Help- hospital not picking up

[leggingsandwellies]

Been awake all night worrying about reduced movements. Decided to ring maternity triage and have rung 8 times over 40 minutes and no one is picking up the phone.

Baby has been moving a bit but much less than normal. Why is no one picking up? Feeling like it's not serious enough for me to just 'turn up' 😂

That of course should be a sad emoji at the end of my first post. I'm pretty exhausted.

Call the maternity ward. Go through switchboard if you dont have the first number . X

Its the maternity ward that I've been ringing- I've been in once before and it's definitely the right number. It's also supposed to be the number you ring when in labour so I'm not sure why no ones picking up.

I'm so sorry you are upset, I Eijkman be exactly the same. And quite honestly I would just turn up and if they were being weird about it I would show them the call log and how many attempts I made to reach them.
Midwives drill it into your brain that you should NOT wait until the next day if you're worried about movements, so you are only following advice.
I'm sure everything is OK but best to get it checked out. Good luck! 😘

Thanks all. 1.5 hours and many phone calls later someone finally picked up and I'm heading in now.

Hope it goes well

I have literally never got through to maternity triage on my first try. It’s crazy and dangerous. Imagine a first time mum thinking she’s making a fuss and feeling bad ending up in dire straights because she was left for 2 hours with no one answering the phone! I had complications in my first pregnancy so was high risk and under consultant care. I was really angry about it tbh and pointed out to them several times that not answering that phone could cost lives.

I’m much more confident in my second, less complicated, pregnancy but that’s because I know what Labour feels like now and have sone idea of what’s normal

Make PALS aware at your hospital. It should be noted regardless.

They can't answer the phone if they are all busy with women in labour. There aren't always dedicated receptionists. You just have to keep trying or if it's urgent enough, go in.

Glad you got through in the end :)

I can’t comment on what happened today for you, but I have been sat in the assessment unit waiting for test results and abandoned for over an hour before because someone came in with a big emergency, and there was also a crash CS, both operating theatres full and lots of women in catastrophe, all hands on deck for a while there. It does happen sometimes I’m afraid.

How have you got on OP.
Sending positive vibes 😊

Hope you're ok OP.

Thanks all. I got back home a short while ago- baby woke up in the end and all was fine. It was very quite on the ward though (I was the only women in triage) and there were a lot of midwives just wandering around and chatting. I do understand if they're all busy but it really didn't seem to be the case that they were and it caused me a lot of anxiety.

So glad all is well op

@leggingsandwellies

Thanks all. I got back home a short while ago- baby woke up in the end and all was fine. It was very quite on the ward though (I was the only women in triage) and there were a lot of midwives just wandering around and chatting. I do understand if they're all busy but it really didn't seem to be the case that they were and it caused me a lot of anxiety.

Seriously email the local PALS. At worst it gets long. Accepting substandard care is why maternity is generally so awful.

Here's an example. In our local hospital currently, they've changed the rules so a birthing partner can stay with the woman in triage while she gets assessed for labour. However, they haven't told all staff so some are preventing this from happening. The midwife team response? The vulnerable woman, in labour, needs to ring the switchboard and speak to the senior midwife to advocate for herself. It's not acceptable. I was far too passive in my first pregnancy despite reading NICE guidance, my Trusts guidance etc. All it's taught me is the only option at times is to self-advocate and this means highlighting when the system is simply below acceptable standards.