This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Antenatal Clinic

Story from nhs.uk

"Antenatal Clinic"

About: Manor Hospital

Anything else?

I am pregnant and it is high risk so I have to visit regularly. On every single occasion I find myself wondering why I rush to be there on time for my appointments when I never go in anywhere near my time allocated. I really don't see the point of appointment times as they do not run to them. I am always hearing other patients complaining of the same thing - no-one seems satisfied. I have also seen on several occasions the staff coming in late then having to get changed into their uniforms and then chatting between theirselves on a personal level whilst patients are waiting to be seen. There seems to be no regard for patients time and staff turn up when they feel like. Obviously this has a knock on effect on paying more for parking which is expensive anyway. A scan and consultants appointment almost always takes 2 and a hour hours. This involves a 5 - 10 min scan and a 5-10 min consultants appointment. The rest is purely waiting split between the scan waiting area, the main antenatal waiting area and then the waiting area after you see the consultant while they make any further appointments for you. This is an area where you always hear the midwives/nurses chatting to each other on a personal level instead of getting on with it and making the appointments quickly and efficiently. Patients spill out onto waiting on the corridor due to limited seating. The process does not work!!!

More about:
nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Manor Hospital 10 years ago
Manor Hospital

Submitted on 25/11/2013 at 08:33
Published on nhs.uk on 26/11/2013 at 03:00

Firstly I am sorry that you feel that your experience during your appointment was not as it should be. Although I cannot comment on this individual case I would urge anyone who feels that there are issues to be raised to contact myself or the manager of the department to discuss any specific concerns further so that an investigation can take place if necessary. However, please see below my comments on the general issues raised: a) Due to an increase in birthrates and the closure of neighboring units over the past 18 months we have unfortunately been extremely busy in the department. Because of this we are reviewing our current systems within the antenatal clinic to make a better patient experience for everyone who undertakes the service and would welcome any suggestions on improving the service from service users. b) As part improvements within the clinic, staff are now working at different times during the day to offer a longer service involving staggered shift patterns. Under no circumstances are staff allowed turn up late unless agreed by the manager and special permission is granted. c) Within antenatal clinic there are three working environments which include midwifery, scanning and phlebotomy and this can unfortunately cause a delay in-between each area. We have introduced extended hours in clinic to include evenings and weekends offering further scan appointments so this will hopefully help reduce waiting times where possible. d) There is a small exit desk in antenatal clinic that has to accommodate midwives and clerks to enter appointments, results etc on our electronic system. Patients hand held notes are also held here and the midwives work from this point to ensure that the patient has all the necessary things documented prior to discharge. We are currently reviewing this situation to see if there is a better system that could be implemented to facilitate this whilst still maintaining the facility to include all necessary documentation to make the discharge process as smooth as possible. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact our Patient Relations team on 01922 656463. Regards, Gill Harley, Matron - Community Midwifery/MLU/ANC, Team Leader/ Supervisor of Midwives

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k