Live in Woodford, Essex, Whipps Cross or Queens Romford !!!!!!! What a choice, any good experiences at any of them?

[kellzi]

Worried about local hospitals any advice if i can chose another?

Frankly I think out of that, Whipps is the lesser of the evils. Queens has had a real slating from the Care Quality Commission and had a number of deaths. I suspect you'll struggle to get in elsewhere unless you have particular needs.

Hi, I think I would go for whipps rather than queens, but only because I've heard so much in the media about their failing maternity dept.
However, I only have personal experience of whipps. DD1 was born there by elective c-section. The delivery was absolutely fine, a good experience, because there are lots of people looking after you in theatre and it is a very calm experience when you go in for a planned Caesarian. But - the after care on the ward was really not good. I was there for 3 days because it was a section, and it was hard to get attention / help from any staff, bell by bed didn't work etc. Other mums on the ward were more help when it came to picking up baby for me / help with nappies etc in the first 24 hours when I was bed-bound from the section. I should say however that this was 6 years ago, so not the most recent example for you.
I think the problem with all the hospitals in greater London is they are so over- stretched, birth rate has gone up massively, staff and beds have not increased in line with the number of pregnant women.
I lived in Woodford like you, and second time round i was allowed to book in at Harlow hospital. In terms of care after the birth, this was much better than whipps. However I went through normal labour with DD2, and I did find I was on my own for quite a lot of the labour, even though I was told I would be monitored due to risks from previous section.....
So i think it's hard to find anywhere that will guarantee a great experience - it depends how busy they are when you go into labour (which these days is quite a lot of the time!)
By the way, you can get to Harlow in about 20 mins from Woodford, if you join the M11 at the waterworks roundabout.
(I'm currently pregnant with DD3, and as we've moved i'm booked at Harlow again, as this is automatically my local hospital now. They are currently very busy / overstretched, partly I'm told due to taking people who should be at queens. So I don't know how easy it would be to get transferred there now, or what it will be like this time round if they've got loads of extra mums!)
Good luck and congratulations.

I live in Chingford and was at Whipps until 19 weeks when I transferred to Homerton. I delivered in the birthing suite 5 months ago and was very impressed by the staff on the unit and also the antenatal care was impeccable. I have several friends who have delivered at Whipps recently, there experiences have generally been positive. The reason I went for Homerton was that the unit is really new and all the staff are very friendly and professional, when I was a Whipps I often got the impression the staff were under great pressure due to lack of resources and big number of deliveries.
After having my LO I was discharged back into the care of community midwives at Whipps and I have to say the post natal care in Walthamstow Forest is abysmal. No one came to see me for 48 hours, even though I had an 8 hour discharge from Homerton. There has been some real penny pinching of late and my understanding of the post natal care at present is that you only get one home visit from a midwife (if you are lucky!) and then have to go to your local clinic - which is often easier said than done 5 days post partum. All the midwives I saw were disgusted by what was happening to the community care and they are just too stretched to give new Mums the proper care they need. In the end I was lucky enough to be in the position to have a few home visits from a private midwife, which wasn't as expensive as you might think. PM if you would like the name of the midwife I used.
With a note to Queens I know they have had awful press of late but I have another friend, who delivered there six months ago and she was very happy.
I would most definitely go back to Homerton. Have you also thought about The Barkantine, which is a midwife led unit in the Isle of Dogs? Is about 20 mins down the A12 (on a good run!) I was offered a place there but unfortunately was not able to go there due to some feared complications, that fortunately never arose.

HTH x

Also just to say I had no problems getting transferred to Homerton - I just called them up and they began the booking process. They also have a maternity helpline that is midwife manned from 10am-4pm, every day. This was invaluable during my pregnancy as I always knew I could speak to someone. It was also of great support after I was completely 'abandoned' by Whipps Cross with a 2 day old baby!

Hi there, I'm in a similar position to you OP but I had already been warned against Queens by a friend who had a shocking experience there while hospitalised with severe hyperemisis (she transferred to Harlow after this experience and was v happy with them). Also wasn't keen on Whipps as I knew a midwife there who retired early due to being overworked. So in the end I asked my GP to refer me to Harlow a couple of days after I got my BFP to make sure I got in. Also my MIL lives near Harlow and we really want her nearby when the time comes... Can't comment on labour, post-natal care yet as I'm not due for another few weeks. Have only attended the hospital for two scans and bloods, all other care has been locally with Redbridge midwives (I live in Wanstead) which has been fine. Must say my view has changed on Whipps as anyone I know who has given birth there recently has said it was great. Post-natal care seems to be the same everywhere... generally rubbish due to staff cut backs, so I'm not holding my breath on that! Sorry I can't give any firsthand experience... I made may decision at the time largely based on the experience of others...

Hi I live in Romford & was too very worried about Queens because of the recent publicity, after to speaking to my MW I feel much better as she explained that yes there has been problems with care & in particular emergencies due to lack of staff but that being quanitiy not quality. Since the recent unfortunate cases the staffing issues have improved but until the unit is fully staffed then admission no.s are strictly controlled to for safety & to improve the quality of care. Basically the unit is being watched & monitored so much like when a School is on "special measures" there is no better & safer time to have a baby at Queens. Some lower risk cases & elective c-sections are being transfered to other hospitals inc Basildon & Homerton just because they have to keep within the required amount of admissions. But the majority of patients will stay at Queens. Of my friends that have given birth at Queens within the last couple of years none have any complaints about their experience except maybe the aftercare on the ward, but then I had awful experiences with night ward staff at the old Harold Wood hospital maternity unit.
So far I have had excellent Antenatal care at Queens & on one occassion so far have been admitted to the Day care unit for monitoring & was seen very quickly. I am classed as high risk because of my late dd2 being born with problems & am under the lead Consultant so luckily I will not be transfered elsewhere. I don't have any experience with Whipps maternity sorry.

hi, i had my daughter ( first baby) at whipps cross last september, i found the actual care on the labour ward to be good, my midwives were brilliant, i had to have an emergency c section after failing to progress after induction ( horrible) and as they were so busy i had to wait quite a few hours which was very frightening as baby was distressed and heart was dropping. The theatre staff were lovely and the midwife looked after my baby very well, but the after care in the post natal ward was terrible I thought, I only got to the ward at 7pm, my husband had to leave at 8pm and I was doped up and hooked up to all kinds of drips but got hardly any help from the staff and it is all a bit of a blur as to how i managed to feed or change my daughtger the first night. Communication was not great either between the staff. Being discharged also took ages and was all a bit hit and miss but the care while having the baby was good if that is any consolation!

I am also in woodford and am booked in for my 4th baby at Whipps in august. I have always found the staff and care really good for each birth, although I had no complications. Even better when they're less busy but thats the luck of the draw everywhere. I had an awful miscarriage and delivery there last summer and I cannot fault the midwives for their care and concern, they were lovely. Also it's a lot closer than queens, it has such a tainted reputation that it's probably now really good, but it does put you off all the same.

I'm in gants hill and I decided to go for Homerton because of the CQC report into Queens and the fact that it's bad rep will put extra pressure on whipps. Also, my muminlaw is a former GP and she recommended Homerton! So far Homerton have been really professional but pretty busy (tho I'm just 22 weeks so I've only had 3 visits). Good luck!