St Georges Hospital, SW London - CQC Inadequate Maternity

[Sunnyshoeshine]

Much as the title says really. We live around 12mins drive from St Georges Hospital (taxi as we don't have a car). DD1 was born there in 2021. Our experience then was very good in terms of midwife care, although we noted at the time how run down all the wards were. With the exception of one night midwife, i felt very well looked after during the birth. DD had some health issues after birth and spent time in the St Georges NICU (level 3). I think potentially the staff could have been more proactive in picking up her issues sooner, but DH feels happy about her care and treatment.

Two years on and I'm pregnant with #2. I booked in at St Georges again last week, but today I've seen a pretty damning CQC report released last week based on an inspection in March. https://www.cqc.org.uk/press-release/cqc-tells-st-georges-hospital-make-immediate-improvements-maternity-care

Our alternatives would be Kingston (Outstanding - 40mins drive) and St Helier (Good - 25mins drive). Both of these only have level 2 NICUs and given our experience with DD1, this does make us nervous. They are further away from a travel perspective. DD1 was a quick birth but I had already been admitted due to my high BP. Also aware that St Helier is basically falling down and the building predates the NHS itself. I believe there are also plans to close the maternity services at St Helier but this is not before i would be giving birth i think.

I suppose my current thinking is to go to my booking appt next week and ask the midwife about the report and what changes are being planned to address the issues. DH's view is that maybe because its such a famous hospital and has had such a poor report, there will be a lot of effort to put it right. But I'm not sure if that's naive thinking based on the current issues within the NHS more generally?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you decide to do?

Sorry that turned into an essay! 😅

Hi OP, I am having the exact same dilemma right now myself! Live closest to St Helier but like you see worried about state of hospital generally. Kingston is appealing but 30 mins drive and no Level 3 NICU. Concerns about St Georges (20 mins drive for me) due to that report... Hoping others can shed some light for us! I haven't booked in anywhere yet as am going in circles with my decision!!

Hi @lenalove, sorry you are having the same dilemma. It's so tricky isn't it. I read the whole report today and it is so disappointing. We are going on holiday next week so DH and i are going to think about our options, do some reading / research etc and then make a plan. We have a couple of NCT friends who have recently had second babies (although one had a home birth) so once we have had the 12week scan, we might speak to them as well and then make a decision. Hopefully someone else will contribute to this thread as well!

Hi @Sunnyshoeshine! I think taking some time to think is a good idea. I have just self referred to Kingston as I think it looks by far and away the best of the three for early maternity appointments and can always transfer down the line if needed. Depending on where exactly you live they have smaller satellite clinics serving different postcodes so for us that will reduce the drive time for appointments a fair bit.
I had gynae care there recently too and was very well looked after so I have some confidence in them.

I’m having the exact same dilemma. Had a baby at St George’s in 2022. It was a planned c section and was pretty straight forward. We did comment at the time how run down everything was and how understaffed they seemed. Had to ask for pain meds three hours before you actually needed them because it took so long.

I see so many positive reviews of Kingston but the NICU is what worries me. If we’d end up getting transferred anyway is it better to just be at St G in the first place.

Im planning another planned c section.

Just keep going round in circles!

Same dilemma here - am already 33 weeks and anxious to make a decision whether or not to transfer asap...

I had my booking appointment today and asked the midwife directly about the report. She said they are all obviously really disappointed, that the inspectors were there on a day when they were short staffed and it was really busy, but that they feel it doesnt reflect the usual standard of care. (I had my DD1 one a weekend when Georges closed to new admissions as it was so busy and so i have seen first hand how manic it was when it is like that. It doesnt surprise me that the inspectors were not impressed). Interestingly she said that the inspectors took a lot of comments on board from staff about senior leaders and that the senior leaders are now much more visible and supportive to staff. She also said that changes are already being implemented. She said she understood our concerns and we should rightly think about what we want to do.

We still aren't sure what to do as our main concern is still distance to other hospitals, especially Kingston. Im going to investigate where our appts would be if we went to Kingston. I need to see one of the consultants at Georges due to my medical history so i might also ask them and see what they say? Then i think we'll make a decision.

It's so hard to decide!

I had a dreadful experience (with lifelong consequences for DD) at St Helier. Completely different, and far better, at St George’s two years later.

This was 11 and 9 years ago though so things may have changed.

Hi, I’m also worried about the St George’s report and not sure whether to transfer to Kingston! I am a 10 min walk from SG but a 30 min car journey from Kingston. 23 weeks and not sure whether the 4 months I have left is enough time for them to make meaningful changes! Would love to know what others end up doing. Thanks!

Personally I would transfer to Kingston or Chelsea and Westminster. Chelsea and Westminster are overall outstanding and the maternity unit are good!
I would prefer to travel than settle for at George's. I've heard some awful stories about George's!

Just curious if you managed to find out where Kingston appointments would be? I think St Thomas' would be much more convenient for me but I keep hearing good things about kingston...

This is what the logical part of my brain is saying! I had a quick labour with DD1 but as i had already been admitted due to high BP and early breaking of waters, all was ok. I'm really worried about a repeat / quicker labour this time around and getting stuck in traffic, which is so awful all around us at rush hour. Plus being on my own if DH has to wait for family to arrive for childcare for eldest DD and i have to set off on my own.

@mimibee01 not so far but i havent done anything about it yet through tiredness, sickness, the heat and a bit of inertia! One for the weekend!

By way of an update I have registered with Kingston and due to my postcode appointments will be at their Rayners Park clinic which is very convenient. I just couldn't get past that St George's report no matter how much I tried to weigh it up!

Meant to add - I had really positive experience of the gynae department there recently too, and even since registering I have been impressed by communication speed.

