worried about maternity care in lewisham

[babyonboard]

hello..i'm new to this..so hello
i am now 15 weeks pregnant and do not have a g.p . i live in lewisham and have tried to register at every practice i can find, but have been turned away by all. so far i have seen an nhs walk in doctor twice, once to confirm the pregnancy and once when i had bad cramping at 7 weeks. i was admitted to hospital and had a scan at 7 weeks 3 days, and everything was fine. i am sure i should have my own g.p or have seen a midwife by now, but i cannot find any information on how to sort this out, and no one seems to want to give me advice. the situation is so bad we are considering going private even though we cannot afford to. does anyone have advice on the normal procedure, and what i can do to get the care i need? i am now panicking as i havent had the normal checks, and in the last week or so my symptoms have diminished..no longer aching boobs, cravings etc and my stomach seems to have shrunk. and advice will be much appreciated.

Write to the Local Health Authority, if you pop into Lewisham hospital or one of the surgeries, they should be able to give you the address and phone number.

You have a right to have a GP, and it's becoming urgent that you get one. If the HA are crap, go straight to your MP, who will sort it out for you.

Good luck.

you do not need to get antenatal care through your gp, you can go straight to provider ie midwife
try contacting lewisham hospital direct or st thomas's or queen elizabeth in greenwich or kings depending on which hospital you want to oversee your an care and ask to speak to community midwife

suggest that you also contact lewisham primary care trust over problems finding a gp
if you are really worried contact an early pregnancy assessment unit, most hospitals have them and given your situation no gp you could prob just turn up and ask for a scan if you are worried re babe and want reassurance
poor you, i hope you find someone soon and congrats on your pg

By the way, if you want a recommendation of a good GP, the surgery in Morley Road is excellent - but only the group practice, not the individual doctors.

If you're anywhere near New Cross, the Erlanger Road / Queen's Road surgery (they keep moving about) are also extremely good.

Sorry, meant not the stand alone doctors - when I lived there, there were three separate practices, two for individual doctors, and one for the group practice. The selection of doctors in the group practice was better.

For information about the maternity services in your area, this site is handy - would be useful for helping you to decide which hospital you'd like to use....You can search for a hospital by entering your postcode and it will tell you which hospitals are closest, and give you information about each. maternity services

Good luck, and congratulations!

i have tried morley road but no luck.the closest to me is belmont hill, but they have turned me away too. i know lewisham hospital has an early pregnancy unit, as thats where i had my scan at 7 weeks, but i don't want to seem like a crazy paranoid mum to be when there arent any truly worrying symptoms. i will give the hospital a call anyway and see if i can arrange a midwife appointment...ive failed before, but may aswell keep trying...thanks for your advice, ill let you know what happens.

Hi baby on board. ~Congratulations on your pregnancy. Im sorry that you are going through such a tough time trying to register with a doctor. If you havent already contacted the midwife team at Lewisham, the tel no is 020 8690 5036 - I would have thought that they would be able to advise as they have teams of midwives linked to different surgeries. I think most of them work in the hospital and also do clinics at local surgeries. Some of them will also be in teams to do homevisits and homebirths. If you havent already done so you will need a registering appointment with them and they will issue you with a Pregnancy Health record book and book you in for birth at Lewisham.
All my care has been through a midwife who has a clinic at my local surgery. It is true that its usually the gp that makes the request for the early scan. I had the nuchal scan at 11-14 weeks.
I know that some people attend at Lewisham hospital itself for midwife appointments so perhaps you could do that. As someone else said, the Gp doesnt really play any role in the pregnancy itself but of course you need a GP in case of falling ill generally.
Hope this is helpful. im sure you probably knew most of it already. Good luck

I was told that Kings and St Thomas's are now pretty fussy about taking in people outside their catchment, unless you have specific link ie past treatment there - although it might be worth a go. I think you are more likely to get support through lewisham and obviously its nearer if there is any need for speed.

thanks so much, I have searched in vein for that number so this is a big help. Just gave them a call and they are closed, but i shall persist1 Thinks are much more back to normal now..i know that as i woke up at 4 am and couldn't help but eat a whole packet of tomatoes and jar of baby beetroots..he he. i have been worried that I have missed the nuchal scan, and my mum says blood tests need to be done in the 16th week for accuracy so i'm still concerned to get things moving. How long was your wait for a scan? Thanks for your congrats, and the same to all the other expectant mums.

Hi B on B,

Congrats to you and sorry to hear that you've gone through so much trouble. Don't worry yourself though as I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

I'm having my bubba at Kings College, even though I live in the borough of Lewisham (but only because I'm still registered with my first GP).

Give kings a try (even though they may be a little out of the way, but at least you've got a 2nd option if you're having probs with Lewisham.

One of the 2 must be able to do something, as I'm sure they can't just reject you.

Take Care, Love,

Bami

well..still no joy with the midwives number, but i have managed to get registered at belmont hill surgery after turning up and hassling..he he..
they have a midwife too , does anyone have any experience of the practice?
this is such a relief! it's the least of things i should have had to worry about

queen elizabeth's in woolwich have a good rep if you cannot get into kings, they were my second choice

queen elizabeth's in woolwich have a good rep if you cannot get into kings, they were my second choice

Babyonboard - I've only just seen your message. I had my first son whilst registered with Belmont Hill. The midwife was fantastic - in the ned I went ofr a home birth and she delivered. I was very anxious in the first few weeks and found it very frustragin that no-one woudl tell me things I wanted to know, but after a while I calemd down and things went like clockwork. I hope your getting good treatment and enjoying your pregnancy.I'm now expecting my 2nd and will see the same midwife.

i have actually switched to st thomas's now..but feeling i may have ben too hasty. ah well...hopefully things will be fine.
thanks for your advice