Queens Hospital Maternity Unit

[Espey]

Has anyone had any recent experience of Queens Hospital Maternity Unit? And the Neonatal care there? And the facilities?

I have heard some awful stories and reviews about the care people have received and am unsure whether to have my baby there.

Please help

Queens where? There must be a lot of hospitals called Queens!

Sorry, Queens in Romford, London!

My old stomping ground :) I'd recommend using the below pages to choose your ideal hospital.

You can find info on facilities and birth stats for Queen's midwife led unit and the labour ward here:

www.which.co.uk/birth-choice/units/RF4QH-ou-the-labour-ward-queens-hospital-romford

www.which.co.uk/birth-choice/units/RF4QH-amu-the-queens-birth-centre-queens-hospital-romford

Patient stories with the keyword "birth" can be found here:

www.patientopinion.org.uk/opinions?nacs=RF4QH&tag=birth

I know that hospital well. It does have one of the worst reputations. I've only had bad experiences there. I've not used the maternity services but I know someone who did and had a bad experience. If it were me, I'd avoid it. But then you might get lucky and have a great midwife or obstetrician. You could always try it and change if you don't like it.

Ok thanks.

I'm thinking about using The Oaks Clinic for antenatal care and delivery, so would have my own obstetrician, but would still be in the hospital.

Not sure how much that would make a difference. I'm so new to this and the decisions seem so difficult, so early on!

I have heard that Queens has improved no end since it's lowest point. However, the QCQ;s inspection report from July 2015 makes uncomfortable reading.
www.cqc.org.uk/location/RF4QH/inspection-summary#maternity

I think if you have your own obstetrician and are low risk, you'll most likely be absolutely fine. You could always try it and see how you find the care you receive. To be honest, I'm at uclh which is meant to be great but I've had bad experiences. It often comes down to how good the midwife/doctor is and you might have a wonderful experience. Remember that you can always change. Good luck.

Thanks for that link, PerspicaciaTick, very useful - used it to check out my own hospital!

I had DD at queens in Romford in January 2015 and honestly I can't fault them, absolutely fantastic from start to finish

I had a baby in Queens recently. Nearly all antenatal appointments were at Kings George though and i was very pleased with it - nice staff, appointments are always on time.
Delivery of my baby was at queens though - we went there when I had bad contructions but was not admitted as was only 2cm so advise would be to understand what interval between that you need to go to queens - I was fine 3 within 10 mins.
The delivery room was nice&clean but midwife was a bit dismissive so we asked to change and unfortunately they didn't have one extra but midwife was nicer. Overall staff was good and explained procedures and stuck to a birth plan. I would advise to always ask questions. Labor ward was good however post labor is a different story - there is no place for dads - they are expected to sleep on a chair, can't use bathroom facilities and treated a bit like second class citizens e.g. Not allowed to use some entrances - just odd. Mums are ok but I would expect all suits, area to be sterile but it wasn't; there is no clarity in how long you will need to be there and what appointments and when you will have; good thing is that you have an access to midwife 24h a day and they can help&advise on issues. Generally very friendly with some exceptions.