Snafu,
I had DS2 there in September last year. Antenatal care was GP based, but I needed extra scans etc, some additional blood tests etc so I spent a lot of time at the hospital. I found that appointment times were generally kept ? excepting once where they forgot about me in Ultrasound. There is also an EPU if you need one, the ladies who run this are lovely!
They offered a basic refresher antenatal course ? which wasn?t open to dads. The labour ward is very new with all the bells and whistles you would expect in a new hospital ? they have a pool for water births and a large bath for pain relief.
Real negatives:
Parking is abysmal. There is none, you have to use the Sainsbury?s car park ? when in labour this is interesting as your DP has to drop you off at the front door, leave you there whilst you labour, then go and drop the car off. Not great!
The postnatal ward is awful!! It is cramped, noisy and just not nice at all. You struggle to find a midwife, although the midwives who were on duty were all lovely, if a bit harassed.
I went into the labour ward three times:
1st time for suspected rupture of waters at 20 weeks(ish), they were ok with me and did everything they needed to do with a minimum fuss and no waiting time.
2nd time my waters had gone at full term, the ward was like a hellhole, they had more women giving birth than beds, the room I was assigned had a used syringe on the floor and was filthy. However, I only complained about it once at which point I was asked to go and wait in the waiting room, they sanitised the room, apologised profusely and again looked after me well, I was sent home because labour hadn?t yet started.
3rd time I went in when my labour hadn?t progressed. It was one of the best days of my life. I was given a pessary in the morning (on the antenatal ward - part of the postnatal ward) and encouraged to walk around, spend time with my DH and get things going naturally. When my contractions were regular I was moved to the labour ward where I was assigned a midwife, her shift ended about an hour later and I was then assigned a fantastic midwife. She had read my notes, the notes from my previous labour and taken on board every aspect of my birth plan. She was kind, yet firm when she needed to be. She explained our options and my progress with care and sensitivity (I was terrified of having to have a drip induced labour, so she exhausted every alternative option which did the trick). She delivered our son in a darkened room with gentle hands ? I cry to this day as it was such a wonderful experience.
So yes my experience was fantastic for the birth, no complaints for antenatal care and middling to fair for post natal care.
Hope this helps.