"Prolonged induction in Labor & Delivery ward - negative feedback."

I spent 5 days/nights in the L&D ward at KEMH with 3 attempted and 2 failed inductions. During my second induction attempt on day 3, I was woken by my shift midwife at 1am, unannounced and unintroduced, to perform a cervical exam. They had not seen me prior during their shift, and when I questioned them, they explained there had been no bedside handover due to a busy night. The midwife already had a glove and lubricant on their hand when they sat bedside and woke me. This staff member then denied me gas & air which my husband (who had woken from sleeping on the floor) was trying to hand me. My husband asked the midwife if I could have the gas & air and they ignored him. I let the midwife finish the cervical exam as they had already started and I did not want to prolong it by starting again. I later raised this concern with another midwife, who acknowledged it was not normal practice.

I had dilated enough to attempt to break my water and the resident was not comfortable to attempt to place my IV and requested the on-call anaesthetist. The day shift anaesthetist attempted four times unsuccessfully. 

During the 3rd attempt they picked up their personal mobile phone, read a text message and then exclaimed that they were late to pick up their kids, they are waiting. I urged them to stop and leave and the resident advised they had called the night shift anaesthetist to come and take over. The day shift anaesthetist went back to continue the third attempt (the needle was still in their hand unsheathed and I believe they performed no hand hygiene before continuing the procedure after using their phone and did not discard this cannula before continuing). The anaesthetist remained distressed and distracted and kept repeating to us that they were late and their children were waiting, this was witnessed by my husband and the resident and we urged them to stop and let the night shift anaesthetist take over. This was ignored. After the 4th failed attempt (as the night shift anaesthetist arrived) they relented and stopped. The night shift anaesthetist was able to place an IV successfully however the long delay meant I missed the chance to start my induction until the next day - my 5th day on the ward. 

The continued failed attempts at cannulation, the lack of infection control, and the general disregard for patient comfort were alarming. There was a lack of intervention, which I felt raised concerns about a hierarchical culture that prevents junior staff from speaking up. This incident has made it difficult for me to reflect positively on my experience, as I did not feel safe or cared for. Given the lack of adherence to protocols and patient safety, I am deeply concerned about the care provided at KEMH. I was informed that a SAC event was entered in relation to this, but I have no access to the details or outcome. I hope others have better experiences, as I feel my care was compromised, and I worry for those with less medical knowledge may face similar risks.

My other concern is minor in comparison - for such a prolonged stay we remained in the induction room - windowless and cramped, there was minimal room for visitors and not even a comfortable chair for my husband who spent 3/4 nights sleeping on the floor with only a blanket or pillows under him. During this time no one cleaned the floor in our room which felt pretty gross as this was where he was laying his head each night and multiple people (visitors, nurses, catering staff) were in and out all day and night. We asked for one of the blue pull out chairs, and despite one being discarded in the hallway which we stepped around each time we walked the hallways for several days, we were told there was no chair was available for him. I eventually sent him home to rest as our stay was so prolonged without even a suitable place for him to rest while he was caring for me.