The best Maternity Unit NHS in London with focus on endocrinology?

[ladyfusion]

Hi everybody,

I recently moved to London and am trying to find out what are currently the best maternity units NHS in the city. Since I regularly take L-Thyroxine, it would be great if the doctor had a strong understanding of endocrinology and its influence on pregnancy as well as a very solid experience helping patients like me (e.g. identifying potential risks for my baby at the very early stage).
My favorites so far:
www.uclh.nhs.uk/
www.imperial.nhs.uk/
What do you think? :) Thanks a lot in advance!

Most of the big London teaching hospitals will be able to cope with a mother with thyroid issues. UCH has some truly excellent doctors and I don't think you could go wrong going there. I'm not sure what the system now is but you may find you can't choose from all London hospitals.

Thanks a lot for your answer! May I just ask one more clarifying question. What do you mean with "you may find you can't choose from all London hospitals"? Can't I just ask my GP to refer me to UCLH?

Are you already pregnant? If so you can just self refer to your chosen hospital, you don't need to go through your GP.

I would say St Georges is good
I would not recommend St Thomas'

I know that when I was pregnant some hospitals were so busy they were only accepting patients within their catchment area. I don't know if that would be the same with specific health issues though or if there was an unusual peak in busyness then

Imperial runs a bunch of hospitals. You are normally sent to hospitals within the catchment of where you live. From where I live I won't be sent to UCH. If you live at the outer edges of north London you are not going to be sent to St George's. Most importantly London hospitals are often quickly booked up. I returned to the UK at 13 weeks pregnant. I had left on work and discovered I was 7 weeks pregnant and then stayed on in the country in question for 6 weeks. When I returned THREE hospitals turned me down as they were full for my birth month.

UCH was great for me (with same issue). I had an initial joint obstetric / endocrinology appt. after self referring and booking in as normal with the midwife. The 2 consultants agreed a course of action, & I then had regular blood tests, with phone follow ups with the endo clinic. Otherwise everything was with the midwives as usual, including the birth in the (very nice!) birth centre. Highly recommended & it's nice to be in one of the best teaching hospitals in the country.

I had both my girls at st Mary's Paddington. Despite it being miles from home (at least 5 closer hospitals). I have diabetes and the team there is fantastic. Post natal ward is a bit hairy but I can't fault the care

I think some hospitals have catchments, so when I lived in Fulham I was offered Queen Charlottes or Chelsea and Westminster. You could sometimes choose outside the catchment - for example there was a lady who had had a stillbirth at her local hospital and hadn't wanted to go there, so came to QC instead - but I don't think it was guaranteed.
My current GP (in N London) I know refers to the Whittington, North Mid and Royal Free (although whether this is because they have to or they have some sort of agreement I don't know). But I could also self refer to UCH.

The last time I had a baby was 6 years ago though so this could all be out of date. Others will be more informed I am sure.

I switched hospitals three months ago (I'm now 38 weeks) and it was very straightforward. I obviously can't speak for all London hospitals but I phoned a few when I was deciding and they all said they would be able to accept me.

So definitely worth a shot! The earlier you book the better I suppose, but I was already 25 weeks.

I didn't switch to UCH, but I do know someone who had her baby there last month and it definitely wouldn't have been one of her 'catchment' hospitals.

Any maternity unit would be able to deal with someone on thyroid replacement. It really is very standard. You'd likely be seen by an endocrinologist as well as an obstetrician and have a few extra appointments and potentially scans, but assuming all was fine, things would continue as normal and you'd not be treated as high risk.

St Thomas's have a catchment as theyre popular. You wouldn't want to choose a hospital the other side of London from where you live though surely? You have to get there when you're in labour! Don't underestimate London traffic.

There's no reason any hospital can't deal with endocrine issues. St George's looked after me and I was perfectly happy with the care.

There's a NICE guideline regarding thyroid and pregnancy.

Uncomplicated hypothyroidism is managed in all maternity units. You would see an endocrinologist who would arrange blood tests and adjust medication as needed.

UCL lets you self refer online.