Which hospital based on recent exp?C&W, SGeorge's or SThomas Post Reply

[mumandmore]

Hi everyone. I hope some someone who has recently had a baby (2013 ideally) at Chelsea and Westminster, St George's or St Thomas' can give me their view? I am 15 from C&w and St George's but my GP said that St Thomas gets the best reviews. Does this echo most people's experiences?

C&w - I've heard (and read) about some terrible stories inc a law suit (parents won thank goodness) about C&w but it looks lovely so I am leaning away from this now, compounded by the fact that it can't be a good vote of confidence that they are potentially closing the unit!

St George's I've heard that mixed things and on the whole was leaning that way but I've heard recently that they are looking to cut midwives and there is more overcrowding than ever before?

St Thomas - I don't know anything about ST except that my doc said it gets good reviews. But it's half hour (in good traffic) and I've heard you have to have your appointments in a health centre in Clapham which I am not keen on. I'd like to be seen the hospital.

Don't get me wrong I am not expecting it to be too pleasant anywhere given our increasingly crowded hospitals but I want to know to know which one is the best of a busy bunch!

Much appreciated.

[mrs_pavlova]

Hi there

Congrats on your pregnancy!

In my humble opinion there really isn't a definite answer to your question. You'll get different answers whoever you talk to, as everyone has different pregnancies and different deliveries and the experience at a hospital will be dependent on how busy they are on that particular day and who is on duty. For example, I have had two deliveries at St George's (one difficult and the second easy) and couldn't recommend them highly enough. However, a friend recently had a poor experience there and wouldn't choose it again for her next delivery. Does that make it a bad hospital? Of course not, but things did not go well for her on that particular day.

My only advice would be to visit the hospitals closest to you - you do not want a difficult long journey in rush hour traffic, and decide which one you feel most comfortable with. All the hospitals you mention will do their very best for you on the day, so go into it with a realistic and optimistic outlook.

Best of luck!

[kacenka]

Hello ,
Congratulation.

I had both kids in Westm. and Chelsea and I need to say that both deliveries were great. I had difficult second labour. I had 1 midwife and 2 students and later doctor as well. Girls were great and done very good job. I cannot complain. About St Georges I heard not really good stories from my friends. So not sure.

Hope all will be fine and soon you will hold beautiful baby. Best wishes

[Pop]

I agree with Mrs Pavlova - a lot depends on how busy it happens to be on the day and my local Mum friends have had positive and negative experiences at all 3 hospitals over recent years. I have had very positive experiences at St G's, including very recently.

[soph]

I have had one baby at Thomas's and the other at st George's. Thomas's was awful and George's amazing. I agree with the first post to go to the closest one assuming you are having a normal pregnancy as a lot depends on the staff on the day! George's was excellent with my more complicated pregnancy recently. The staff were so helpful and kind and it made my stay really enjoyable!

[Nims]

Hi, I had my baby in Chelsea and Westminster just 3 months ago, and they gave me a doula for the initial part (apparently they're trialling them on the NHS). She was brilliant, and put both my husband and I at ease throughout.

It was a difficult delivery, and as the baby was back to back I opted for an epidural. Unfortunately my baby was stuck, and in the delivery room I had 2 midwives, paediatrician and an obstetrician all attending. However, at no point did anyone make me feel panicked, and eventually my baby was safely delivered via forceps.

The standard of care we received was second to none, we stayed in hospital for a week as both my baby and I were on antibiotics (he got stressed in labour and ended up swallowing meconium in the waters).

We would like a second baby in the next couple of years, and I would choose C&W again.

That said, my sister in law had both her babies in St. Georges, and she sang their praises.

Go with your instinct. C&W was our nearest hospital which is why we went with them.

Best of luck!

[AnnieH]

I agree with mrs pavlova there really isn't a definitive answer as it really does depend on who you get on the day and what happens.

I rate st George's highly and am having my second there and know all my nct class did as well but there is always a range of opinions.

However at the end of the day i'drate the closest one highest as you don't want to be stuck in traffic in labour, my short journey was tough enough.

[HappyMummyOfTwo]

A vote for Tommy's. I had both my chidren there, one more problematic than the other, and I received great care. As a previous poster suggested you should have a quick visit to each hospital. I did no more than poke my head in and had an immediate preference. You also get your own bathroom which was important for me. I didn't have a water birth but on both occasions the birthing pool had been available. The drive was never an issue even in rush hour and the community midwifery team were all great. You can have your scans at the hospital to familiarise yourself with it but the convenience of appointments in Clapham was great.

Aside from that you have views from the rooms that you would pay a vast amount of money for in a hotel!

Best of luck x

[SFMC]

I agree with all that has been said - answers will vary depending on different experiences so I can only relate to you my own experience.

I had my second baby at St.George's the end of June and couldn't fault it. I had excellent care and in fact rate my experience far better than the care I received at St.Thomas' with my first child. However I am reluctant to compare as I had a very traumatic first labour experience at St.Thomas' - which St.Thomas' dealt with well when it came to the actual emergency c-section (the surgery and doctors were fine)
However the after-care at St.Geroge's was easily better than what I experienced at St.Thomas' - which I found horrific. The staff I recently experienced at St.George's were fantastic (I again had a c-section so was in great pain again!).

