Anger on premature twins release

A mother is angry that she was allowed to take her prematurely born twins home two days after she gave birth at Stafford Hospital.

Rebecca Read said she was concerned that Jenson and Harley, who were born in the maternity unit on December 3, were underweight.

Jenson weighed 5lb 7oz at birth and his sister 4lb 1oz and both had lost weight after birth.

Rebecca, aged 24, of Winchat Drive, Heath Hayes, who has three other children aged six, four and three, said the twins had failed to put on weight at home and she had become concerned about their breathing.

On December 23 she called an ambulance and both were taken back to the hospital where they were discovered to have bronchitis and hypothermia. They spent Christmas in hospital and were finally allowed back home on the night of December 29.

Rebecca said: "I kept telling doctors and midwives that the twins were not well and I was told there was nothing to worry about.

"When they were re-admitted to the hospital I was told that because they were so small they couldn't maintain the right body temperature.

 "I am planning to make an official complaint. I was not given enough information at first and then couldn't get people to listen to what I was telling them. When Jenson and Harley were taken back to the hospital they thought at first just Jenson was ill and it took a long time to get Harley seen as well.

"Since they have been home they are being visited by a paediatric nurse and dietician as well as the midwife. Why was that done when they were first sent home?," she added.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Antony Sumara said: "We are confident that this patient and her two children were discharged correctly and according to procedure.

"We will be contacting her to give her the opportunity to discuss any issues, so that we can work with her to resolve them."

(Edit:Ruby)