No 12 week scan!

[GailLondon]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone had been in a similar situation or had words of advice.

I'm 12 weeks today, and still have no appointments scheduled for either a 12 week scan or a midwife booking appointment. I've been phoning the hospital every other day since 11 weeks to try and chase them up, and been told to basically go away, stop hassling them, my form is in a queue and will be processed in plenty of time.
Well today they finally admitted that they are massively overloaded, my form is still in a pile awaiting processing, and there are no scan appointments available for the next month!
What do I do? I have booked a £40 private basic scan for Sunday, which will just check if baby is alive and measuring the right size, but really can't afford the £190 for a full private nuchal scan.
Can I complain to the hospital? Is there any point? Is a 12 week scan my 'right' or should I count myself lucky that I got one in my first pregnancy?
I am so fed up with my hospital! Anyone else in East London I would advise you to avoid Whipps Cross!

My midwife is at my doctor's. Do you not have a local midwife you can see rather than the hospital?

Why are you dealing with the hospital and what form have you filled in? Normally you contact your gp and they get the community midwife to contact you to arrange your booking in. My midwife then booked my 12 week scan during the booking in at 8 weeks.

I informed my drs that I was pregnant at 5 weeks I didn't get seen till I was 16 weeks for my 12 week scan didn't have a booking in appointment until I was 11 + 5, with this one I was seen quickly but there are no antenatal / bf classes until my daughter is 3 weeks old!

I like you had to go through my hosp, but unlike you, they called back and booked me in within a week.

Call them and insist on a 12 week scan plus tests for nuchal at another hospital. It is surely in everyone's best interests for you to have the tests??

Hi,

south, Kate, The form i am talking about is the referral form that was filled in by my GP when I first went to see them (over a month ago). These forms then go to the antenatal clinic at Whipps Cross hospital to get processed, Whipps Cross clinic book the 12 week scan, and also assign you to a community midwife who contacts you for the booking appointment. This is my third pregnancy and the system normally works totally fine, however they seem totally unable to cope with demand at the moment...
In January I had a booking appointment at 8 weeks and had a 12 weeks scan booked with about 3 weeks advance notice. Don't know why its gone horribly wrong this time! That pregnancy ended in MC at 12 weeks which Is why Im feeling especially stressed by being messed around.
frankie sorry to hear you've been messed around too!

Thanks Natasha! yes, i think that's the kind of thing I am looking for

Definitely contact PALS.

Especially if you've MC before they should have been offering you early scans. You should not have to go private to get what is needed for your pregnancy. What if there were early complications or you didn't know about taking folic acid and what you can/can't eat in pregnancy. Who's checking your bp and urine for protein? Are you getting doctors appointments instead?

NICE Guidelines here:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG62/chapter/1-Guidance
First contact (e.g. with GP) should cover the basics
Booking should be by 10 weeks
You should get 7 appointments over the pregnancy and these should be scheduled early in pregnancy.
You should be offered an ultrasound between 10 weeks and 13 +6 and another between 18 and 20 +6

I think you should go armed to your GP and complain.

If you want a nuchal you need to ask to go some where else or you will miss the time they can do it. Can your GP help ?? I thought your history gave you priority

Thanks Jenny and itsahen .
Yeah they are pretty shit. No, nobody is taking my BP, checking urine, advising on diet/folic acid or anything. They have deferred all midwife booking appointments until after 12 weeks because of 'workload'. Which I think is a polite way of saying they hope 10-20% of people have MC's and they don't have to bother booking them in.
It's not the midwives fault, I'm sure they are all working full tilt trying to see as many people as possible. Its just frustrating for me!
I will get my thoughts together and then get back on the phone this afternoon to chase/shout at people

That is awful you poor thing! My advice would be to contact your mp asap. A letter or phone call from them can bump things along sometimes and they will help you take your complaint further if you would like to. But mainly I just wanted to give you a cyber hug because it sounds like a really shitty situation! Xxx

I had a similar experience with my scans in my area - though I did get them on NHS in the end.
I, like you, hadn't heard anything at 12 weeks, I'd been to my GP who had called and written requesting an urgent appt - but it made no difference. I paid for a private scan in the end at what I thought was nearly 14 weeks (turned out it was only 9 as I was unsure of dates).
Once I knew I was 9 weeks, the NHS did manage to fit me in for 12 week NHS scan inc nuchal fold but right at the end of the time period.
Then at 12 weeks, they should have booked my 20 week scan, but the only woman who could book itwalked off to have her lunch as I came out of my 12 week scan and they told me to phone up to book it. I called a few days later only to be told there were no appointments left. I begged, and then cried, and then sobbed, and got hysterical and then they called me back and said they could do 20 week scan really early as they'd spoken to the sonographer and as my BMI is fairly low they should be able to see baby sufficiently.
Re nuchal scan - it is really expensive privately - you have to weigh up whether it would make a difference if it came back high risk. Lots of people choose not to have this, even on NHS. There is a test you can have if you miss the nuchal fold scan dates, which is not quite as accurate, but does give a risk factor.
I would try your GP and hospital PALS, but have private scans for reassurance if you have no luck with NHS.

