"My two recent experiences of the ..."

What I liked

My two recent experiences of the L&D were when my son was born there in Aug 2007 - the staff were excellent. The delivery ward was well staffed, I was given prompt pain relief and although I was attended to by a rather inexperienced midwife she was well supported by colleagues. I was tranferred to theatre and my care was excellent even though my son and I were both extremely ill at one point. The maternity ward was of a good standard - the busy staff were able to assist where ever required. Food was okay.

What could be improved

Showers were filthy in the maternity ward. Had to clean the sink before I could wash.

More recently May 2008 - I was advised to take my son to the GP led A&E part. We were given a 9pm appointment over the phone. We were finally seen after midnight. I had a very sick 8 month old baby with a serious infection and he was left to wait for more than 3 hours without even being triaged (they count the phone consultation as triage). There were people vomiting on the floor with stomach problems and plenty of people under the influence of drugs.

The standard of care once we were seen was excellent - but my son had a 40 degree temp for 3 hours more than he needed to - even after we were given an appointment. The receptionist told me that they give the same time appointment to more than 10 people.