"Outstanding service"

What I liked

After having such a negative view of this hospital whilst visiting for scans and other services I cannot fault the maternity department. This department has restored my faith in the NHS. The midwives were fantastic- they worked well as teams and handovers were brilliant. I was a very nervous patient and had a complicated birth which ended in a C-section over a day and a half. The staff were brilliant and really understanding of my needs and supportive of my wishes. The department is really under pressure due to staffing issues but this did not affect the service I received. I complained previously about the service in the RBH due to inefficient sonographers and various errors I had witnessed but the staff in the maternity department including the obstetricians and anaesthetists were brilliant. One midwife in particular was so understanding and supportive. I wish I had more chance to thank her at the time. I hope this is passed on to her. After getting the impressions that you just had to cope on gas and air alone, and you were unlikely to get an epidural if requested, this was not the case. This was a massive concern of mine before attending the ward. On the whole a brilliant experience despite all the complications of the birth.

What could be improved

the department needs more midwives!