Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

Midwife doesn't cater for working mothers!

123 replies

rubyslippers7788 · 08/12/2013 19:00

Hi,

I work full time 8:00 - 4:00 Monday to Friday. My midwife is at my GP's surgery every Wednesday from 12 - 4:45. The problem is that she likes her bookings to be one after another. So If she has one at 3:30 then she wants the next one to be at 3:45. She refuses to wait for me to finish work at 4:00, I could be there at 4.10 so she wouldn't have to wait long. So if her last appointment is at 3:30 she wont wait until 4:10 for me ... even though she is supposed to stay until 4.45. Is this normal?! I am now 22 weeks pregnant and haven't seen her since I was 5 weeks pregnant ... all because she wont wait and my work is extremely awkward when trying to get time off.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

HoleyGhost · 08/12/2013 21:50

It is not just the lack of flexibility on times - I generally had to wait at least an hour past my appointment time, in an uncomfortable waiting room, knowing that I was needed at work.

I know the NHS is under pressure, but this inflexibility and long wait times seem unique to midwife appointments.

If I need to see a phlebotomist or G P, they can be arranged in advance and the wait is rarely more than 15 min past the appointment time

Rubberstamp · 08/12/2013 22:13

I have had exactly the same - I work quite a way from home and the midwife has clinic on Thursdays 1-3pm. This means a whole afternoon off work. This is in addition to numerous hospital apts I've had because of being high risk. Work have not said anything but i feel bad tai

Rubberstamp · 08/12/2013 22:15

Ing time off with a complete lack of flexibility from the midwives. I had to travel with work over a number of Thursdays and tried to make an appointment with someone else and was questi

Rubberstamp · 08/12/2013 22:15

Questioned by the midwives ab

Rubberstamp · 08/12/2013 22:16

Out whether work were being difficult - no, you are!

Rubberstamp · 08/12/2013 22:18

I ended up making GP appointments instead as they can be early morning or afternoon.

AnneElliott · 08/12/2013 22:33

I feel your pain OP and I agree they are being unreasonable. It's all well and good telling the OP that her employers are required to give her time off- she knows that! She obviously cares about her job and teaching presents it's own difficulties.

I had the same with my practice. Appts at mid day meaning I had to miss a whole day at work. My midwife was good though, it was the GP receptionists that were really difficult. When I had to change an appt they wanted me to explain exactly why that was so they could determine if my reason was good enough I'm afraid I gave them very short shrift.

I would suggest seeing the GP or finding out if there are any other clinics you can go to.

randdom · 08/12/2013 23:08

I would be very surprised if this has come from the individual midwife. It is much more likely that the instruction has come from somewhere more central.

Personally I wouldn't recommend seeing your gp for routine monitoring as it is not what they are there for and they often won't have easy access to screening results
Etc as they will have been sent to your midwife. Also trying to do an entire check up when you haven't seen anyone for so long in a 10 minute appointment is again not going to work. You need to see your midwife or at least when you book your gp appointment make it clear that it is for an antenatal check as they might be able to book a longer slot and it gives the GP warning that they need to get a Doppler etc which they normally wouldn't have in the room.

While I agree it is concerning that she didn't know about your condition, if I am understanding you correctly you haven't seen her since you were 5 weeks pregnant. So go back and see her to discuss it further. There are lots of conditions which don't need a referral to see an obstetrician because they don't impact health of mum or baby during the pregnancy or in the immediate period after birth. So I would go and see her and talk to her about your concerns.

It is surely now nearly the Christmas holidays at school (in the next couple of weeks) so why not try to book one for then so you can talk to her about the issues that you are having.

Wombat79 · 09/12/2013 07:30

As a Physio in the NHS I know we have no flexibility in our appointments. They are on a central booking system and are designed on a fixed template. There is no way I could change them for patients. I would love the luxury of a 10 min gap to wait for a patient however, the services in theNHS are in huge demands so our appointments are back to back. We have no break between patients but sometimes get 30mins admin once or twice a week to phone patients, make referrals, do discharges etc. I don't think your midwife is being difficult its just that the NHS is trying to reduce inefficiencies. However, your employers are being unreasonable and should give you time as law states.

