Domino scheme (coombe)

Hi Cameoette, i did the domino scheme in Holles St. Thought the prenatal care was excellent, no waiting around at appointments and the nurses all genuinely nice and interested in you.

I didn't have the birth I had planned on, went two weeks overdue and had to be induced. I knew I hadn't much chance of avoiding the epidural if I was to be induced, and even the domino midwives agreed, so I ended up getting the epidural, not progressing (not sure I would have progressed without it either) and ended up having a c-section.

The drawback of the domino scheme came at this point. I'm not a big fan of hospitals to start with, and one of the reasons I chose Domino was for the early home release part of it. Since I had a section I had to stay on the public wards for three nights. Now before I gave birth I knew this was a possibility, and it didn't bother me too much. I couldn't understand why someone would fork out large wads of their hard earned cash just to get a private room/semi private room for a couple of nights. I had health insurance that covered a private room, and I had heard that if you mentioned this when checking in, and thereafter to every staff member you met, you had a good chance of getting a private/semi-private room even though the Domino scheme is a public scheme. I stupidly didn't do this as I was so blinkered on the fact that I would not be spending a night in the hospital.

Don't get me wrong, the staff on the public wards are lovely, and very good at their jobs. But the public ward when I was there was over-crowded and definitely understaffed. I found it all rather traumatic really, being attached to a catheter and not being able to move from the bed while the baby cried. Sometimes I couldn't even reach the call button. Nurses would pop their head in and say stuff like "ah, you need your antibiotic injection now right?" or "I need to come in and do X test on baby" and say they'd be back in ten minutes, and then they'd come back an hour later or not at all - and I'd be stuck in the cubicle wanting to go to the loo or change the babys nappy until they came back. And the noise, god the noise. I can sleep with the tv on, on an airplane, hanging from the rafters really. But it is impossible to sleep with eight other women and babies in a room, with trollies, cleaners, drilling work, other patients, nurses etc all talking 24 hours a day. It was louder at night time i found.

I made them sign me out at 10pm on a January night when it was -6deg outside. Home was bliss in comparison, even though I still didn't really have a clue how to breast feed or take care of the poor child.

Summary: Domino great. Avoid public wards like the plague if at all possible.

I had a very similar experience to JDD. Was Domino in the Coombe and couldn't fault them, I had a very easy pregnancy and it was so nice to not have to queue for appointments etc but went two weeks over, induction, long traumatic labour followed by emergency c section and babs spending a week in the care unit.

I had health insurance which was listed inside my form and was put on a semi private ward without my insurance being charged. Luckily it was nice and quiet. I had asked the Domino midwife before being induced could I switch over to private/semi private and she said no that you had to go public.

The public ward was ok, tbh you're so caught up with your new arrival that you don't really notice much. The worst thing was the dinner lady, she was a complete battleaxe! And you'll most likely be transferred home quickly with Domino.

The delivery suites in the coombe have all been renovated so they're huge and have labour chairs, mats, balls etc. I think they all have showers too as ensuites. I'm not sure if they all have the baths for using during labour but they are fantastic and they're not just for the domino scheme patients.

The wards in the coombe are also really small compared to other hospitals. Last time I was in a 5 bed room and there were 4 of us.

Millem wrote: »

Wow they let you get the epidural? I remember when I was preggers reading on their website they said something like that it is not part of domino and if it's something you want you will be transferred back into public consultant care! Holles street domino offer the epidural no probs I didn't get it but I know people that have

I don't think they'd deny anyone an epidural if they requested one!!

I had planned on trying to go without, but after a good few hours of contractions combined with the fact that there was meconium in the waters and at that stage progress had stalled and they wanted to keep things moving. So it was time for artificial oxytocin, and it was the Domino midwife herself who said 'I think it's time for an epidural'. I'm not sure if I could have coped with the contractions after the drip, and it was definitely the best way to go.

The domino midwife was with me throughout the whole delivery and even though I was theoretically 'out' of the scheme for a short period of time, there was zero difference as far as I could see? I was still visited by the midwives when I got home. I think the ONLY diff is the consultant is named on my charts, instead of the Domino??

The delivery suites are all brand new, huge & are en suite with bean bags, balls, birthing chairs etc. Only one has a pool though!! I was on a 6 person ward with 6 beds. Only 4 were ever used at once when I was in.

January wrote: »

I was in a four bed public ward when I was in the Coombe back in 2010 and I loved it Compared to the 9 bed ward I was on last week in the Rotunda it was heaven.

Also the Coombe has a slight advantage over Holles St and the Rotunda in that it's not in the city centre, the LUAS roadworks are being carried out at the moment and the route goes right past the Rotunda hospital and the noise of the roadworks in the middle of the night are absolutely horrible. I didn't get a wink of sleep at all on Saturday night.

olaola wrote: »

I don't think they'd deny anyone an epidural if they requested one!!

I had planned on trying to go without, but after a good few hours of contractions combined with the fact that there was meconium in the waters and at that stage progress had stalled and they wanted to keep things moving. So it was time for artificial oxytocin, and it was the Domino midwife herself who said 'I think it's time for an epidural'. I'm not sure if I could have coped with the contractions after the drip, and it was definitely the best way to go.

The domino midwife was with me throughout the whole delivery and even though I was theoretically 'out' of the scheme for a short period of time, there was zero difference as far as I could see? I was still visited by the midwives when I got home. I think the ONLY diff is the consultant is named on my charts, instead of the Domino??

The delivery suites are all brand new, huge & are en suite with bean bags, balls, birthing chairs etc. Only one has a pool though!! I was on a 6 person ward with 6 beds. Only 4 were ever used at once when I was in.

They should change their literature so! On page two the talk about pain relief http://www.coombe.ie/content/files/Domino_Service.pdf maybe they just want to discourage epidurals because you might need to stay in longer?

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but finding it really useful.

I really want to go on the Domino scheme in the Coombe, so it's great to hear the good and the bad. Reading the above, feedback from the Coombe seems really positive.

My big question at this stage, is how the hell do I get on the scheme? It doesn't say how on their website. I asked my GP and she didn't new (she was a locum). I'm currently 6 weeks+5 and sent off my letter to the Coombe a week ago but haven't heard back. On the form I just put public - there wasn't anywhere to say I wanted to be part of the Domino/ Community Midwives scheme. I live in the area and it's my first pregnancy. I know you have to be low risk, but how and when do they determine that? Does age come into it?

Would love to hear any more info on the early stages of getting onto the scheme and then how the appointments work once you're on it, as all of the above seems to be about the birth itself.

Thanks a million!!

Hi,
Just to give you some info. I'm also looking to join the Domino scheme and like you say there is nothing on the registration form about it, so I rang the Coombe and they told me to write a cover note with the registration form saying I'd like to do this scheme and I mentioned that Naas hospital would be suitable for my appointments. About a week later I got my appointments for December. I think the initial appointment will be to see if I will be considered low risk to be taken on by the scheme. That's what I think anyway. If I'm not, then I guess I'll have to go under a consultant led care.
I hope that helps. If I'm not making any sense ring the Coombe for more information, they'll set you straight.