A HEALTH board has been criticised for allowing sales representatives to take pictures of newborn babies as part of a ‘cash for access’ arrangement.

Two mums have spoken out about the way staff from baby merchandise company Bounty approached them just hours after giving birth at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

The firm, which distributes goody bags and tries to get new parents to buy photos of their children, has been slammed for its alleged hard sell tactics at the bedside.

Under the arrangement, the personal details of families can also be harvested by reps on the post natal ward and sold to other companies.

Wrexham mother Jenny Millar is among those who have criticised Bounty and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board after she repeatedly had to ask one woman not to take pictures.

She said: “A rep asked to take photos and I said no straight away. “I turned over and tried to go back to sleep, then I heard the camera going.

“She came around the other side of the bed to show me the pictures and to try to persuade me to buy them. I said no again and had to repeat myself three times before she finally went.”

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the North Wales health board received £1,922 from Bounty during a 12 month period.

Almost 6,000 babies were delivered at the region’s three maternity units in Wrexham, Bodelwyddan and Bangor last year.

The company’s current contract with the board runs until April 2020.

Another mum from the area, who did not want to be named, has branded the firm’s tactics as ‘shameless’.

She said: “Three times I had to tell the Bounty rep I didn’t want a picture on the maternity ward.

“I was struggling to establish breast feeding after a caesarean section and I really did not want to be bothered, but even with the curtains closed she kept intruding.

“They dress it up as taking a nice picture and giving free samples but in reality they are using one of the most precious times in a woman’s life to dreg for data to hawk to the highest bidder. They’re utterly shameless.”

A Wrexham councillor, who was contacted by the two women, is now planning to write to the health board to ask for the company’s access to be stopped.

Plaid Cymru’s Carrie Harper said: “Allowing high pressure selling on a maternity ward is completely unethical.

“There aren’t many people more vulnerable than women after they’ve just given birth, they should be free to recover from childbirth and to bond with their babies in peace.”

In response to both parents’ concerns, Bounty has apologised but said the number of complaints it receives are very low.

A spokeswoman added that the company has been providing information for mums in hospitals for 60 years.

She said: “We are very sorry if anyone has had an experience with us that is not up to our high standards.

“Bounty fully supports and acknowledges the need to respect the privacy and dignity of families on the maternity ward.

“We work closely with the NHS to ensure our services are offered on the basis of choice and that they comply with the standards required by our hospital partners.“

Teresa Owen, Betsi executive director of public health, said: “We aim to provide a comfortable and supportive environment for new mums and their families in our maternity units.

“Our staff are present when a representative from Bounty is on the ward and they are expected to respect the privacy and dignity of our patients. We are not currently aware of any complaints.

“If anyone does has a question or concern, we would encourage them to speak to a member of staff so that any issues can be resolved as quickly as possible.”