"what a dump"

The postnatal ward is a disgrace. Whatever sound medical reasons there are for someone to stay more than a day, after several nights in here you're a mental wreck for sure.

Spare me the litany about overstretched staff and facilities. Buzzing for help without response, information that isn't passed on, overheated rooms, etc. - all of these contribute to an overall awful experience and may vary by shift (and weather).

But tin he end it comes down to one simple calculation. What is the longest stretch of sleep you can get with four crying babies in a single room? Let's call that zero, for simplicity's sake.

How do you feel after five, literally, sleepless nights (and one birth for that matter)?

Do you think you're gonna have a great bonding "experience" with your baby in that state?

How dare you call that postnatal "care"?

Now, you might say that you have a dedicated team of midwives, nurses, doctors and other staff that are doing everything they can to make longer stays as pleasant as possible, and that's certainly true. But at the end of the day they're dealing with weak and irritated and hallucinating new mums, while they should be dealing with re-energised and grateful and overjoyed new mums.

The whole concept of a postnatal ward the QEH way reads like "let's take an already vulnerable group of people and then really do their heads in".