"Maternity Assessment"

Having been fed the line "If there is absolutely anything worrying you during your pregnancy, phone maternity assessment and get checked out. Better safe than sorry" I followed this line of advice twice. Both visits to MAC were horrendous. The first time I was alone, stuck in a corner for 6 hours and offered no food or drink. Nor was there anyone available to ask when i attempted to. I was then informed where I was in the 'queue' to be seen by the doctor and despite hearing the patient beside me being told i was first... the doctor did indeed see her because she moaned. This is despite how many hours I'd been waiting ignored. On the second occasion I was told I had a migraine... despite explicitly telling the MW my headache was mild, came and went and that I was well aware of what a migraine would feel like as I am a sufferer outside pregnancy. Everything I said was ignored, I was also sent to A&E first only to wait an hour before going to maternity assessment. Even the A&E receptionist commented on how they shouldn't have sent me there. It was also suggested that I could have a water infection despite having no symptoms, this was not confirmed despite a sample test nor was I given any treatment for a water infection. After having the monitors on my stomach the midwife walked away without offering any tissue to clean of the globs of gel, three times this occured, one such occasion was after an internal examination. To me this is very basic care!! Luckily I had some pocket tissues with me. After 5 hours I left with no conclusion or acceptable attempt to diagnose my problem. Nor was I offered the basic advice of "get some rest and drink plenty of fluids if you find you can't even keep water down, come back" which is again the standard script! I was made to feel like a time waster, unwanted and over dramatic. When spoken to be these so called 'health professionals' I felt spoken down to, dismissed and like a silly little girl. Even when recounting the incident in my previous pregnancy, which left me seriously ill and was the root cause of my worry so close to my due date, I was made to feel like I was lying!! Were the LGI not logistically very difficult for me to get to I would immediately change hospital!! I am furious and disgusted by the way I have been treated and will be making a formal complaint.