"Hospital Comment"

What I liked

- The consultants and 1 midwife (night shift)

What could be improved

- The Triage should have a scan: even if a small one. How can the midwife detect if the position is not right? She didn't in our case...

- Hygiene/cleaness was zero to none: The birth ward was already dirty, but the recovery ward was unbelievably dirty. The bathroom disgusting, the full bins, the sticky floor, etc... I had to call them 3 times to come over.You should see how they clean the bathroom in 3 minutes... Imagine the diseases you can get.

- The shifts and changing teams: make you feel like a roller coaster.You get a professional team followed by a very incompetent one. Their training is not consistent.

- The midwifes training: Incompetence and burearocracy, The majority of the midwifes were not fit and skilled to perform this job. They did not like the job and were absorbed with report writing. Never imagined the level could be so low. They new nothing of breastfeeding and gave no support whatsoever.

- Humanity of the staff: We had to transfered from wards during an advanced stage of labour. The midwife did not get a wheel chair, she just gave her arm which obviously was not enough. It was dangerous and inhuman. After the birth, we were abandoned. The midwife went to sent text messages and no one helped with a shower or brought some food to woman who had just had a very difficult labour. Instead, a hour after we got a very arrogant support staff woman kicking us out of the room without even finding a recovery room first.

- Recovery ward: How bad is this? Besides the fact that is very dirty, they make woman that just gave birth go and pick up their own lunch, when they really should be bringing it to the bed. They do not allow the partners to stay overnight, even sitting on a chair. Complete nonsense. The Hospital rather have these women unsupported, because the midwifes do not pay regular visits. They just come for the minimum compulsory checks and they will be gathering by the reception doing nothing

Anything else?

Unfortunately the Maternities of the NHS are far from the actual standards seen in western Europe.

Its still applying medieval and unsophisticated techniques in a cold insensitive manner.

The hospital in Kinsgton is not run. It run itself. Its chaos. Its clear and visible the lack of leadership almost in every aspect of the maternity.

Please be demanding about your services, You must be:

- clean;

- sophisticated and use technology;

- efficient;

- Properly trained for birth and post natal;

- Human and treat mothers with dignity and respect;

- compliant with Health and safety;

- well managed and controlled.

The NHS and Kingston hospital should care about their mother's and baby's health and happiness. They should care about their reputation, but they don't.