Consultant sacked after raising concerns about push to normal births

Consultant was sacked from hospital after raising concerns about push towards normal births which he felt was putting lives at risk, tribunal hears

• Martyn Pitman said he had fears women were pressured into ‘natural births’ 

A consultant was sacked from a hospital after he ‘put his head on the line’ to raise concerns about a push towards normal births he felt was putting the lives of women and babies at risk, a tribunal heard.

Martyn Pitman said he spoke out over fears women were being pressured into having natural births over caesarean sections.

The consultant said that when midwives were told to advise pregnant women to give birth naturally instead of via Caesarean section, he ‘put his head on the line’ to go against this.

Mr Pitman said he also raised concerns about the ‘avoidable’ death of a mother during childbirth after a recommendation she have a Caesarean was ‘lost’.

Lucy Howell, 32, had opted for a natural birth for her second child despite a surgeon’s concerns she would be in danger if she did. She suffered a rupture and, while daughter Pippa survived, Ms Howell passed away in March 2021.

Martyn Pitman, obstetrician and gynaecologist, is suing Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Chief Medical Officer Lara Alloway at an employment tribunal

Lucy Howell (pictured), 32, had opted for a natural birth for her second child despite a surgeon’s concerns she would be in danger if she did. She suffered a rupture and, while daughter Pippa survived, Ms Howell passed away in March 2021

Mr Pitman said he raised concerns about the ‘avoidable’ death of Lucy Howell (pictured with Matthew Howell) during childbirth after a recommendation she have a Caesarean was ‘lost’

At her inquest, a coroner concluded that even if she had had a C section there was not evidence proving she would not have suffered the same fate but Mr Pitman said his intervention in this ‘tragic’, and ‘entirely avoidable major clinical incident’ was unpopular among managers and the Trust’s senior management team.

He said he and colleagues also raised concerns about ‘dangerously low staffing levels’ before being fired by bosses at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in May.

His bosses cited an ‘irretrievable breakdown in his relationship with management’.

The experienced obstetrician and gynaecologist is now suing the Trust and Chief Medical Officer Lara Alloway at an employment tribunal, claiming he was let go for making a ‘public interest disclosure’.

His dismissal caused outrage from hundreds of former patients and doctors’ leaders, who say it highlights an NHS culture of ‘punishing those who dare to speak out’.

Mr Pitman’s supporters include Sarah Parish, the actress from the ITV crime drama Broadchurch, who credits him with having saved her baby’s life during a complicated caesarean delivery.

Giving evidence at the tribunal in Southampton yesterday, Mr Pitman said that in February 2003, he had been appointed to his ‘dream job’ as a consultant at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital (RHCH).

But he said he noticed problems following the merger of the RHCH and Basingstoke and North Hants Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2012.

Mr Pitman told the hearing that in 2019 he had become a ‘sounding board and spokesperson’ for midwives to challenge senior management on a number of issues.

He said that due to his expertise and years of professional experience, he was in the ‘perfect position’ to raise concerns over dangerously low staffing levels and patient safety.

Martyn Pitman pictured arriving at Southampton Tribunal Court today

A coroner concluded that even if Lucy Howell (pictured with Matthew Howell) had a C section there was not evidence proving she would not have suffered the same fate

The married father of two said: ‘RHCH had traditionally been a consultant led unit’ and he was ‘justifiably reluctant to follow the low-risk, senior midwifery-led pro-normalisation model of care championed by our new partners’.

Mr Pitman said he believes that in the 21st century, ‘maternity care should be patient focused with parents being able and supported to choose, with evidence based advice, how and where to deliver their babies’.

He said that at the time of the merger, this was ‘somewhat professionally unpopular’ which consequently made him ‘vulnerable to managerial challenge’.

Recalling the tragic death of Mrs Howell, Mr Pitman said he raised concerns with Avideah Nejad, clinical director about the management of her care.

‘I believed that several aspects of her care represented clinical negligence.’

He said his whistleblowing was ‘brushed under the carpet’ and he was then investigated for ‘bullying’.

Prior to this he had an ‘entirely blemish-free disciplinary record’.

The employment tribunal continues.

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