Share review of Ealing Hospital*

Ealing Hospital* 2014-02-06 Person 3 5 0

Our experience of Lammas ward was a very good one. We really appreciated the assistance and understanding of the whole team. The midwives were very friendly and approachable and in particular gave me good breastfeeding support. It was nice to see Paula again on the ward as we had seen her earlier on during my labour. All three midwives that looked after me made me feel very relaxed and supported with their encouraging words. We found it clean and spacious and the regular offers of tea/coffee were appreciated along with the meals. I really appreciated having a window bay. I think I would have felt much more cooped in had I been in the central bay or one closest to the doors. Being discharged did seem like a frustratingly slow process. I had made it clear from the morning that I was keen to go and although the team worked hard to ensure all the aspects were covered (so they chased up my blood test results, made sure the doctor came to check the baby etc.) it still seemed to take longer than I had hoped. Perhaps if a clearer explanation of what administrative actions need to be completed was given I would have felt less like nothing was happening. It also appeared to affect the delivery of my pain relief medication. I was due to have some more paracetamol at 4pm, but was expecting to be discharged before this so it would not have been given. However, I was still on the ward at 5.45pm and had to ask for it. We understand that a trial has taken place to allow birth partners to stay over. This is something that we would have really appreciated. Having had stitches, I was still sore and it was difficult having to get up and down to settle our baby. If my husband had been allowed to stay this is something he could have assisted with. We would like to say a huge thank you for the treatment that we received. After a very long labour and an epidural and forceps delivery, which was something we had wanted to avoid, our experience on the ward ensured that I look back on it all as a positive experience.