"The Doctor in the Antenatal clinic ..."

What I liked

The Doctor in the Antenatal clinic was excellent as was another member of staff in the Fetal Monitoring Unit.

The midwifery team in maternity day care on the whole were lovely, although couldn't answer questions about visiting hours and bottle feeding . The midwife told me they were only tained in breastfeeding which is disappointing as I am unable to breastfeed. More training would be beneficial to improve patient experience.

What could be improved

My very first appointment in the maternity booking centre was awful. The midwife was unable to answer my questions and acted like a robot to get through the check-list.

Having consultant led care I did feel like I missed out on vital information such as antenatal classes. The hospital tour of the labour ward was conducted by a lovely nurse, but they couldn't really speak English. My husband and I did struggle to follow what they were saying and I am still unsure of what to expect when I go into labour.

In the Maternity Booking Centre & Antenatal Clinic - Customer service especially of the Admin and Midwifery team could be improved. Cleanliness of toilets across all areas needs desperate attention, and there are not enough toilets in the antenatal clinic. In Maternity Day Care it is not unusual to find urine samples lying around in the bathrooms. Communication of Waiting times need to be reviewed. In Health Central there is a whiteboard which details how behind the clinic is. This would be good practice across the hospital. There have been occasions over the last nine months where I have been kept waiting over 6 hours to be seen.

Signposting needs some attention between antenatal care/scanning areas, Blood pressure and urine checks being done in the corridor is not best practice. Most GP surgeries today have large electronic boards which beep with the patients name when it is their turn to be seen by the doctor. This would be an excellent investment in Newham maternity areas, especially as Newham is ethnically diverse, i am certain this would save time, the current practice involves staff calling patient names in the waiting rooms and struggling with pronounciation, which increases waiting times.

Anything else?

Strangely enough the waiting areas are not child friendly - by simply putting up colourful posters, scanned images, a bigger tv, and looking at the design patients would feel much more valued.. It is worth thinking about a play area for toddlers (there are many second/third time mums bringing in toddlers and a lick of paint the areas could look much more welcoming.

It would be lovely if all labour rooms had a private bathroom and shower. This would go greatly towards improving quality of care for patients. Especially for patients like myself with Colitis.