I had to prove I could manage. In doing so I spiralled close to suicide; needed care in a psychiatric unit and all the costs that went with that.  The sooner you speak up, the better for everyone.
• We must get maternity care better. So many of the families I have spoken to have gone on to have mental health issues due to a traumatic birth. This can be both mother, father or birth partner.  The overstretched midwives suffer too. It still surprises me that mental health is still a very small part of the midwifery curriculum. It is increasing and I believe it should be mandatory.
• I will continue to speak out about the need for preconception counselling to be widely available to mothers who are at risk of a perinatal mental illness. One appointment with a trained perinatal specialist can save a huge amount of financial and emotional cost. Since my second book was published I have been contacted by a number of couples who made a plan to maximise their mental health – rather than it be crisis-led. This has the potential to save thousands of pounds. They are now proud and happy parents – with good mental health. Perinatal mental illness need NOT be a contraceptive. Sadly , for some, it is viewed that way.
• It is time for us to collectively consider new ways of working. For example, ideas by the World Health Innovation Summit.

I have returned home with a saddened spirit. Yes, it was exciting to be on national television again. I am haunted by the story of Sylvia and her beautiful granddaughter and Carolyn’s battle in Wales for her life-prolonging drugs. Yes, we are getting many things right within the NHS. We also need to make certain things better. As Sylvia asked ‘Who’s going to help us?’

Thank you to the team at “Victoria Derbyshire Live” for all the work that went into the programme today. I truly hope that people may be helped as a result.

Elaine.