I still cannot believe the difference in the birth experiences I had. But also at St.George's I ended up in a single room with en suite (sheer luck!). Regardless I without hesitation would choose them again over St.Thomas' based on my own experience.

I think both are big teaching hospitals so you shouldn't worry. I asked a private obstetrician his view and he said St.Thomas' might look nicer (nice views, the building has been renovated recently whereas St.George's can look shabby in places) but that St.George's was a good hospital. St.Thomas' just received more money to do up the building because of its location etc. I asked as I could choose with my second baby which hospital I wanted to deliver at. I choose St.George's as we were a lot closer and didn't want to travel in to St.Thomas'. I also asked my GP's opinion and she said she had all three of her children at St.George's and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

For what its worth I have a lot of friends who have had babies there and all good feedback. One neighbour did not have a great experience there but she said it was because it was super busy and there a few urgent care cases during this tremendously busy period which impacted on her getting into a room etc.

Good luck!!! I'm sure whatever choice you make will be the right one for you.

[redsky]

As you can see from the above posts, there isn't a definitive answer and everyone has very different experiences.

I had my twins this summer at St Thomas' and they were absolutely brilliant. My GP also recommended St Thomas' over St George's - before we knew it was twins. I didn't have a straightforward delivery and was in hospital for 10 days. During that time I could not fault the level of care and kindness of all the midwives and doctors who cared for me. The NHS gets such a bad press - and midwives in particular - but that could not have been further from my own experience.

Why aren't you keen on appointments in Clapham? I saw the midwife there and appointments normally ran on time...however I had consultant and scan appointments at St Thomas' which sometimes ran late. It was a lot more relaxed at Clapham Manor Street and easier with work as I needed less time off for appointments.

Huge congratulations on your pregnancy, exciting times!

[nappyvalleymum001]

As most people so far have said it is so difficult to directly compare them as there are so many variables (day of the week, amount of agency staff, how busy they are etc). I was under st George's care up until about seven months and then changed to st Thomas due to a complication. Both hospitals were equiped to deal with it but st Thomas' had slightly different policies which meant i would be referred to a consultant earlier so asked my GP to refer me there. Both hospitals were great and consultants at st George's on the one occasion I was admitted were fantastic. At st Thomas' I had all my midwife appts at the hospital rather than in clapham but I think that was due to the stage at which I transferred, it made more sense than allocating me out to a community team. Good luck! X

[meandmyshadows]

I'm due in 2 weeks and booked on at StT. I've been having all my midwife appointments at the hospital and they have all been really nice. I know they have a lot on rota but I actually saw the same ones again so started getting used to faces, which had been great. I'm planning to use the home from home birthing centre - a great view of parliament while pushing, btw can let you know what kind of experience I have on the day.

On st george's, I had lower back pains the other week and had to get checked out. Was so bad we just zipped to st george's as less traffic. At first they were reluctant to see me but I later found out it was because they had different systems for writing notes! This caused them a lot of pain to decipher if there were things in my pregnancy that they needed to know but might have missed out. The doctor and midwife there who helped me were really lovely and very patient and they sorted me out nicely. One complaint would be that the place was so huge that it took a while to find out where we were going. Once we knew our way around and brought the car closer to the entrance of the relevant building, it was fine.

[2boysmum]

I had all three of mine in the home from home wing at at Thomas's . Everyone's experience is different so I appreciate it may not be representative but I had an amazing experience both for the delivery and post nAtally. Safe, efficient, good bedside manner, clean, responsive, didn't feel rushed out etc. Anecdotally I hear c and w tend to disappoint post nAtally, but my friend swears by the Greek midwives there and says they are amaZing. Good luck !!!

[zozodarling2011]

Had two babies at Chelsea. Suffered severe pre eclempsia and nearly died both times. I was traumatised after number one but then recovered and had number two at same hospital.

Both times although traumatic, the hospital and their team saved my life and the babies. Amazing care and attention ante natally. I was in three times a week for checks from 30 weeks. Careful monitoring and a lovely bunch of midwives and doctors on the NHS.

I can't believe you are saying it may be closing down. The department is absolutely huge.

[Manter]

I had my baby at St Thomas' 10 weeks ago, starting in home from home, then moving to the birth centre when it got a bit complicated (they are next to one another so they basically wheeled my bed two rooms away to where there was all the medical kit. The staff were amazing through quite an emotional time, and I delivered without assistance (forceps or whatever) entirely due to their care and experience. Couldn't recommend them highly enough.
That said, postnatal ward was chaos, and we were kept in 8 hours longer than necessary as they were struggling to sort paperwork, and we had to go in the next day to sort drugs (baby was fine, I needed a few things due to complications to a pre existing medical condition).
Pre natal appointments are partly in the community and partly at St T's depending on what they are: I never went to Clapham as I saw my midwife at my GP surgery. I went to St T's for one of my scans, and for a position scan when he was late- prenatal care was great.
I think people have good and bad experiences everywhere, you just need to plan to make your experience as good as possible- eg heavily brief your birth companion so they can advocate for you, take your own pillow, have a birth plan that covers all eventualities, find out what you need to do to be discharged and make sure you do it (midwife observed feed for example). Then just enjoy the journey- it's a once in a lifetime experience even if you have lots of children! Good luck