"Despite good core medical treatment the..."

What I liked

The medical staff, i.e. the midwives directly involved in the labour room and the doctors were very competent and professional. They kept us informed of what was happening and what options we had. In this respect - the 'core' medical experience was good. However this was totally let down by the rest of the experience (see below).

What could be improved

The general level of care and patient experience needs dramatic improvement, for instance:

1) Having been given gel to begin induction my wife was left alone in the bath at 4 am. When the contractions came on she was on her own and physically struggling to get out of the bath, there was no buzzer and she didn't know how to get back to her bed - as you can imagine this was a fairly frightening experience.

2) After my wife had given birth we were left on our own for four hours in the birthing room. Having given birth at 7.45pm my wife didn't get to bed until after midnight.

3) After giving birth it took two hours for them to bring a cup of tea and some toast.

4) After two hours I went looking for some help and was told in no uncertain terms to go back to the room. The nurse suggested my wife took a shower - however there was no shower. There was a bath but the large patches of dried blood (from a previous user of the room) surrounding it made it very unappealing. There was a basin, but the plug was missing making washing pretty much impossible and the paper towel dispenser was broken.

5) When we eventually got to the ward we had to ask for a jug of water four times - it hadn't arrived by the time we left, about 18 hours later.

6) Throughout this we had to nag and chase and nag to get anything done or any sort of response.

What's really disappointing is that having spoken to several NCT friends this is certainly not a 'one off' experience, they all complain of the same issues. All in all - such poor levels of care really soured what should have been an amazing experience.

Anything else?

If you are in the position of having to use St Peter's maternity services, based on our experience I'd suggest the following:

1) Take in your own bottled water, drinks, snacks, etc.

2) Always ask what's happening next and most importantly - when.

3) Don't assume that they'll do what they say they'll do, you'll have to chase them constantly.

4) Don't assume that they'll be back when they say they will be. More often than not it seems they've forgotten you and you'll have to keep chasing them - sometimes quite firmly.

5) Don't stay longer than you absolutely have to. It's an unpleasant and frustrating environment, get out as soon as you reasonably can.

But - if you are about to use St Peter's maternity services please don't worry, the core medical service was good.DrinksProfessionalismServiceCanteenEnvironmentReceptionMaternityDoctorsOpening hoursPatient careWashroom