'Another mum's breast milk was given to my baby'

Isabella Gamble wants other parents to learn from her experience and not be afraid to ask questions

A mother whose baby was given breast milk from another patient is calling for a hospital to "do better".

Records, seen by the BBC, show Poole Hospital staff at St Mary's Maternity Hospital gave Isabella Gamble's newborn son expressed breast milk "from another donor in error" in 2019.

It comes after Poole Hospital admitted it was investigating after a baby was handed to the wrong mother at the same maternity unit in September last year.

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Poole Hospital, said: "The safety of parents and babies is our utmost priority."

'Wrong syringe'

Ms Gamble, from Bournemouth, was undergoing an iron transfusion after giving birth when the mix-up happened.

She said her sister spotted the syringe being used to give milk to her son had the wrong patient's name on it.

"The hospital were apologetic and did tests on the patient whose milk they used," she said.

"It was a big relief when staff confirmed it didn’t contain anything infectious or that could be dangerous for him."

Ms Gamble added: "I felt guilty that I wasn’t able to breastfeed my baby myself because I was having the transfusion.

"I was concerned about the error that had been made but I had just given birth and was navigating parenthood for the first time, and didn’t properly process what had happened."

Ms Gamble, from Bournemouth, was undergoing an iron transfusion when the mix-up happened

Ms Gamble said she felt there were "a lot of problems" at St Mary's Maternity Hospital, which was rated "inadequate" following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in March last year.

She admitted it had "incredible staff" but said they were working "under a lot of pressure".

She said she wanted to "highlight how important it is for Poole maternity hospital to listen to any concerns raised by parents and take action to do better for families".

Ms Gamble urged other parents to learn from her experience and not be afraid to ask questions.

"Although it can be challenging when you’ve just had a baby and are recovering, I want parents to feel empowered to speak up for themselves and their babies, to help them get the best quality care they can," she said.

'Thorough review'

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust said: "We want to reassure all women, birthing individuals and families that St Mary’s maternity unit is dedicated to providing safe care for all mothers and babies.

"We conducted a thorough review of Ms Gamble’s case at the time, and implemented changes based on our findings.

"Our maternity unit, and the entire trust, embrace a culture of continuous learning and improvement, leading to tangible improvements over the last 18 months, as highlighted in recent CQC maternity patient surveys, staff surveys and actions taken in response to our CQC visit.

"The safety of parents and babies is our utmost priority; we are fully committed to providing safe care.

"We encourage anyone with concerns to reach out to us directly."