Alanna1 · 09/12/2013 07:41

Most hospitals also have a facility to do your appointments there. I've not read all the above but I am self-employed and for various reasons the usual appointments were not possible for me. I was offered saturday appointments once I explained provided I stayed "low risk".

ZaZazebra · 09/12/2013 07:48

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread as I am on my phone.

My mw worked like this. And each appointment was written on a piece of lined a4 paper in pencil in case it had to be rubbed out. Had to be in chronological order! Made me just think that the NHS was living in the dark ages with its processes. Pretty annoying to fit around work. However like everyone says you're entitled to an appointments whether you've "officially" told work you're pregnant or not. Sometimes I went to a different midwife at a different location to fit with my schedule. I never saw the same mw twice anyway even in my main place so it didn't really matter! Good luck op

Dusty04 · 09/12/2013 07:57

This really irritates me too.. I get paid time off from work no problem but prefer appointments at the end of the day. It takes 30 minutes to get from work to my doctors surgery, so middle afternoon is not great! Luckily my midwife does at 4pm appointment which I always get..

It wasn't the same when trying to book my whopping cough and flu jab though. My surgery were unnecessarily unhelpful and it took my DH saying are appointments for the convenience of GPs or patients. The receptionist had the nerve to say can't you take holidays!

DontmindifIdo · 09/12/2013 09:10

But Wombat, does that mean you cant offer end of day appointments? Surely that they have to be back to back assumes there's enough paitents wanting appointments to fill them all. If the OP's MW said "I can't do a 4:10 apointment time, I could do a 4pm or a 4:30pm one, then that would be reasonable, but to just say "I only offer appointments after 4pm if I'm back to back before then" seems unfair. If you have 3 hours of slots, then the OP should be able to phone up and pick any of the slots that are currently unbooked, not just the ones the MW prefers to work.

Another thought OP, when you see your GP, could you ask if it's possible to see a different MW for your care? (as you aren't getting care from this one). There might be MW based at a practice that's further away, but at much more sensible times .

ThereIsNoEleventeen · 09/12/2013 09:43

When was the last time you actually spoke to your midwife in person OP? If you haven't seen her since 5 weeks I would just comply, get the time off work and go and see her...have a chat with her and get her side of the story...getting time off work might be a pain, but not as much of a pain as getting ill in pregnancy because something didn't get picked up because you missed an appointment.

The NHS very rarely cater for the schedules of anyone ime, they are usually far too overstretched! That said you midwife probably works more than 1 day a week, she might be working at a another practice a short drive away on another day that would suit you better?

I also wonder how many times your midwife actually leaves on time? She will need to keep space back calling patients/dealing with emergencies/ getting out of the door to collect her DC's from childcare etc...

Madamecastafiore · 09/12/2013 09:50

Fill in the bloody forms or stop complaining. You need to put your growing baby first, am astounded that you don't want to interrupt the training afternoon that benefits you but are happy to keep a HCP who could be doing community appointment on the Way back to her base, benefiting others, waiting for 45 minutes doing naff all.

You come across as extremely entitled.

LittlePeaPod · 09/12/2013 09:57

I really feel, I have to defend the Rubby here. She isn't been unreasonable asking MW to give her an appointment 10/20 mins later when the particular MW is supposed to keep her surgery open till 4.45pm anyway. The MW in this case is been bloody unreasonable and awkward.

TheHeadlessLadyofCannock · 09/12/2013 10:41

Yes, exactly, Pea. It sounds at the moment (I'm willing to be corrected) as though the midwife is there and is expected by her managers to give a 4.45 appointment (the OP says 'She is supposed to have her last appointment at 4.45 but wont stay') but just doesn't want to stay on until then (the OP says 'the practice manager has told me that it is a case of the MW "not wanting" to offer me a 4:10 appointment').

