"Southern General Hospital - Antenatal Caret"

At 32 weeks pregnant I was referred by my community midwife to the Daycare Unit at the SGH. The midwife had done a routine Doppler and found that my baby's heart rate was on the lower side of average and as such referred me for a trace.

The midwives in maternity assessment and Daycare at this hospital are absolutely fantastic...they are so busy yet find the time to treat you like you're the only patient in the hospital.

Anyway, I was given a trace and the conclusion was that I should be kept in for further observation, baby looked a bit sleepy and his heart rate wasn't accelerating as it should be.

I was monitored, given steroids for baby's lung maturity in case I had to be delivered early and kept in for a total of four nights. The plan, after having a scan which showed no abnormalities, with the amazing Dr Brennend in fetal medicine, was for me to come back to Daycare twice a week for monitoring of the baby's heart rate (which is still on the low side) and fortnightly growth scans.

After two weeks of this, at one of my daycare appointments I met with Professor Cameron who advised that I should now be monitored three times a week and we were now at a stage where my consultant (Dr Pringle) should be looking at a plan for delivery at around 37 weeks (at this point I was 35+1) and that he would pass my notes to him for review.

An appointment was made for me to see my consultant today (I must add that after 4/5 weeks of being back and forward to daycare I was looking forward to having a definitive plan in place and some reassurance as to why if there's nothing wrong with me or my baby they have me going up every second day). Once my trace monitor was complete I was told by yet another Dr. that my consultant was on holiday and I could not see anyone else for a decision as Dr Pringle is the consultant for my area. I am absolutely exhausted travelling to the hospital every second day and worried sick about my baby.

Were it not for the midwives in Daycare being so brilliant I would've been looking for a higher body to complain to... I now feel like I'm just a box ticking exercise and that all this worry is simply to cover the hospitals own back if god forbid anything does go wrong in the remaining weeks of my pregnancy.

Has anyone else had any dealings with Dr Pringle...my sister said he is fantastic (he was her consultant back in the year when she had my nephew) however it seems to me he is perhaps a very busy man with not a lot of time for a bank of patients this size?