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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

WIBU to leave (consultant appointment)

136 replies

onemiddlefinger · 06/01/2015 12:22

I've been waiting now for 40min, somebody has taken my blood pressure in the waiting room, no sign of the consultant.
It's an antenatal appointment but I'm not actually sure why i need it.
It's in the middle of a work day, i need to get back.

OP posts:
youarekiddingme · 07/01/2015 17:53

Post after post of the nhs is free and we are lucky to have it. I think I've been disillusioned for years as I thought that's why we paid NI? I thought that went towards health care and council tax pays towards some other local medical services (emergency services?) happy to he corrected.

I understand delays but I have to admit it has been frustrating before when I've left a classroom forms whole afternoon - driven 20 miles to an appointment at 2pm and not been seen til 5. And had to arrange emergency childrcare as I won't be back in in time. I also whilst sat there discovered there were 5 of us all with identical appointment times with that same consultant. My appointment was half hour long.

SirChenjin · 07/01/2015 17:58

You're right - the NHS is funded by taxation, so it's not a free service. Our council tax pays for local services. It's a devolved service, so here in Scotland the NHS is run differently - with health and social care currently in the process of merging.

CAD110 for a family sounds brilliant! Does it go up if you are classed as a higher user of the service, or is it a flat fee?

HerRoyalNotness · 08/01/2015 03:49

No it was a flat fee for BC. In Quebec it was a % of earnings iirc, but I think there was a ceiling on it so you pay it for say 9mths and not the last 3mths. Something like that

mathanxiety · 08/01/2015 06:11

SirChenjin, that is a pretty popular myth (wrt births in the US). Hospital births are the norm but the bottom line is the woman is the one doing the work no matter where she is.

HerRoyalNotness -- I had all my babies in the US, a mix of privately insured and public. There was no difference in the quality of care or niceness of staff and no way to tell who was a privately insured patient and who wasn't at either of the hospitals I gave birth in. I had a private room in every case or at least a shared room, all with attached bathroom (both times I shared I had private insurance).

Wherediparkmybroom · 08/01/2015 07:26

I would be fed up up I waited three hrs not knowing what the appointment was for just to be told it was a MW referral due to my non genetic act of god damaged hands! Consultant was also shocked as it had no bearing on the pregnancy... Unfortunately she then booked a growth scan in case......goodbye Tuesday!

SirChenjin · 08/01/2015 08:02

So what about midwife led units, gas and air, birthing pools etc math? I used all of those, wouldn't have wanted it any other way - are those all widely available?

mathanxiety · 08/01/2015 17:49

No gas and air, but there are midwives and birthing pools.
The way maternity care works (as far as my experience goes anyway) is you start off on antenatal visits with a doctor or midwife (or a whole practice of doctors or midwives or a combo practice) and when you go into labour someone from that practice will attend your birth in the vast majority of cases, with occasionally a hospital OB/GYN resident instead.

I saw all three of the doctors in my OB/GYN practice over the nine months, and they were all familiar with my history and notes when delivery time came. Then they did their daily crack of dawn hospital rounds afterwards and I also saw them for my 6 week checkup (in one case sooner than 6 weeks as I had a problem that needed minor surgery to clear up). With the midwife practice I went to for DC5 it was the same three midwives with admitting privileges at the hospital, and I saw one or other of them at each prenatal checkup, and then ended up attended by two of them for DD4's delivery as she was induced (I had GD) and the entire episode took about two days, so more than one shift. Then they too did their crack of dawn hospital rounds. For ultrasounds, I went to a separate office that was within the hospital, but all my routine prenatal testing was done in the professional offices. I was referred for two glucose challenges, for DCs 4 and 5 they took place in hospital labs.

