"We are considering having the birth of our second..."

What I liked

Some staff on ward 1 have a decent caring attitude towards those paitents in its care, this was mostly through the day.

Ward 14 was excellent, staff took time to talk and actually cared. It was bright and clean and gave the impression of being an efficeint and caring environment.

What could be improved

My partner was admitted via A&E twice in a period of 4 weeks, both resulting in a stay of 3 to 4 nights. The second time was supposedly a direct admission/referal from our GP. This made no difference as we still had to wait in A&E for 4 hours.

We do not understand why A&E could not have been bypassed, when we were informed that our GP had spoken to the SHO on Ward 1 and had agreed to the admission.

Ward 1 itself, did not inspire. It could be brighter, needs a new colour scheme and the ward rooms need to have 2 less paitents in them, which would give the impression of space rather than being squeezed all together.

Anything else?

On both visits to ward 1, it was noted that the attitude of staff on nights was far below a level of care expected of a maternity ward. Bedside manner and TLC seemed to have been left in the locker room with the coats.

On the second stay, no member of night staff spoke with my partner!

She was moved to ward 14 and the quality of care was beyond belief when compared to ward 1. Someone actually took time to speak with her and fill out paperwork. It is hard to believe that the difference in care can be so different between 2 wards in the same hospital.