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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Picking Hospitals.. Kingston or West Middlesex?

16 replies

tfifriday · 26/08/2015 08:48

Hi All

I'm just wondering if anyone has any recent experience of pregnancy care and birth at Kingston or West Middlesex Hospital. It's my first pregnancy and I'm not sure which one to pick and I'm a bit nervy... Any help and advice would be great!

Thanks!

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Hophop987 · 26/08/2015 11:08

Had my DC1 at Kingston and was very happy with midwives in labour ward. Antenatal care wasn't bad but they were always so busy that all my appointments felt really rushed but I guess all nhs hospitals are busy...

nhkamptz · 26/08/2015 18:38

I'm at West Middlesex and feel the care has been fine. I don't have anything to compare against as this is my first pregnancy. Staff has been helpful, appointments are comfortable. It was simply the closest to my house. I don't feel that anything is lacking.

Original poster

tfifriday · 26/08/2015 19:19

Thank you both for your thoughts. Really helpful to hear your about your experience. It's a tough decision.. Did you look around first to get a feel for them, or just pick a hospital?

OP posts:

lexib · 26/08/2015 20:54

I had ds at Kingston 2 years ago, agree re the antenatal care, they always seemed very busy but they were lovely at the same time. The labour ward and after care I found excellent though - the labour suite we were assigned was literally that, like a hotel suite just for us with bathroom, and then when we had to stay in a couple of days we were in our own room with ensuite, no extra cost or anything. Dh stayed too, was really important to me that he could, I know different hospitals have different rules.

I don't have experience of anywhere else yet, but it was great care there.

lexib · 26/08/2015 20:55

Ps at the time at least Kingston didn't give tours, just an online video I think

BowiesJumper · 27/08/2015 09:51

I had this choice too and went for West Mid. My doctor said the parking at Kingston is a nightmare so that did sway me slightly! That and it's easier for me to get to west mid from work for appointments etc.

I've never felt rushed in my antenatal appointments, most of which have been at Heathfields childrens' centre (near powder mill lane) rather than at the actual hospital. Was at the hospital for scans and booking in though.

Not given birth yet (only 30wks) but I'm happy so far. Apparently the midwife led unit is nice (not been on a tour or anything).

DotterP · 27/08/2015 10:31

No personal experience, but a close friend had her first baby at Kingston Hospital and had a very negative experience. Her son was born with a cleft palette but this was missed, and not diagnosed for several weeks/months after birth despite him not thriving or feeding properly, and being admitted several times with related health issues. She said she felt one of the reasons was because they were so busy.

It might be a one off, and to be fair her son has several other health issues due to an inherited condition that wasn't apparent until after birth that might have complicated his care, and he is under GOSH now. But I know she is very vocal about the poor quality of care she received there. I'm sure many others will have had positive experiences though.

JaniceJoplin · 27/08/2015 10:48

Kingston is very very busy. I was in for 5 days after one of my children and I didn't see the same MW twice. The MWs were nice enough, but there was no consistency in the aftercare. When I was there were lots of agency MWs - some English language a bit lacking. Feeding advice was poor (every MW had different advice) and I was back in 12hrs after being discharged with a jaundiced baby and told to use formula whilst 'topping up with breastmilk' by a 22yr old junior Dr. No-one told me I would lose my milk supply if I didn't express to keep it up (my own mother told me that). Really terrible advice from a place that is meant to support breastfeeding. No issues with DC2, although they did try to discharge me one hour after I had given birth (about 2hrs after I arrived) as it was very straightforward. This clearly shows how short of space/staff they. That's not a bad thing though necessarily. You can wait all day to be discharged when they are busy.

JaniceJoplin · 27/08/2015 10:50

Parking is much easier at West Mid too. Kingston very hard to get a space and super efficient parking attendants handing out lots of tickets...

hotcrossbun83 · 28/08/2015 06:19

I had a great experience with ds at Kingston, fantastic care during labour and then a private room for 3 days we were in. They weren't that busy but it was December. Agree parking is a nightmare. Back there for current pg and so far my appointments have been on time and good. In my NCT group the two of us at Kingston raved about it and the two at west mid had complaints.

For me the decider was that Kingston is a bigger hospital with nicu etc, my understanding is that if you have a severe complication at west mid they transfer you as they are primarily mlu. Some would prefer that and I don't think there's evidence that it's necessarily more risky, like a home birth, but I prefer to have everything I need onsite

Hummingbird15 · 29/08/2015 07:59

Hi I'm in Twickenham so had to make this choice too. My gp told me that she thought Kingston could be busier, but on the flip side, they deliver almost double the number of babies per year so perhaps more experienced. She said that West Mids was smaller, easier to park and still had really good facilities. In the end we went for West Mids more due to journey time than anything else, and at 25 weeks I'm happy so far.

WhatsGoingOnEh · 29/08/2015 08:07

I had both mine at Kingston, had to use the NICU with DS2, and loved the hospital. The care was fantastic. I had to have C-sections both times, and we were all really well looked-after.

With DS1, we were brought in when I was 10 days' overdue. They tried to induce him but nothing happened. I had to have a C-section in the end, for medical reasons behind his not arriving, and the care from that point was brilliant.

With DS2, we stayed in Kingston's midwife-led unit the first night after his birth, and the care there wasn't great. I had to empty my own catheter as the bag had filled up, and they missed that DS2 was "grunting" (breathing strangely). When the Dr did the rounds in the morning, she immediately heard his grunting and whisked him up to NICU. We ended up staying in the special-care unit for a week, while he had IV antibiotics.

I will always favour a fully staffed medical maternity suite rather than only midwife-led.

Original poster

tfifriday · 30/08/2015 11:45

Thank you so much. I guess there are positives and negatives to both. I think ... I'm going to go with Kingston. Partly because it is a bit busier and a bit larger (also a negative I know!) but I like the fact that there are more people around I think, and I prefer that they have their own NICU especially after my sister had a few issues. Well, fingers crossed all goes well and Kingston is the right choice for me....

OP posts:

angelgabe · 30/08/2015 21:12

I'm under Kingston. Had 3 previous mc's under Epsoms care...they are shockingly bad!! DON'T go there.
So far we've had a brilliant experience at Kingston. We've been lucky to see the same midwife on all 3 visits...now 28 weeks.
Parking not that bad....you pay on exit and don't need to get a ticket as it's done by camera and putting your reg number into the machine so you can rush straight in without worrying.
I'm with HotCrossBun...the facilities at Kingston are second to none so if you have any complications you stay on site and neither you or baby need to be transferred. Got to be more of a consideration than parking.
Good luck deciding...lots of different opinions!!

AuditAngel · 31/08/2015 00:36

When I had DS there was no choice to make, we lived close to West Mid. We still lived there when booking in for DD1, was offeredKingston when we moved, but the journey to West Mid is still easier.

I had complications and spent 4 weeks in hospital. With DC3, same complications and 6 separate admissions totalling 6 weeks.

I can't speak highly enough if a West Mid. I was transferred to Queen Char.ottes for a scan by someone doing research who my consultant said was the authority on my condition, I had MRI and lots of scans.

JassyRadlett · 31/08/2015 00:41

OP, I'm going back to Kingston for DS2 in a month or so. Postnatal was particularly good there, particularly after some of the horror stories I'd heard on MN! And they were very good when DS1 had complications.

For parking - you can get the parking app on your phone now so it takes all the worry out (except for finding a space). When DS1 was born (2011) they gave you a scratch-off card for your first day's parking when you went onto the labour ward.

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