I think the OP needs to go to whoever manages the MW and clarify what appointment times she's supposed to offer.

I'd also worry about the MW claiming not to have seen the OP when she had, losing and then finding her notes, not knowing about a medical condition and being unable/unwilling to refer her on...

She sounds personally incompetent and the way she/her appointments are being managed sound unprofessional.

LittlePeaPod · 09/12/2013 13:53

MW claiming not to have seen the OP when she had, losing and then finding her notes, not knowing about a medical condition and being unable/unwilling to refer her on...

This is beyond incompetent and slack. MW is either very unorganised or taking too much on. If she is taking to much on then its her responsibility to speak to her manager/supervisor rather than trying to blag it. Also, if she is unsure about a medical condition then its her responsibility to speak to someone that knows what they are talking about or refer the op not just ignore it. Shocking!

TBH, I too think Rubby has every right to be pissed off with this MW.

If you did this in any other business (eg lost client data, denied having meetings with clients, ignored important client questions because you didn't know and refused to pass a client onto someone that does know what they are talking about) you would be sacked or at least disciplined. I don't think MW should get any special treatment in that respect. They are paid to do a job.

tsw · 09/12/2013 16:09

Just so you know, you are ALLOWED to use ANY GP surgery as it MUST be convenient for you (ie close to work, different day clinic etc). So find one with a clinic day that suits you! Simple. :)

wispaxmas · 09/12/2013 17:02

Even without the additional reason to be annoyed and irritated with the incompetence of this midwife, it is completely reasonable to be annoyed that the community midwife clinic that is advertised as running until 4:45 will not run until then if there aren't enough appointments to fill up the day. Yes, legally any employer has to allow you time off to attend antenatal appointments. That time working then usually needs to be made up anyways, so when the clinic is open and there are no appointments booked when your work day is over, why should you be forced to rearrange your schedule when it's not actually altering the schedule of the midwife to offer the damn appointment times that are advertised! Especially if after you've then compromised, taken that 3:45 time slot, only to then discover that the midwife has then booked in people for 4:00 and 4:15 because those appointments opened up after you booked yours. Ridiculous way to run a clinic.

That being said, our midwife clinic is only run from 1-4pm on Fridays, which I assume is highly inconvenient for most people.

Spaghettinetti · 09/12/2013 18:15

I can understand why you would be reluctant to leave your class/classes 15 minutes early, but leaving training... I wouldn't have thought you'd miss much in the last 14 minutes or so... If it really is your head bring a nightmare, you need to make your rights clear, but if it's a case of you not wanting to leave training, then that's a different matter...

Spaghettinetti · 09/12/2013 18:16

15 mins and being...not bring. Stupid fat fingers on tiny phone keypad...

Wombat79 · 09/12/2013 20:53

Don'tmindifido, when I work at my GP surgery I have slots from 8.30 until 4pm. Would work longer but family planning have the room from 4.30. Slots are 30 mins for follow ups and I use the whole time and catch up with notes etc in my lunch 1/2 hour. I have no control what slots patients book into and all my slots get filled, I do not make my appointments the surgery do. Like with all the NHS employees I know we can't just pick and choose when we see patients. It doesn't work like that! If I am working from the hospital I have better availability slots from 8-5.30 again a patient books in via a central booking desk not via me. If a GP wants to be seen at the hospital because they want a different time or day that is not a problem.
The MW I see at my GP runs a similar service and dies not book my appointments - admin do. She only works a Tuesday but if I wanted different days/times she can advise on transfer to my local hospital. I think a lot of people are possible making a judgement here on scanty facts. If OP hasn't seen the MW since 5 weeks I suggest she speaks to her midwifery team. Contrary to beliefs. Most HCP actually care about their patients and will go out of their way to get them the care they need.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5