which hospital kings/st thomas/UCH

[kitton]

Hi I'm new and only 3 weeks pregnant. And it's my first post so excuse any faux pas.

Went to see my GP yesterday and was being nothing short of bullied into choosing Kings because the midwives operate out of his surgery. When I asked about St Thomas or UCH he muttered that he didn't know much about either but I needed to make a decision asap so he could send his referral.

Has anyone else had this sort of pressure put on them by their GP? I thought it was strange as he's usually a nice guy. Is there another agenda or am I just hormonal and irritated?

I would like to go visit each hospital to see for myself - do they all do tours? It wasn't really clear on their websites if they did or not.

Kings is less than a 10 min drive from me, St Thomas is 15, and I imagine UCH is about 25. I have colleagues who have had great experiences at UCH so despite the distance I'm leaning towards this choice.

Any advice?

Yes they will do labour ward tours.I had my DS at Kings in may and they were really fantastic.My DS ended up in special care so we were both there for a week and I found the staff really supportive and helpful.

However St Thomas's has a good reputation too,I'm not sure about UCH as I don't know anyone who's had a baby there.

Go and have a look around but also think about the journey when you're in labour.Also if you and/or your baby had to stay in after you would want your partner to be able to get there easily and quickly.

Dear Kitton, how was your UCH impression??

If you are being offered Kings and the Albany midwives grab it with both hands.

Otherwise push for the birth unit at St Thomas.

They all do tours btw, ring the main switchboard and ask. They wil grumble that you are not already assigned to them but they can't refuse.

if you're only 3 weeks don't panic! You can also always self refer to whichever of those hospitals you prefer. You wont be seen til 12 weeks so there really is no rush...and not many women know they are preg til a fair bit later than 3 weeks!

COngratulations btw.

I would chose one as soon as possible. I wanted to go to Queen Charlotte's but was already fully booked, the nice ones are full really quickly. I thought that King's was very good, but don't know them. I did tour of St Thomas thought it was lovely but did not get in. I went to UCH, which was a very bad experience for me and dd, but this was in 2006. Good luck but don't leave it too long!

I have had 4 dc at UCH and all very good experiences.

and yes have also had GP try and talk me into going to a certain hospital.

lots of the community midwifery teams at King's are ace, including Brierley, Albany, St. Giles practice. I have since moved, but would much rather be under a group midwifery practice like these again.

DD was born at King's, although I was transferred in from home birth. No complaints whatsoever.

Also, I would check the traffic times to UCH. I cannot conceive of where you might be living that's a 10min drive from King's yet only 25mins to UCH given the usual levels of traffic around each.

Dear Kitton, I just checked one can visit St. Thomas on Tue at 6pm. I am going there. UCH were horrible on the phone, saying that I should check the website. Did you manage to speak to them??!
btw are you 3 weeks counted from ovulation or from 1st day of last period (then it would be same as me - due date beg of June)?

ive had 2 @ uch and was happy with it but if you have a good hospital 10 mins away i would go with that one

I had DD at Tommies in June in the midwife led centre - I have nothing but positive things to say about the service i had there - nice pools, great views, really positive proactive midwife and own private room to stay in with DH afterwards...x

I had pushy GP like that too. Dunno why. No administrative reason you should choose early - and you can change your mind - but it sounds like London hospitals get fully booked quickly.

Friend had a good recent experience (3rd c-section) at St Thomas's. Said postnatal ward really really good, which is not the case for many London hosps.

I tried to go to UCH and visit it. Was told they don't do tours! I think it's very rude and would never go to a hospital which doesn't give me the right to visit it and to inform myself properly .

Another vote for the birthing centre at Tommies, once you are in there - absolutely fantastic and doesn't feel like the NHS at all. However, they do seem to have issues with actually admitting people. I was in the waiting room for seven hours and was only admitted when I was at 8cm. Since then I have met two people who really did almost gave birth in the waiting room due to the slow pace of admission, so there does seem to be a bit of an issue with staffing/bed space/strange prioritising.

Judging by friends' experience (multiple) I would choose Tommies over Kings. But nearness is critical and I would say that if you are 10 mins from Kings you are going to have to cross central London to get to UCH so I'd discount it.

another vote for Kings and the community midwives if you are being offered one of those teams...