Holles Street Mix-up

petalgumdrops

Hi Im 36+3 weeks pregnant with my first baby and am having a terrible time with holles street. I had opted to go with the midwife led clinic yet I somehow ended up on the consultant led clinic. My problem is that I have been with a consultant who has failed to provide me with any level of care. I had an appointment today and I had some issues that I wanted cleared up. ( Scan dates not matching my due date, sickness at the weekend and no fetal movement) My consultant walked into the room and literally spent 30 seconds with me and walked out. This has been the case at all my visits. I left the hospital in tears and rang the hospital to query why i wasnt seen by a midwife. I was transfered to the matron when it was realised that I should never have been with the consultant led clinic! She is going to meet me to try and sort this out. I then went to see my GP who noticed I had a severe rash on my chest and with it itchy hands and feet. She sent me straight to the hosptial to get my liver function checked. SOmething she said should have been noticed in the hospital. The midwives in the A&E department are excellent and they kept me in for a few hours to check everything was ok.

My question is, how can it happen that I was sent to the wrong clinic? and why wasnt it noticed? has anyone had this problem. I now feel that my visits have been feutile, only finding out how the baby is positioned etc simply beacuse i went to the A&E department. Should I have a birth plan discussed at this stage? any advice appreciated

Hannibal Smith

I suppose Holles Street are the only people who can answer why certain things were missed and how you ended up in the wrong department.

But, I do feel your pain regarding the consultant visits. I'm Semi-Private with Holles Street, and was Semi-Private on my first and I have to say this time around I find the system very annoying. I am supposed to be a patient of one particular doctor, I'm 34 weeks now, I only saw this consultant once and I found him extremely arrogant and rude. When doctors ask me a question, I never know what information is relevant to the question, so I tend to babble a little and he kind of shut me up rather rudely one day. I wouldn't mind but that day, he turned up late for the clinic, so I was an hour and a half waiting.

The next time he wasn't there at all (due to an emergency in the hospital which is fair enough) and I saw this other muppet of a doctor, who totally over reacted to my BP reading...it was 140/80, which isn't even high yet according to her, I was going to die, my baby was going to die, the whole world was going to end because my BP was borderline If she stopped her scaremongering for just a second she would have twigged my BP was high because I had been over 2 hours waiting to be seen!:mad:

The next visit the doctor, again turned up late and I chose to see the other doctor who had a smaller queue because I didn't want to be there for hours again. I'm now going to the out patients department because I have to go to the diabetic clinic on a Friday and my mentality is, if I'm going to see a different doctor every time, I might as well see whatever doctor is on call in the outpatients department on a Friday and kill two birds with the one stone/visit.

And like you I have loads of questions...I had a section on my first so I don't know what I'm supposed to do if I go into labour, I don't know if you have to go in earlier so the scar doesn't rupture etc, but I don't trust the answer I get from the doctors on call because they really don't seem to have a clue :rolleyes:

Apologies for the essay of a rant and sorry I have no answers for you, but yes Holles Street seems a bit of a mess this time round :cool:

January

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I suppose Holles Street are the only people who can answer why certain things were missed and how you ended up in the wrong department.

But, I do feel your pain regarding the consultant visits. I'm Semi-Private with Holles Street, and was Semi-Private on my first and I have to say this time around I find the system very annoying. I am supposed to be a patient of one particular doctor, I'm 34 weeks now, I only saw this consultant once and I found him extremely arrogant and rude. When doctors ask me a question, I never know what information is relevant to the question, so I tend to babble a little and he kind of shut me up rather rudely one day. I wouldn't mind but that day, he turned up late for the clinic, so I was an hour and a half waiting.

The next time he wasn't there at all (due to an emergency in the hospital which is fair enough) and I saw this other muppet of a doctor, who totally over reacted to my BP reading...it was 140/80, which isn't even high yet according to her, I was going to die, my baby was going to die, the whole world was going to end because my BP was borderline If she stopped her scaremongering for just a second she would have twigged my BP was high because I had been over 2 hours waiting to be seen!:mad:

The next visit the doctor, again turned up late and I chose to see the other doctor who had a smaller queue because I didn't want to be there for hours again. I'm now going to the out patients department because I have to go to the diabetic clinic on a Friday and my mentality is, if I'm going to see a different doctor every time, I might as well see whatever doctor is on call in the outpatients department on a Friday and kill two birds with the one stone/visit.

And like you I have loads of questions...I had a section on my first so I don't know what I'm supposed to do if I go into labour, I don't know if you have to go in earlier so the scar doesn't rupture etc, but I don't trust the answer I get from the doctors on call because they really don't seem to have a clue :rolleyes:

Apologies for the essay of a rant and sorry I have no answers for you, but yes Holles Street seems a bit of a mess this time round :cool:

With Semi-Private you are not guaranteed to see the same doctor at every visit, just one of his/her team.