A lot of units are getting bad reports at the moment. A lot of it is staffing and that's worrying of course. However you can go to a unit rated good and find they have staffing issues on the night you're in.
Generally units that have bad reports are likely to be working harder to be better than a 'good' unit works to stay the same.

Distance will make a difference to you on the day and easy access when going to appointments is really helpful.

Personally I'd probably stick with at George's but I am a hospital manager so my context of what a cqc report means is defo different from laypeople. You need to go somewhere you feel safe. If that's not St G then so be it.

I was born at St George's and had my daughter there in 2020. It was horrendous. Maybe more so because it was the height of COVID, but really awful. I walked off the post natal ward in the end. I was actually traumatised by my experience there. My husband couldn't talk about it for months without crying, and he was only allowed there for the birth (I was admitted for three days though).
I had my son this Feb at Epsom as we have moved out this way and had a completely different and absolutely wonderful experience. I could not rate them highly enough.

I was in the same situation - had my first DS at St George’s in 2021. The post natal care was aweful but the prenatal and actual delivery was amazing. I had the most amazing midwives but they did comment that I got lucky with my delivery room - it was one of the more modern ones with AC. I was expecting my second and in the same dilemma as you (found out on Friday I’d unfortunately had a mmc) but we’re being optimistic about second.

I’m not sure if this has changed but as St George’s is a research hospital, they did things which were advanced, back in 2021. The 36 weeks scan, for example, is not actually standard practise. They also have advanced ways of measuring babies heart rate which means that they have a lower emergency CS rate.

I don’t know if anyone ever watched baby surgeons but that reallllyyy put my mind at ease. If anything was to go wrong, I was at one of the best facilities in Europe.

im struggling to see how it went from that to inadequate but I don’t think it reflects consultant or surgical care.

Hi, just thought I would post an update as well in case it puts anyone else’s mind at ease or helps with their decision. I’ve had a few more midwife and hospital visits to St George’s to monitor babys heart rate (as it was on the high side), and I’ve definitely felt like they are doing absolutely everything they can to investigate and ensure they eliminate any potential issue or risk to baby. They are making sure I see the same midwife at every appointment and have even given me additional checks and fetal echos to put my mind at ease.

A friend of mine is a consultant at St George’s and told me that all his pregnant colleagues have given birth at St George’s, and that if anything were to go wrong, it’s the best place to be as you would get referred there anyway. They do have an advanced NICU and FMU which other local hospitals do not have. The consultants are meant to be the best. I can’t comment on labour/delivery/post natal, and it’s true the hospital is old and needs a lick of paint and a spring clean, but in terms of antenatal treatment so far I can’t fault my experience.

I thought i would pop back to this thread and also add that (hopefully this isnt too outing), i raised my concerns with St Georges directly and the Deputy Director for Midwifery rang me to discuss. We had a very open and frank conversation. One thing i was particularly pleased to hear is that staffing levels are now hugely under control - she gave me the figures but i dont want to post them here in case i wasnt supposed to know them?

She did encourage me to go and visit St Helier and Kingston if i would like to, which i probably will do as part of my decision making. I also have my 12w scan at St G tomorrow, so will take the opportunity to just have a proper look at how things are looking at the birth centre at least.

So for anyone else on the thread still wondering, i highly recommend ringing the maternity helpline (not the triage line) and asking if there is someone you can discuss the report with, because i found it very helpful.

Thanks Hularups and Sunnyshoeshine for the comments you added here today! Really really helpful. I found out last week that I'm pregnant, self referred myself to St Georges on Monday and found out about this horrible report today. I think I'll go to my first midwife appointment at St Georges as planned, and decide later... St Thomas would be another option for me, but that's 40min drive away instead of 15min to St Georges.

Hello! I’m in a similar position - 7.5 weeks pregnant, based very close to St George’s but was put off by the CQC report.

I self-referred to St Thomas’s based on this but haven’t heard back re any appointments for 3 weeks (and wanted to check dates as will be on hol 10-12 weeks). I called them today and after 3 hours (!) on hold they said they have a big back log and to wait 4 weeks - so not sure it will be a better experience than St George’s!

Considering transferring after my first appointment and scan (think too late to have my first at St George’s) - does anyone know how easy/difficult that would be?

Hi @Potato1 I'm now a bit further down the line so happy to update some more. Im 16w and to be honest, I've been really happy with my care so far. I also have a friend who delivered in the St Georges birth centre recently and said she had a very good experience. I'm in a team with named midwives (including the same midwife who did my community care with my first DD) and ive had a consultant appointment, and they've all spoken about the report, what they are doing to address it and plans etc. So it definitely seems like they are taking it very seriously. Can't help on transferring to St Thomas (had my fertility treatment at Guys but im the other side to Georges so its way too far for me to travel in labour) but hopefully someone else will come along who can!

Hi - I’m also further along, 30 weeks at St. George’s and I can’t fault the care. I’ve had several additional scans due to issues found and appts have been given quickly… and I’ve not had to wait when I’m there!

Hi all,

Just thought I'd pop back with an update.

I never ended up changing and had my baby at St George's last week and I'm glad I didn't! I had a great birth (pain aside ) the midwives were all really amazing. I was lucky as in I had a very straightforward birth and the delivery suite wasn't busy when I was in, so that probably helps but I really felt like the midwives genuinely care and I want to go back to thank and hug them lol.

Postnatal ward was not super fun, but that's probably more to do with the uncertainty and sleep deprivation I was feeling, plus being in a ward with others stressed me out a bit. It got very busy there the day we went home so yes it was a bit chaotic but I think that's to be expected when you put several new parents and babies in a room together and again the vast majority of the staff I saw there were really great, my partner was also really impressed.
Facilities wise I think st G's does need a bit of a face lift but the most important thing is the care which i cannot fault to be honest.