Homerton hospital?

[hopingandprayingthistime]

Does anyone have any recent experience of Homerton Hospital? It had some really bad press around 2015-2016 but I can’t find anything about what it’s like now. Thinking of having DC1 there. It’s a choice between Homerton and Whipps Cross based on proximity and WC seems to get pretty bad press, so I’m leaning towards Homerton.

Bump

I had the same choice - went for Homerton as my friend gave birth there in 2016 and said it was amazing. I'm almost 36 weeks and happy with the care I've received so far, the only small thing I'd say is you need to be proactive with ringing up for your blood results i.e my iron levels are borderline low so they wouldn't call me about them, I had to ring up to check. But overall you can always get through to someone (in my experience).

Can't speak for the birth though, will have to update in a few weeks!

I know they both do tours so you could visit both and see which you feel more comfortable at.

Good luck!

Thanks @olicat that’s really good to know! Best of luck for your labour and would be really grateful if you get chance to update me on how it went afterwards! Thank you xx

I’m close to whipps and have opted for Homerton. Everyone I spoke to recommended Hom, so I went for that. It means I have to have my midwife apps there though as it’s not my borough. I’m happy so far and it’s better than the hospital I used in N London for my first birth. I’m only 25 weeks though, so no birth experience there yet.

Thanks @Hotteacoldheart best wishes for your pregnancy xx

I’ve gone for Homerton too and like you I saw the bad press and got a little worried! I didn’t know much about the hospitals in the area when I was given the options, so I asked my GP where his wife chose for her births and he told me Homerton and also said a lot of the staff there choose Homerton.

Thanks @ceestar that’s encouraging! Fingers crossed... xx

I gave birth to my first Daughter at Homerton last November. I was unsure at first about Homerton but I can assure you the staff are amazing and the birthing wards are nice and spacious. I am glad I chose Homerton because the Midwife I had listened to me and helped me out a lot which made my experience that extra bit better. If you are going to choose Homerton then I am sure you and your baby will be well looked aftered.

Wishing you the best of luck :)

I had both dcs at whipps and couldn't fault them.

The bad press for homerton was right around dc1 birth in 2013 so went to whipps.

Friend gave birth in Homerton and had no complaints. However, a couple of years after this she had to have a pregnancy related op and they were so disorganised.

I went to collect her on discharge day and they kept us waiting for over 6 hours, sat in a waiting room, because she had to have her painkillers to take with her (they wouldn't let me come back and get them after settling her at home) and they had lost her prescription. They wouldn't write another prescription (though they brought her some painkillers when it was time for her to take them and she was in obvious pain) and eventually the pills were found on a nurses desk less than 4 meters from where we had been sat for the whole afternoon.

This was pre 2015 so perhaps all part of the bad press?

Thanks for your replies @Yazza123 so pleased to hear about your positive experience at Homerton!

@frasier sorry about your friend’s experience - sounds a like classic NHS in a non-emergency situation!

Due to have DS1 at Homerton (in the birthing centre) on May 23rd. I live nearer to WC but chose Homerton as the department had better reviews. Antenatal experience has been a bit 'meh', but I'm hoping the birth will go well.

Thanks @wombanonfire hope it all goes well xx

I can only speak for Homerton but through two pregnancies and one childbirth, they've been nothing but phenomenal. My son was born there mid-2016 and had to spend two weeks in NICU at Homerton - they're honestly angels. People were being sent there from right across the east of England because their neonatal care is so good. My birth was v straightforward so not sure about maternal care if it's a more complicated birth but for everything baby related, I have no qualms about being back at Homerton (any day now!). Good luck OP!

Thanks @Clarab0w so pleased to hear you had a good recent experience at Homerton and good luck for your current pregnancy / birth! xx

Just updating - had my baby 9 days ago. Ended up being induced at 12 days over, started off great but then baby turned back to back in the middle which made things a lot more difficult so ended in forceps. Me and the baby were both a bit ill afterwards but I wanted to say from start to finish the staff were INCREDIBLE. They were so mindful of my birth preferences and even though I didn't get to stick to most of them they were extremely respectful in discussing risks/benefits to me so I still felt in control. When things got a bit difficult the midwives and doctors were so calm and decisive, so even though it was a very difficult birth, I don't feel like it was a negative experience and I felt in really good hands throughout. We had a bit of a long stay on the postnatal ward and the midwives there are all angels - they are genuinely caring and also amazing for breastfeeding support.

Hope it goes well for you - hopefully this will reassure you that even if everything goes totally off plan you'll still be amazingly looked after x

wow - congrats, olicat! exciting times. hope you're enjoying the new babe and recovering well x

i should add that i just had my second baby at homerton a couple of weeks ago, and again, blown away by everyone we encountered there. had a complication right at the eleventh hour that meant i had to have my waters broken, but i asked them if possible for support to have a "natural" birth, stay upright etc and they really went above and beyond. one midwife manually held the monitor in place so that i could keep stomping through contractions (i ended up on my back on the bed for my first labour and reeeeally wanted to avoid that this time around). felt so well looked after throughout.

best of luck, OP, if you haven't already had your little one!

Congratulations @olicat and @Clarab0w thanks so much for coming back to update! My baby is due in August so got a while to wait yet and it's very reassuring to hear positive experiences! Hope all is going well for you and your new babies

Hello everyone! Just checking back in as I'm now into my third trimester and looking forward to meeting my little one in a few weeks time! Any more experiences or tips on Homerton hospital? And a random question... what did you do about parking when in labour (as parking is so difficult there). Thanks!