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Care, car park and internet.

Posted By Zeletia

"Care, car park and internet."

About: Community Services - Eastern / Maternity Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) / Maternity Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (Wonford) / Neonatal Unit

(as a service user),

Firstly, I'd like to express my gratitude to all of the staff at the woman's health centre. My fiancée has been in your care for many months now, which culminated in the successful birth by C-section of our twin boys last week. Every element of care has ranged from great to outstanding, particularly her support, and we can't thank everyone here enough.

Secondly, I'd also like to extend our thanks specifically to Tracey, Lincy, Lilly and Debbie on Neonatal, who have all been amazing. I'd also like to thank Neonatal in general for arranging the space for us to stay whilst the boys got stronger, which has made a huge difference.

It would be remiss of me to lather justifiable praise without highlighting certain areas which could be improved.

The first is the WiFi, which works less than it does. Whilst this can be annoying to check non essential things, it has become extremely frustrating when attempting to order or check essential matters, or speak with family. In many departments cellular data does not work, so the WiFi for some becomes their only way to contact the outside world. When it works intermittently for a few hours a day, it becomes a real problem.

Apcoa, as a car park provider, are shockingly poor. We have received multiple tickets where parking has been paid for, all of which we have had to appeal. If you pay based on what their systems are telling you is due, you shouldn't have to subsequently appeal. The machines do not connect to their database, and the app is inconsistent (half the time it can't tell you when you arrived, so you are unsure if enough has been paid).

The parking charges aren't unreasonable, but the whole parking experience is dreadful. When we've had visitors l, particularly elderly ones, I have had to accompany them to the car park and help sort their parking.

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Responses

Response from Naomi Kelly, Perinatal Matron (Eastern Services), Neonatal Unit (Eastern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust yesterday
Naomi Kelly
Perinatal Matron (Eastern Services), Neonatal Unit (Eastern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 07/11/2025 at 14:40
Published on Care Opinion at 14:41

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. We are pleased to hear that your fiancée’s care and the support from our Women’s Health Centre and neonatal teams made such a positive difference for you and during the birth of your twin boys. We will be sure to pass on your thanks to Tracey, Lincy, Lilly, Debbie, and the rest of the neonatal team; your kind words will mean a lot to them.

We also appreciate your constructive comments regarding WiFi and parking. We understand how important reliable connectivity is for our patients and their families, and we are reviewing our systems to see where improvements can be made. Regarding parking, we recognise that our current arrangements have caused frustration, and we are raising your concerns with them to explore ways to make the experience smoother for visitors and patients alike.

Your feedback helps us identify areas where we can improve the overall patient and family experience, and we are grateful for your comments.

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Response from Alison Knowlton, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust yesterday
Alison Knowlton
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 07/11/2025 at 14:42
Published on Care Opinion at 14:45

Dear Zeletia

Thank you so much for your feedback regarding APCOA and how you found the parking arrangements at the hospital. I am so sorry to hear that you have experienced such problems. I shall feed this back to APCOA. I am concerned that you have received Parking Charge Notices when you have paid for your parking, I do hope that APCOA have waived these on your appeal. Please do get in touch with me if you are experiencing any problems. I am so glad to hear the good news that you have given regarding your children and wish you all well for the future.

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Response from Hazel Duckworth, Transformation Midwife (Eastern Services), Maternity (Eastern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust yesterday
We are preparing to make a change
Hazel Duckworth
Transformation Midwife (Eastern Services), Maternity (Eastern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

I work as part of the Maternity Transformation project with the local maternity and neonatal service to improve services for patients and staff.

Submitted on 07/11/2025 at 15:13
Published on Care Opinion at 15:16

picture of Hazel Duckworth

Dear Zeletia

Thankyou for the feedback about our service in maternity and neonatal. It is wonderful to hear how well supported and cared for you all were in the departments.

I am aware that there is a current working group with various stakeholders from different departments and maternity being one of them who are looking at the internet connections for patients and the bedside tvs etc. So hopefully there will be better wifi in the future and we can let you know about any changes around this.

thankyou again for sending the feedback and congratulations to you all.

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