"They never read your notes"

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