Hospitals are not doing enough to protect new mothers from salesmen, report states
Hospitals are not protecting new mothers from high-pressure salesmen who try to take advantage by pushing products hours after the women have given birth, a new report states.
The complaints on behalf of new parents suggest that salesmen aware of this vulnerable time are pushing sales - and jeopardising sensitive family information by making it public to third-parties, The Telegraph reported.
The issue was addressed by care minister Caroline Dinenage, who called upon hospitals to take more steps in keeping “intrusive” salesmen away from women during this time.
According to the complaints, salesmen are offering photographs or handing out fliers - which directly impacts the “safe and comfortable environment” that families should feel in a hospital, said Ms Dinenage.
The care minister also suggested that organisations such as Bounty are guilty of causing new mothers “embarrassment and offence” with their tactics.
As a potential remedy to the issue, Ms Dinenage suggests hospitals only allow sales representatives into rooms where the parents have given explicit consent, a model already followed by Ipswich Hospital.
At the hospital, which previously had complaints of a similar issue, cards will now be placed at the bedside of new mothers to indicate whether they will allow salesmen.
The tactic of organisations such as Bounty has been a cause for concern before, with a petition five years ago urging the care minister at the time to do something, receiving more than 26,000 signatures.
At the time, steps such as sending out warning notices were taken to “ensure the protection of women’s privacy and dignity,” however, the newspaper reports the Care Quality Commission (CQC) could not provide information on the number of times these notices had been sent.
As the country-wide complaints continue, the care minister urged hospitals to “review the current guidelines to safeguard the well-being of all women who have given birth.”
And while Ms Dinenage acknowledges that representatives from organisations such as Bounty can be useful, she said: “their approach can sometimes be a little ‘off.’”
In response to the concerns, a Bounty representative told The Telegraph: “We are very sorry if anyone has had an experience with us that is not up to our high standards. Bounty fully supports and acknowledges the need to respect the privacy and dignity of families on the maternity ward.
“Our code of conduct requires that we check with the midwifery team to establish which mums we may or may not visit. Research shows that the vast majority of new mothers enjoy, expect and welcome our services.
“We work closely with the NHS to ensure our services are offered on the basis of choice and that they comply with the standards required by our hospital partners.”
The spokesperson also denied that information is released without permission - and that a mother can be removed from its database “at any time.”
