Mum tells of 'life-altering' experience after bladder removed in error during c-section

ITV News Central Health Correspondent Nancy Cole hears from a mum whose bladder was cut out by accident during c-section at a Nottingham hospital trust linked to the deaths and serious injuries of dozens of babies

A mum whose bladder was cut out by accident during a planned c-section at a hospital trust in Nottingham has called the experience "life-altering."

Felicity Benyon from Mansfield was left with a permanent urostomy bag after staff at Queen's Medical Centre did not realise they had removed the organ during an emergency hysterectomy in 2015. 

She had been in hospital for almost five months prior to the birth, suspected to have a potentially fatal pregnancy complication called placenta percreta, where the placenta attaches itself and grows through the uterus. 

As a result of a five-year legal investigation, the 35-year-old believes the hospital did not have the right team of specialists on hand during her surgery.

Ms Benyon said: "What they told me was that they had taken out the womb and when they'd taken out the womb, they'd seen the catheter balloon and couldn't understand why they could see the catheter balloon, and where the bladder was so they turned the womb over and saw that they'd chopped off the bladder without even realising."

Nottingham Hospitals NHS Trust accepted liability last year. 

NUH chief nurse Michelle Rhodes said: "We'd like to reiterate our apology to Ms Benyon for the harm that was caused during her complex surgery.

"Since 2016 we have completely transformed the way that we deal with this rare but serious pregnancy complication - working with teams of specialists across the region to diagnose and care for women." Ms Benyon is now part of a group of families, where mothers and babies have died or been seriously injured, who want to see safer maternity care in Nottingham.

In 2020, Care Quality Commission inspectors rated maternity units run by NUH as "inadequate" and raised serious concerns including poor leadership and staffing issues. An independent review, commissioned by Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, begins this month.

Ms Benyon has called for other families to speak to the CCG about their experiences of care.