"Exceptional services provided by Maternity Unit..."

I would like to thank every single person that was involved in my care during my stay in Maternity Unit at the beginning of November 2018.

I am a nurse myself and I know how difficult it is to work under immense pressure, understaffed and with limited resources. However my whole journey was as pleasant as it could be! I was admitted to Hope ward with the plan to induce labour. We were greeted by midwife on duty and matron. They recognised that I was anxious and full of questions, as it was my first pregnancy. Despite busy schedule they took their time and answered all of my questions, which made me feel reassured and calm. I was kept informed throughout my stay and I was involved in decision making process. When I was transferred to Labour Ward, my care was handed over to another team, and they were all professional and just fantastic. The midwife who was with me during labour was absolutely fantastic, she never left my side, she kept me informed, she was explaining what was happening and she held my hand when I was in pain. She was also looking after my husband, this was truly holistic approach to patient care. Staff on Mary Ward was also amazing. Thanks to breastfeeding advisor I decided to give breastfeeding a go and I am still breastfeeding now.

I will be eternally grateful to all staff working in Maternity Dep at CUH for their kind hearts and passion, you are absolutely devoted to your job.

And lastly, I also met other patients, some of which were extremely ungrateful, demanding and whatever you would all do to please them, they would find another thing to moan about... it was sad to look at … So, please stay strong, you are doing great job.

The only negative comment I would like to make is regarding parking. Why would you remove pick up spaces outside of maternity unit I will never understand. They have been now converted into disable spaces … After having C-section I struggled to walk and even though we could use staff permit and scratch card, there was no space available, therefore I ended up walking distance to the car, which was disappointing. Please reconsider bringing back pick up spaces for maternity patients.