Want to change hospital - any advice?

[beansprout]

Am seriously thinking about changing hospital as am not happy with care so far (inc. them losing my notes!). Know I am not happy but feel a bit lost. Am currently at St Mary's in Paddington. Queen Charlotte's is full, but can anyone give advice on hospitals/birth centres in NW London. Also, what sort of questions do I need to ask? I am 20 weeks and this is my first.

All advice greatly appreciated - thanks!!

I can't really give any advice, except if you're not happy, change. Kick, scream, beg, plead - do whatever until you find somewhere that you are happy with. Don't forget, they are providing you with a service and it should be a decent one.

Good luck

Can you get hold of a copy of last Sunday's Sunday Times "Good Hospitals" supplement? You can also get it by paying £1.50 to subscribe on-line. That should give you options - don't know if it's exhaustive though.

Which is the hospital out by Wormwood Scrubs? Is that Queen Charlotte's? If it isn't, whatever it is (!) did a fantastic job for my SIL and her preemie twins.

NW London obvious choice is St. John & St. Elizabeth.

Have to say that in your place I might grit and stay with St. Mary's - I had my two there, and yes it was like a bus station, but I knew that if the baby or I needed any special treatment it was all there. I felt all the effort went into the births themselves, so that pre- and post-natal care was a bit grim, frankly; but it was a trade-off I was OK to make.

Thanks for your messages.
Queen Charlottes is full - can't find St John/Elizabeth though - is that St Johns Wood?

Have heard excellent reports about Edgware too, so we have left a message with them, but also feel reassured about St Marys if we end up staying.

Thanks for helping a confused Bean.

Seems that Edgware will take us - we are going to see them on Sunday. Still retain a link with St Marys so if specialist care is needed... I have a good place to go to.

Feels like the best of both worlds! Thanks for your advice, you really helped!!

Oh, hurrah. Dot1 had her baby at the Edgeware not long ago. It sounds a very VERY interesting place to me. If I ever sell my piece on birth centres, can you be my case study?

And I think they can whip you across to Epidural Heaven if you end up wanting that too

Hi beansprout

I changed hospitals and it was quite simple. I went to my Gp and she requested I had my antenatal care at another hospital - then you wait a couple of weeks for an appointment from the new hospital. If you are unsure about which hospital to ask for alot of them have open days where you can make an appointment and they will show you around- these are worthwhile as you get to see exactly where you will be in labour etc and get a feel for the place. I'm not sure on NW london - your Gp should be able to advise you of your options? Good luck

Thanks everyone.

Did speak to GP but unfortunately not that helpful. Seemed I had to present a case when actually I was asking for HER advice given that presumably she knows more about hospitals in the area than me!!

Am happy and excited at the prospect of the place I have chosen. Have only heard v good things, and of course, MI, will be a case study for you - would be good to work together again!!

Just wanted to add for anyone else wanting to change, it is some official priority somewhere that expectant mothers have a degree of choice over where to have there baby and that this should be somewhere where the mother was comfortable.
My GP was really good, live in east london, she said that some of the reputations of the hospitals had been poor before but were improving (?!). She suggested I could go to the hospital where I work (not in my area) and see if they would take me on. Pleased that they could.
So if you encounter problems trying to change hospital just spout the above as one of your pregnant's womens rights!

Sounds like a good outcome, congratulations.
Don't worry about Queen Charlotte's being full. I had dd there and although they have all the latest equipment, and when you did get to see someone they were very good, they have bugger all staff it seems. I had to wait at least an hour for every ante natal appointment.
This time I'm going to Chelsea & Westminster and have been seen on time for every appointment and scan. Such a difference.

anywhere is better than st.mary's. Had my ds there and if I hadn't been so totally exhausted I would have sued for the awful awful treatment i received.

Really SofiaAmes? Sorry to hear that. What were they like?

I had 40 hours of labor followed by an emergency c-section. I spent the first 10 hours at home, then went into hospital where I spent another 20 hours in a waiting room as there were not enough beds. They kept telling me that I was not in labor as I was not yet dialating and basically left me completely unattended. I was in enormous pain (having now had a second child, I still think that when I was supposedly "not in labor" was the most painful part of either of my labors). Eventually after 12 hours without even a janitor checking on me, my mother dragged in a midwife who discovered that I was 7 cm dialated. They rushed me off to a labor room at that point and then suggested that since my labor wasn't progressing (how the hell they would know this as no one had even checked on me) I would need to be induced. I asked for an epidural at this point. 5 hours later they finally came up with an anesthetist to give me the epidural. And then realized that my baby's heart rate was erratic and said they wanted to give me an emergency cs. It took another 4 hours before the doctor showed up to do the cs. During my entire pregnancy and 40 hours of labor and cs, I never saw the same midwife or consultant twice. I was yelled at by a midwife just after my son was born for not having liquid soap to bathe him in. And the very 2nd night I was in hospital another midwife told me off for starting bad habits early because I had my son in bed with me (as opposed to the plastic cot that I couldn't reach because I couldn't sit up. The first night I was in hospital, I woke up with tremors in the middle of the night and pushed my emergency call button. No one came. After 30 mins of my crying hysterically as I couldn't sit up or get out of bed, another girl in the same room as me who had also had a cs, but a day earlier than me, crawled out of bed and got a midwife who informed me that she was very busy and that the call buttons weren't working. The bathroom wasn't cleaned in the 3 days that I was in hospital despite the fact that I (and all the other women) had dripped blood all over it. Anyway, need I go on?

I never realised just how shite your experience was, Sofia. Have to say, talking to friends, it would seem the standard of postnatal care at most London hospitals verges on negligence - but to have such a dreadful time while you were in labour is inexecusable. I think they rely on the fact that most women will be too scared to kick up a stink while they are actually in hospital, and too busy with their new baby, once they are back home, to make a retrospective complaint.

My God Sofia, I am so sorry to hear about your awful, awful experience. It's the stuff nightmares are made of and I'm sorry you had to endure such a terrible time. Made a million times worse of course by the fact that you should have been treated in the totally opposite way.

Needless to say, I now feel I have made the right decision. Just sorry it was so bad for you but thanks for telling us all of that.

Where did you have your second btw?