I had this problem 3 years ago with York!
I had my booking in appointment at about 9/10 weeks and before my appointment, i was told my the midwife led team that they would book my scan date at the booking in appointment. They didn't. They said it was 'down.
I got to 12 weeks and had no scan date and back then, it was advised that the nuchal scan was done no later than 13 weeks and 6 days.
I phoned the hospital to be rudely informed that although they had my forms etc, they hadn't even put me on the system!!! The nuchal scan was 'new' to the hopsital and they had a back-log.
Contacted PALS two days later who phoned me at work with an appointment 2 days later (amazing considering they had a 'back-log') and when I got home, my appointment was through for 10 days later - so I would have been 14 weeks when I got the scan!
Luckily I did contact PALS as they put me at 13 weeks and 6 days at the scan date!
I told PALS that it was a NICE guideline and my 'right' to have the scan and by not even booking me in, was then risking unecessary trauma to my family if it was found the baby had abnormalities. Also said I would do it privately and bill the NHS for not giving me a scan that I was entitled to.
It did the trick!
This time round, phoned midwife led team on Monday and still waiting for my booking-in appointment whereas last time I got it within three days. They again said they would make my scan date at the appointment and I didn't hold back when I told them I would believe it when I saw it and told her of my issue. She said, yes that can happen sometimes. If it happens AGAIN, I will blow my top!!!

That was East Yorkshire/York hospital but the way!

Go back to your GP and ask them to refer you to the Homerton. I live round the corner from Whipps but there was no way I was going there, have heard so many bad things. I've only had one appt so far at the Homerton and am so impressed. It's a new hospital, so clean, organised with happy helpful staff. My midwife is wonderful. It's only 2 stops on the overground from Stratford.
If your GP can't/won't help, you can self refer.

Yes, you could ask to be referred to Homerton - they are taking the overspill from Whipps. I was a late referrer too (not til 8 weeks) but they managed to squeeze me in at Whipps. I had my first child at Homerton and my second at Whipps and to be honest I wouldn't touch Homerton with a barge pole, BUT everyone tells me it's so much better and nicer and cleaner than it was five years ago. Redbridge/East London is massively oversubscribed atm and my GP did warn me Whipps was really busy when I booked in.

Wow that is awful, I am at whipps cross and I must say antenatal is absolutely heaving at the moment there is definitely a baby boom. I would have though they would make you all a priority before 12 weeks, I go there frequently as high risk and have many appts, the care seems average and midwifes seem slow rather than overworked to be honest.

I am 10 weeks today I phoned local maternity number and she said I won’t here anything yet, maybe a couple days before the date scan. I came home from being out and the date scan letter had arrived, brilliant couldn’t wait to open it. Only to find they have not put me in my chosen and closest hospital which is 15mins away, instead put me in 1 which is 45minutes away and totally in the wrong direction, I do not want to go to that hospital. I can’t phone up to sort out till Monday, I am hoping they can change this to my chosen hospital. Could be a case of being so busy, the scan could be at any hospital???? Am I likely to have all the appointments at the furthest hospital. Has this happened to anyone else????

My friend had to give birth and have all of her antenatal appointments at a hospital 23 miles away, despite their being another two hospitals within 10 miles of where she lives. The two closer hospitals wouldn’t accept any new maternity patients. Issue is around here they’ve closed the consultant maternity unit at a third hospital also within 10 miles. It was closed 3 years ago and nearly everyone that would’ve gone to that hospital is being sent to the other two so they’re way too busy.
Not saying it’s the same thing for you but it could be.

Oh right ok, well I hope not, but I will phone them on Monday and find out, on the referral this hospital isn’t even on there. It wouldn’t surprise me if my closest are too busy, but just too be told would be nice. x

That is completely unacceptable care. If you are able to, raise a concern with CQC the regulator. If you’ve been chasing and had rudeness, there will be women who need care but have given up. It is an absolute failure if they are not managing to organise booking in appointments and the 12 week scan within enough time to do routine screening. If the capacity is so tight, I can only imagine other areas of care are potentially being compromised.

THIS THREAD IS FROM 2014 LADIES

Yes, but someone posted an updated question on it. Would have been better on own thread but that's what people are responding to.