I wanted to take the time to share my experience of the QE.
Two years ago I had my 1st DC at the hospital and had a horrible, long labour. It was progressing normally/ as expected until a midwife made a mistake and told me to push too early. This delayed the birth by a long time, I was knackered when my dc arrived and hated the whole experience.
However, changes have been made & lessons appear to have been learnt and I can report back 2years on. I decided to have my 2nd child there as I'd had good care in both pregnancies & I figured that everyone makes mistakes & the main issue was human error. The care was excellent during the pregnancy and the labour and delivery care was much better. They now have a triage room to assess your level of need first before you are transferred to the correct place. This has taken the pressure off labour & delivery & means this time you don't go there unless you need too. The staff there were quick & efficient & both times I went there i was was very happy with the care & professionalism.
My midwife (Hayley) was fantastic, listened to me, was hands off, encouraging and followed my wishes & lead. I could not have wished for a better midwife or birth experience. She left the cord until it stopped pulsing & treated the 3rd stage with dignity & respect. My baby was straight on my chest & fed quickly. I was left in the delivery room happily cuddling & feeding my baby for 2.5-3 hrs until she was weighed & measured - when I was ready. I was not rushed out of the delivery room & ended up being there for 6 hours before being transferred to the ward. This meant I could use the shower & clean up etc at my own pace. On the ward the loos & showers were spotless & obviously cleaned regularly (2 years ago they were disguising, blood stained & dirty - so much so I took anti bac wipes & sanitiser this time!!! I didn't need it) i was in a 4 bedded bay but only 3 were occupied. Baby was checked regularly and I was checked but not overly bothered. I was discharged 16 hours after birth and would have been earlier but they were busy.
Overall a very positive experience in jan 2013. It was like a different place and I would recommend it. I felt I post as it is not often people bother to share their positive stories & it might help some of you considering it, especially after its recent bad press.