Heckmondwike mum reveals impact of missed diagnosis after giving birth at Pinderfields Hospital

Ashley Roper, 37, suffered a buttonhole tear of her perineum while giving birth to son Albi at Pinderfields Hospital on June 22, 2017.

Doctors did not seek the opinion of a specialist surgeon before attempting to repair the injury.

Ashley, of Heckmondwike, was discharged the following day.

However, Ashley continued to suffer symptoms including incontinence and wind.

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

Ashley continued to suffer symptoms which affected her lif and she was referred to a colorectal surgeon who diagnosed her injury the January after she had given birth.

She underwent repair surgery which broke down after a few days and 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 to have a stoma fitted and reversed.

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

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.“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.

“The issue of birth trauma is still relatively taboo, but I hope by speaking out I can help other women. Nobody such have to go through such an experience alone as help and support is out there.”

Rebecca Tramaseur, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Ashley, said: “The last few years and coming to terms with the life-changing injury and symptoms Ashley has suffered has been incredibly difficult for not only her but her family.

“While nothing can make up for her ordeal, we’re pleased that we’ve been able to secure this settlement which will fund the specialist ongoing support Ashley needs to try and rebuild her life.

“Through our work we continue to see too many mums suffering unnecessary birth trauma injuries.

“While Ashley has shown tremendous bravery in speaking out in the hope of helping mums, it’s vital that the Hospital Trust learns lessons from the issues in Ashley’s case to improve patient safety for others.

“We also urge all hospital Trusts to ensure that as well as babies, the needs of mums are fully recognised and they receive the best care, not only in childbirth, but also during in any subsequent aftercare they may require.”

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.”

The charity MASIC provides support to women who have suffered perineal injuries during childbirth.