To be p***sed off with being treated like cattle

[victoriascrumptious]

Last pregnancy EVERY bloody time I went to see the midwife team or consultant in the hospital outpatients (following their invitation); i'd have to wait a minimum of 1hr to be seen. Worse that that they asked me to take part in one of these gestational diabetes screening pilot things and then kept me waiting two hours before anyone even came and took my details-then it's another 2 hrs after that to do this test! Then when I got tearful through anger and hunger they suggested it was my 'hormones' grrrrrr!

I'm now discovering things are just the same this pregnancy.

It takes the piss when you consider that people have jobs to go to and other children to look after.

I think it's in their rules that they have to keep petients waiting for at least an hour. But if you're even one minute late they can give your appointment away to someone else.

Its the pits is't it.

I worked in a big climic like this. We had 10 - 20 min slots to see you in. Totally mental, as some needed an hour!

Awful awful - you have my sympathy and anger.

is the midwife team at the hospital your only option?

I was lucky enought to be seen by my midwife at my GP's surgery and i was never kept waiting particularly long, she also offered appoiments for after work until i was on mat leave. Is there any arrangement for this in your area?

It was once i got to hospital to have dd that the problems started, you are right it is like being a cow at market being pushed from one place to another and not teated like a human.

It does suck. But in that sort of job things are very unpredicatble...ie,another mum might come in there is no heartbeat, baby has died. That sort of thing cant be rushed and clinic ends up behind. Also the docs that work in the clinics can be called up to emergencies on the wards. It is rubbish for people having to wait, but i can understand it a bit too. Not so much if you are helping them in a study maybe though...!

oh, just thought, can you ask for the first appointment of the day? Even if yopu ahve to wait an extra week would it be worth it?

It's the same for everyone why are you more important than anyone else?
Can you afford to pay privately?
I found the service much better when I was paying £120 for an appointment.
Sadly the NHS has limited resources.

Wait until the child is born and you have the hell of baby clinic to get through. I regularly waited an hour and ahalf to get DD2 seen for imms before now, and had DD1 at about 20 months with me, and as baby clinic is from 11-1 you can imagine how tired/hungry/ generally stroppy she was.

JackBauer that reminds me of a conversation I had witha breast clinic manager. Apprently we don't know hell until we attend one of these, as they run hours and hours behind.

SHe said that we don't know how it is in hospitals as we never attend them until we have kids. Then we are really shocked at the waiting times and cattle farm approach. Where as her patients in their 70's are totally used to it, and also accepting of the service as they dont compare it to other services like seeing a solicitor or whatever. Maybe we will just get used to it, by the time we are 70.

Just an intetesting digression, and no excuse or apology.

Carry on!

gingernutlover: Yeah I see the mw in the surgery usually. However the consultant appointments are in outpatients. They insisted that I HAD to be seen by a MW before seeing the consultant despite the fact that I had seen the MW in the GP's the day before-it's utter madness!

ElenorRigby: I'm not sure where you read into that that I thought I was better than everyone else. And no I cant pay £120 for each appointment and I wouldn't. I pay enough in tax and NI.

It's interesting that this is obviously a problem not just restricted to my area

I think it is most areas and most departments.

I've been kept waiting for private consultations too. Though not in obstetrics. It felt like a conveyor belt, just with better surroundings.

Do they still overbook the appoints? This was common practice when i worked in the NHS. Up to three women would be booked in for the same appointment as so many people DNA.

When I had my first DC I had to go to the hospital for my appoints. I am sure it was every four weeks back then. I used to sit there for bloody hours. My mum told me when she was pg they had to sit for hours with their knickers off!

I didnt go near the hospital with DS3, it was fab. I did wait ages for one of my mw appts at the GP but that was a blip.

If it's any consolation (probably not), I had my second baby in the US and waited hours to be seen by OB/midwife. But at least here you're not sent a bill at the end of it!

I had the same when seeing private obs and also on nhs

one top tip: say you want a homebirth then they do all the mw appts at your house - at least you get to chill out in front of the telly while you wait for the mw to turn up

ANC where I work is always packed, as ladies are always self refering because they feel sick, or have had a fall, or are itchy, or, as whostolemyname said, there is an IUD. (Refered by CMW). Plus women needing anti-D etc. You can't predict how many people will turn up, and there are never enough staff.
Tis horrid, I know.