Hospital choice: Frimley Park or RBH??

[Jilko]

Hi all,
I'm a newbie on here and only just got my BFP a week past Thursday!! It's our first DC and I saw the mw yesterday - I'm only 7.5 weeks pg. The next step is to decide where to go for the birth...we live in Bracknell, so both these hospitals about 10miles away.

We would like to go to Ascot but they have had staff shortages and closed down for a couple of months this year, and anything out of the ordinary would mean being transferred to Slough which I've heard a lot of bad reports about it!! It's also a nightmare to get to...

We are going for a tour of Frimley this w'end and possibly Reading next week, but would really value anyones advice about their experiences at any of these hospitals.

Many thanks in advance...
Jill

i had ds2 at rbh 12 weeks ago today!

the labour care was great

postnatal awful

but i think that's true of many hospitals. they were really struggling staffing-wise when i was there and sent most of the midwives from the postnatal ward down to the labour ward. hence no-one around when i needed them (i was bed-bound, catheterised)- took up to 15 mins for someone to respond to my call

but as i said, no complaints re labour care

Hi I had ds at RBH April 06. Was impressed with the hospital in terms of cleanliness and cheerful staff, but there was no continuity of care - I saw a million different midwives (all telling me different things about breastfeeding hence my problems with it later).

There is a v good bf clinic open every day with a fabulous lady called Clare who I will be forever indebted to, but it's only open certain hours.

Due to having GBS I had ds on the labour ward as opposed to Marsh ward which is supposed to be more natural.

Overall I was pretty happy and will have my next baby there. If you're planning to bf just make sure you get some decent advice before you leave.

Jilko, my SIL had her dd in Feb and visited both Frimley and RBH. They opted for RBH. However, she wasn't very impressed mainly, I think, due to the post natal care (or lack of!)and has said that if (or when) she has a 2nd she will go for a home birth.

Keep your ears open for news on Heatherwood as, from all that I have heard, it is a fantastic place for a low risk birth. But also, my ds was born at Wexham just under 6 years ago and they were great, a much better experience than when I had my dd at St Peters.

Maybe you should visit them all yourself and see what you feel about it then?

Good luck!

Frimley was fab for me for both ante-natal and post-natal. I had the same mw all the way through and she listened to all my worries/concerns/requests. The other mws on the ward seemed lovely too. Afterwards, they didn't rush DH out as some hospitals do which was also nice. They brought us both tea and toast and then she ran me a bath.

It was also clean and the staff to patient ratio seemed good (I'm sure this can vary though) Also, Frimley do the nuchal scan as standard so check if RBH offer this too.

I know of 2 women who were upset by the post natal care at RBH mainly because it was so busy they felt left on their own. But, they did give birth in the same wk so it may have been a difficult time.

Good luck oh and congratulations!

Frimley, it was great for me. It was between that or Heatherwood/Wexham and Reading, I checked the stats and they were far better, and it really was a great place.

Hey I live in Bracknell too! Don't go to Heatherwood, even if it does open up again because you get transferred to Wexham by ambulance if there is a problem. Frimley was quicker to get to aswell, and the pre-natal care was great - the classes and then physio type class afterwards.

Hi Jilko,
Congratulations on your BFP. I'm Feedmenow's SIL and live in Priestwood.

I looked at the statistics and visited RBH, Frimley, Wexham and Heatherwood when choosing my hospital and as FMN said decided on RBH.

Wexham - too difficult to get too Heatherwood - wouldn't take me as I needed consultant care
Frimley - smaller hospital and lovely staff but everything felt a bit older and labour rooms were less well equipped than RBH (no shower/toilet/fans).
RBH - very modern, well equipped and clean but also very large and busy.

On my arrival at RBH in labour I was pretty much dismissed by the labour ward staff and left to wait in the corridor for nearly an hour before a midwife could assess me which wasn't great but once they found I was 5cm dilated we were taken straight to a room to settle in.

I had a lovely student midwife with us all the time with a qualified midwife checking in from time to time and we had 2 midwives for the delivery. I had a very positive birth experience despite suffering a retained placenta but would plan to have my next lo at home.

dd was born early on a Saturday morning and the post-natal care over the weekend was dreadful due to lack of staff however this all changed on Monday morning when more staff meant I suddenly had a lot more support with bf and even got moved to a private room opposite the midwife's station so they could help out more (I had someone with me for around 2 hours every feed).

I have heard that the post-natal care at Frimley can be patchy as well so I guess it just depends if its a busy time for babies!

It's a good idea to visit each one so you can make up your own mind.

Good luck

Marmite - you live near me! >

ooohh, I'm excited too, whereabouts do you live Quootie?

I live in Pollardrow Avenue (just off the Wokingham road) and have lived in Bracknell for 12 years since coming to work here.

maybe we could meet up sometime????

I don't want to say exactly on here, but it's in one of the 'sections' (hamlets?) of Bracknell with the drive through McDonalds - that'll give it away! Only bought here 18 months ago and still don't really know anyone! I am awful with road names, I can't think which one is the Wokingham Road - I only really know the park in Priestwood (with the paddling pool) and the petrol station. Just seen you have been on MN since 2006 - I dunno how I missed you!

aah, I go to a Mum and baby group at St Michaels church hall on Tuesday mornings and drive right by Mcdonalds.
I'm not right next door to Jocks Lane (park with the paddling pool) but near enough to walk on good days.
my email is hayley (dot) hammond (at) dsl(dot) pipex (dot) com , if you wanted to get in touch offline (although I won't be offended if you don't ).

I lived in Windsor when expecting ds. Desperately wanted to go to Heatherwood but blood pressure went up and had to go to Wexham ....not a pleasant experience....