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12 week scan 22/1/2014

Story from nhs.uk

"12 week scan 22/1/2014"

About: University Hospital (Coventry)

Went here for my first scan here as the Owen building at Rugby was having refurbishment. After being charged £2 for 1hour(!!!) we entered the women and children's unit. We first went to the antenatal ward and were greeted by the lovely receptionist. She directed us to the correct place; the ultrasound room. Once in there, we were not greeted at all. We were in a queue of about 4 people, and the receptionists/midwives(?) couldn't have gone any slower. I'm a nurse at Warwick hospital and know our standards are definitely better than this. Once we got to the front of the queue, there was still no "hi, how are you?" etc. We just gave our paperwork, and was asked if we wanted a picture. We said yes and had to pay £10(!!) for it. I noted when they wrote my surname down they couldn't be bothered to spell my whole name (I'm double barrelled) and just opted to write only half my surname down. We also noted that a lady had been on hold on the phone for at least 5 minutes. When it was brought up by one of the other members of staff that someone had been on hold for a while, the response was "well they've probably gone now", and didn't even bother to pick the phone up. A HCA then guided us to were we should be, as we were "out of area", as they termed it, our scan was in a different room. The sonographer was lovely, unfortunately she said my womb was slanted so she couldn't get a pic of the baby. This then meant that we needed a refund. We went back to reception and explained the situation, and were told we had to wait as we had paid by card (surely it would make more sense to charge people after they had there scan??), anyway, after having to wait for about 5 minutes, we got our refund and were told that our next scan would be a Rugby. Luckily I am opting for a home birth, with Warwick being my second option. UHCW definitely just made me feel like a number and I would definitely not want tot have my child there.

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Responses

Response from University Hospital (Coventry) 10 years ago
University Hospital (Coventry)

Submitted on 28/01/2014 at 10:47
Published on nhs.uk on 29/01/2014 at 03:00

Thank you for providing feedback on your recent appointment at the women and children’s department of University Hospital, Coventry in January 2014. While I am very sorry to hear that you were unhappy I would like to cover a number of points that you raise. Parking – the Trust does charge for parking at our sites. To eliminate car parking charges for our visitors would cost the Trust £2.4m a year which is the equivalent of closing three wards. This would inevitably mean cuts in other services. In July 2011 the decision was made by the board following public concern to reduce our car park prices. Politeness of staff – The refurbishment of the Owen Building at the Hospital of St Cross means the department will be closed for two weeks. This has led to an increase in the number of women visiting University Hospital so at times the department has been very busy. Even so, there is never an excuse for a lack of greeting or being less than courteous towards phone callers. The Head of Midwifery, who oversees this department, has been made aware of your comments and will reiterate to staff the importance of being polite at all times. Scan photos – For the majority of women there is never an issue with the production of a scan photograph and therefore charging at the start is what most prefer as this enables them to leave as soon as they are finished. Women always have a choice whether to have a picture or not. The costs cover the paper and other expenses and compares favourably with other Trusts that offer the service in Warwickshire (Warwick for example charge £10 for three copies – how much do we charge? I can remove this bit if need be). Over 6000 women choose to have the Trust provide the care for their births each year. We also regularly ask for feedback via our own Trust Impressions survey. The latest results show that the overwhelming majority have a positive experience and are more than satisfied with the care we provide. In addition we are taking part in the national friends and family survey which looks to speak to mothers to be and new mums so they have a chance to have their say on the maternity service. We would very much welcome the opportunity to discuss your concerns with you further. If you feel this would be useful please contact the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0800 028 4203. If you would prefer to contact us by e-mail, our address is feedback@uhcw.nhs.uk Alternatively, you can write to us at the following address: - PALS University Hospital Clifford Bridge Road Coventry CV2 2DX If you do decide to contact us, please make us aware that you have left comments on the NHS Choices website. The Trust is grateful for all feedback, positive or negative, as it means we can better understand what is important to our patients. Thank you for leaving your comments on NHS Choices. Communications Team University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust Telephone 0800 028 4203

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