A TikTok midwife who makes videos advising women about pregnancy claims she was forced out of her job after a ‘witch hunt’ by ‘jealous’ colleagues.
Lara Basini-Millar, who goes by midwifemillar on social media, said that a ‘clique’ of other midwives set up a WhatsApp group chat to criticise her videos.
The midwife, who appeared on Channel 4‘s One Born Every Minute, shares videos with her 135,000 followers on how to ‘help women believe in themselves’.
She was working as a midwife at Southmead Hospital in Bristol two years ago when she started posting videos on TikTok.
She has now launched legal action against the North Bristol NHS Trust alleging constructive unfair dismissal.
The trust has said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment on Ms Basini-Millar’s claims because of the forthcoming court case.
Lara Basini-Millar, who goes by midwifemillar on TikTok, shares videos with her 135,000 followers on how to ‘help women believe in themselves’
Her TikTok posts offer advice to women, from what it feels like to be pregnant to what might happen during labour.
‘A lot of the advice I’m giving to women is because I have been that woman,’ said Ms Basini-Millar told the BBC.
The broadcaster reported that a number of midwives at Southmead Hospital have also raised concerns about bullying with senior management.
Ms Basini-Millar alleges that quite quickly after she began posting on TikTok, maternity staff at the trust started complaining about the videos.
She claimed they told her the videos were unprofessional and they undermined the reputation of the trust.
Ms Basini-Millar said she discovered that a WhatsApp group had been created among some colleagues, where they would criticise the videos.
She alleged to the BBC that one manager said: ‘I wouldn’t let you look after anybody I know because you’re so unprofessional on your TikToks.’
Ms Basini-Millar alleges that quite quickly after she began posting on TikTok, maternity staff started complaining about the videos
In late 2022, Ms Basini-Millar resigned over what she perceived to be constant bullying.
In a letter to senior management, she reportedly wrote that she had ‘not been treated fairly’, which resulted in ‘months of worry and stress’.
Later, the trust allegedly reported her over a ‘serious clinical error’ to the regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), who launched a fitness to practice review.
In March of this year, Ms Basini-Millar received a letter from the NMC saying they had closed their investigation because ‘there was no case for you to answer’.
The midwife has alleged that the whole case was ‘a witch hunt’, adding: ‘They didn’t just want me gone, they wanted me off the register’.
The internal review carried out by the trust reportedly raised broader concerns about the midwifery department, including finding that staff were ‘not comfortable with raising concerns about colleagues as they feel there is a culture that nothing will be done’.
Ms Basini-Millar is now reportedly suing North Bristol NHS trust for constructive unfair dismissal, with the case due to be heard in September
Poor culture has been repeatedly blamed by official inquiries for contributing to the problems within maternity care across England and Wales.
Ms Basini-Millar has now said she is suing North Bristol NHS trust for constructive unfair dismissal, with the case due to be heard in September.
In a statement issued to the BBC, the trust said that as the allegations were subject to an employment tribunal ‘it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage’.
They added that their staff were ‘deeply valued and we take any and all concerns raised with the utmost seriousness’.