"Terrible appointment system, dirty hospital. Avoid..."

What I liked

The natural birth delivery rooms were very well equipped

What could be improved

We transferred from a central London NHS hospital where we'd had a great experience as we moved into the area. Getting an initial appointment was awful - the phone is never answered and it took over two weeks after sending a letter to hear back.

The woman who did our booking in appointment was terrible and not at all supportive. Her attitude was very dismissive, and she spent most of the time questioning our choices and complaining about staff being made redundant (it might have been better to have made her redundant and keep someone else that had a better attitude!). She didn't even bother to read the notes from the hospital that we'd transferred from.

Medical waste bins (including sharps) were uncovered, toilets were dirty and the waiting/appointment areas in the ante-natal area were in a generally shabby condition.

Arranging subsequent appointments were no better, on the rare occasion we were able to get through, the appointment book was not available (how can this not be an electronic system?!), and we were told to call back another time!

The whole experience was the most stressful part of the pregnancy so far, so we decided that enough was enough and transferred to a private hospital for the birth.