Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

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Mrs Fudge
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Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby Mrs Fudge » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:06 am

Hi,

I’ve seen a few posts recently comparing C&WM and St George’s, but how does C&WM compare to St Thomas’s?

I’m currently booked in to have my baby at St Thomas’s, but am considering asking to change to C&WM as have had a few personal recommendations for it recently. Would be great to hear other opinions of either!

Thanks
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MumOnTheSrun
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby MumOnTheSrun » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:42 am

Hi there
First off congratulations!

I am also pregnant I am going to have my child at Chelsea And Westminster Hospital. This is my third child I have had there and I feel the care is great here.

I was born at St Thomas's so for me it was only natral that my first child would be born there too! Mind you this was back in 2000 the care there was not great at all, so I didn't go back but I have had had friends and family members, also women that I have met who have had children there since the first refub in 2001 until present have bad experiences there.
My friends mainly still have children because of the convience but I'm not a believer in convience, I believe in getting good service even if I have to go a little further out to get it.

Its a ruff choice because I do go there for everything else I think it's mainly some of the staff that have a lack lustre attitude to there work which brings it down.
When are you due?

Good luck on your pregnancy and choice.
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M&Imum
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby M&Imum » Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:41 am

Congratulations on your first pregnancy!

I had both my children (4 and 2) at st Thomas's and felt the care was excellent and cannot fault it.
I am a paediatrician (although never worked at either hospital and didn't get any 'special' treatment) and from a medical perspective thought they were brilliant. I had a long and complicated delivery with the first and reduced amniotic fluid with the second and they dealt with both excellently. The post natal care was also good with breast feeding support etc. I thought all the staff were professional and dedicated. As with everyone in the NHS they are busy and stretched but I did not think they were 'lacklustre' at all.

I think each experience is very personal and so can be difficult to make a judgment on individual reports. I cannot comment on C&W and like with all hospitals have heard mixed things from mum's. However I think we are very lucky to have 3 such excellent hospitals on our doorstep and think all would be a good choice.

From my perspective if you're booked with them already no need to change but it's important you feel comfortable with your choice!
Hope that helps
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SouthChelseaBun
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby SouthChelseaBun » Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:55 am

I'm currently in the middle of making the same decision. I had my first child at C&W, and had a good experience there. It wasn't an easy birth but I felt well taken care of during the whole process.

I booked into St Thomas's for my second, because it is more convenient for work, but have not been very impressed with the admin so far. I was not offered a booking-in appointment until around six weeks after I self-referred to them, for example. I know this isn't necessarily indicative of the care I would get later on during my pregnancy but I think I will feel more comfortable switching back to C&W.
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SouthChelseaBun
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby SouthChelseaBun » Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:38 pm

A quick update - I switched to C&W and am feeling very happy and relieved about my decision. They called me back the day after I emailed them, and were able to put a scan and a booking-in appointment in the diary within ten days of the phone call.I know admin isn't everything but it does give reassurance.
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Vhopeful
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby Vhopeful » Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:53 pm

Having had a child in both I would definitely choose Chelsea. I think st thomas’ is too chaotic and resources definitely feel more stretched.
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sw1234
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby sw1234 » Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:03 pm

I had an awful experience with my first at St Thomas and hence had my 2 subsequent children at St George’s and was super impressed by the care there. Trust your gut instinct and move if you feel more comfortable, however, as a previous post said it often comes down to staffing levels on the day and every hospital can have good and bad days! Good luck.
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Bevvers
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby Bevvers » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:44 am

You could go on reading a million mum’s opinions and each will be different as we all have different experiences. Therefore I would think about what’s practical for you with regards to appointments, travelling there when you’re in labour, and any follow up appointments you may have afterwards with a baby in tow. These things may not seem so relevant now, but are worth considering. Good luck!
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K1999
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby K1999 » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:54 pm

Don't know if you've had your baby already.  It may depend on whether you want to use the Birth Centre.  Chelsea has the best one in London (in my opinion and as a birth doula I have seen quite a few).  The Birth Centre is new and top of the range.  If you are more thinking labour ward, then all the hospitals are pretty much the same.  And it may be down to location as you don't want to travel too far.
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Ramaboo
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Re: Chelsea & West or St Thomas?

Postby Ramaboo » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:44 pm

K1119's comment above sounds like very sensible advice to me!

For what it's worth for other's future reference, we had a great experience at Thomas's. Much of it with NHS hospitals is surely down to luck - ie: how busy it is when you happen to go into labour?

Closeness and convenience for D-Day (i.e. Thomas's was nearest) made me a little less stressed - which down to tight timeframes on the night ended up being important!

NCT friends of mine ended up in Chelsea on a crowded ward, I had a room to myself directly opposite Big Ben for free :-)  I'm sure I just got lucky but there are admin nightmares to varying degrees across the system overall, i didn't notice St Thomas worse than others (and I had a many pregnancy issues and appts)
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