In the hospitals I went to, women got a dedicated OB nurse who stayed for her entire 8 hour shift or the entire labour if it ran over the duration of a shift with DD1 my nurse stayed for 12 hours so I wasn't dealing with a parade of different nurses coming and going during labour. Same nurse was assigned to me for part of my post natal care too, along with others in shifts. RNs did not change sheets or do any other 'housekeeping' type work -- that was for nurses' aides or LNs. Midwives and OB/GYNs did not do any routine nursing work (checking vital signs, checking stitches, assisting with mobility and managing medication as well as performing blood tests on newborns - that was for nurses). MWs were on a par with the OB/GYNs. The hospital pediatrician also did rounds and checked on newborns.

My midwives had an office in a professional office building alongside other medical professionals' offices -- iirc they were next door to an ear nose and throat practice on one side and an OB/GYN practice on the other. There was a registered dietician on the same corridor, and I was referred to her for GD care. My antenatal and postnatal visits all took place in this building, separate from the hospital.

In the hospital itself there were OB/GYN nurses, nursing aides, OB/GYN residents working under the supervision of the qualified specialists, and student doctors doing their OB/GYN rotation, as well as LNs and student nurses. DD3 was delivered about 2 am by an OB/GYN resident and a very experienced OB nurse a really calm and straightforward delivery with the nurse pretty much calling the shots and the resident constantly in touch with my OB who was stitching up a CS patient as I was pushing. DD2 was delivered by a resident too, with my OB arriving just in time to see her shoot out (literally, almost) and then stitch me up I had an unseemly short labour and DD2 was almost born on the way to the hospital. For my other deliveries, I had my own doctor or MW present along with students at various stages of training -- my MWs had a student each for their shifts, and my doctors were accompanied by residents (with my permission. I could have asked for just the doctor or MW).

For me, the continuity of doctor/MW care meant a lot, and even on those times when a resident was in charge they were constantly in touch with my own doctors and had my notes available on the computer every time (though nobody had time to consult them for DD2). What stood out however, was the attention both hospitals paid to excellent nursing care, which imo makes all the difference in a hospital no matter what department, but especially in the post natal area. Good morale, professionalism, kindness -- all go such a long way.

Another thing I liked was that everything you could possibly need was laid on by the hospital -- hospital gowns (no need ever to bring and ruin your own nightie), bedsocks, maternity pads, perineal ice packs, perineal irrigation bottles, nappies, clean towels, ensuite bathroom, soap. Both hospitals were so clean you could eat your (nice) meals off the floor and the cleaning staff were all friendly and discreet. Meals were enormous and you could order from three choices for each meal, and order a snack in between meals too (sandwich, pot of yogurt, fruit). The tea was terrible but heyho..

mathanxiety · 08/01/2015 18:08

I had one epidural out of five deliveries. I wanted one for my second baby but the only available anesthesiologist was tied up with more than the usual number of CSs and he arrived when they were weighing DS, very apologetic. After that I didn't bother with an epidural but had the cannula inserted in case a CS was ultimately needed. Since I had my DCs a walking epidural has been developed, which means a woman can be ambulant for longer during labour.

I also had an episiotomy every time, including with the MW, and have always been a little puzzled by the horror with which they are viewed. I think they probably look and sound far worse than they actually feel at the time (I didn't feel a thing) and my recovery was completely straightforward.

Midwifery in the US is a graduate qualification, with candidates holding either a bachelor's degree in science or registered nursing degrees. Most MW programmes require the RN qualification but you can do a bridging course if you have an academic science degree.

Legionofboom · 08/01/2015 18:25

I am in the Netherlands where we have to pay for private healthcare though the amounts payable are regulated by Government.

When I see my gynae consultant I am usually seen within 10 minutes of the appointment time. I have had to wait 50 minutes or so sometimes, usually if I have an appointment towards the end of the clinic.

I can understand how that happens though. When I had an abnormal test result and was told I needed an urgent appointment the doctor squeezed me into the clinic even though there were no appointments available. That must have impacted other patients wait times.

Madamecastafiore · 08/01/2015 18:36

Let's hope that there is nothing wrong with your baby that upsets you as I am sure you will expect extra time from the consultant and compassion and understanding from those kept waiting.

SirChenjin · 08/01/2015 22:52

I am sure that the OP has a great deal of compassion for anyone who receives bad news about their baby - as we all are.

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