Broadchurch's Sarah Parish calls for redemption for Winchester doctor

Local actor Sarah Parish said she “can’t imagine what would have happened” if Martyn Pitman hadn’t had been her obstetrician.

Hundreds of comments have been posted in the Facebook group, Friends of Martyn Pitman, calling out the NHS and in support of Mr Pitman after he was fired by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at the beginning of March following more than 20 years of service.

The consensus of former staff is that the doctor was forced to leave due to speaking up for patient safety and midwives’ rights and consequently labelled a whistle-blower by his seniors.

READ MORE: Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust fire 'life-saving' doctor Martyn Pitman

The consultant who worked at hospitals in Winchester and Andover saw Ms Parish through both of her pregnancies at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. The first being in 2007 with her daughter Ella-Jayne, who was born with a congenital heart defect after an emergency caesarean section and died at just eight months old.

Sarah, 54, said: “Originally, I had an obstetrician with a terrible bedside manner so I was passed onto Martyn and thank god because he was absolutely brilliant. Martyn held my hand throughout the delivery and kept Ella-James alive.”

After her baby died, the actor who founded the Murray Parish Trust with her husband James Murray, became pregnant again at 41. She was coming up to 34 weeks while on a job abroad, when felt something wasn’t right.

Ms Parish continued: “I flew back to England the next day and Martyn insisted we got her out immediately. He knew we couldn’t waste any time and said it would be a very tricky birth.

“It was a Saturday night, so he called around the whole South of England to make sure he had the team he needed and I woke up with a baby, a womb and a bladder still intact which is rare with the procedure.

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“So many things could have gone wrong. I was a geriatric mother and a very nervous patient after having such a traumatic experience last time. But I couldn’t have asked for a better person to get me through it. He was god-like.

“I now have a perfect 13 year old. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he wasn’t my doctor and I’ve heard millions of other stories like mine - he’s saved lives.”

“This terrible thing couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. He is spotless. He seems to have been dismissed for causing noise about something they didn’t want to hear noise about. There needs to be an appeal.

“He will never want to work at that hospital again but he needs to be able to work and come out of this with a clean slate because he has done nothing wrong.

“People need to keep supporting him and writing letters to their MPs. This case cannot disappear and needs to be righted.”

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A dismissal appeal hearing was held on Tuesday, May 9 but the family remains unable to comment. The conclusion is expected to be announced in a week’s time.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) previously said it is unable to comment in detail due to an employment tribunal scheduled in October.

A spokesperson said: “HHFT takes all complaints, including grievances and whistleblowing made by its staff, extremely seriously. Each is handled impartially, professionally and in line with robust policies. In certain cases, this includes the commissioning of independent reports/ reviews by outside experts to ensure the highest levels of scrutiny. In addition, every effort is made to support the health and well-being of those involved in what can be a challenging process.

“We do not comment on cases relating to individual employees or former employees, particularly where there are ongoing processes.”