Hannibal Smith

January wrote: »

With Semi-Private you are not guaranteed to see the same doctor at every visit, just one of his/her team.

You're supposed to see the same consultant, unless they're unavailable. Of course it's no a guarantee as such, but it's pretty likely you'll see them more than once out of three visits, otherwise don't have them on the Semi-Private list. Not to mention that on those days he's not there, the queue is allowed to back up until the whole place is crammed so when you do get to the doctor they're so pressed for time that they rush through your visit.

petalgumdrops

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I suppose Holles Street are the only people who can answer why certain things were missed and how you ended up in the wrong department.

But, I do feel your pain regarding the consultant visits. I'm Semi-Private with Holles Street, and was Semi-Private on my first and I have to say this time around I find the system very annoying. I am supposed to be a patient of one particular doctor, I'm 34 weeks now, I only saw this consultant once and I found him extremely arrogant and rude. When doctors ask me a question, I never know what information is relevant to the question, so I tend to babble a little and he kind of shut me up rather rudely one day. I wouldn't mind but that day, he turned up late for the clinic, so I was an hour and a half waiting.

The next time he wasn't there at all (due to an emergency in the hospital which is fair enough) and I saw this other muppet of a doctor, who totally over reacted to my BP reading...it was 140/80, which isn't even high yet according to her, I was going to die, my baby was going to die, the whole world was going to end because my BP was borderline If she stopped her scaremongering for just a second she would have twigged my BP was high because I had been over 2 hours waiting to be seen!:mad:

The next visit the doctor, again turned up late and I chose to see the other doctor who had a smaller queue because I didn't want to be there for hours again. I'm now going to the out patients department because I have to go to the diabetic clinic on a Friday and my mentality is, if I'm going to see a different doctor every time, I might as well see whatever doctor is on call in the outpatients department on a Friday and kill two birds with the one stone/visit.

And like you I have loads of questions...I had a section on my first so I don't know what I'm supposed to do if I go into labour, I don't know if you have to go in earlier so the scar doesn't rupture etc, but I don't trust the answer I get from the doctors on call because they really don't seem to have a clue :rolleyes:

Apologies for the essay of a rant and sorry I have no answers for you, but yes Holles Street seems a bit of a mess this time round :cool:

I understand what you mean I feel the same at the minute. I am nearly considering changing hospital as im so upset. I literally have been given no information. The only thing done at my visits is my blood pressure. Which on one occassion my arm was grabbed and the monitor put on over my bulky coat! Never asked how I was feeling or if I had any concerns. When I did try to query things I was dismissed and the consultant left the cubicle.

The Doctors and midwives in the out of hours department are excellent though. They made me feel alot better.

Could you speak to a MIdwife about your concerns? I think they even can schedule an appointment for you if you want to talk things through. and they really are fantastic

Moonbeam

That is awful:(

I had 2 in Holles st semi private (Jan 2009 and Jan 2011) I had the same consultant for every visit both times and felt that they answered all my questions fairly.
Some of them have more time to answer questions that they don't deem relevant and some will tell you to talk to your gp.
The system has changed in the 2 years there,semi private has become way busier I had to wait 45 minutes for one of my appointments because the consultant got delayed coming over.
If I have any more kids I will probably consider Mount Carmel or going completely private more but, all in all I have been pretty happy with the level of care in Holles St.

Oral Slang

My friend went semi private in Holles Street when she had her baby in May & she only saw her consultant once too. She also had to queue for hours before every visit.

I'm going public with the Rotunda & going with the midwives & I've never had to queue for more than 10 minutes. Definitely the way to go in my opinion. If there's a problem then a doctor will be called anyway, but the midwives are great imo!

kwalshe

petalgumdrops wrote: »

I understand what you mean I feel the same at the minute. I am nearly considering changing hospital as im so upset. I literally have been given no information. The only thing done at my visits is my blood pressure. Which on one occassion my arm was grabbed and the monitor put on over my bulky coat! Never asked how I was feeling or if I had any concerns. When I did try to query things I was dismissed and the consultant left the cubicle.

The Doctors and midwives in the out of hours department are excellent though. They made me feel alot better.

Could you speak to a MIdwife about your concerns? I think they even can schedule an appointment for you if you want to talk things through. and they really are fantastic

my wifes blood pressure was taken through her winter coat also, I lost the plot altogether. All other care was fine but going to see consultants was an absolute nightmare

petalgumdrops

kwalshe wrote: »

my wifes blood pressure was taken through her winter coat also, I lost the plot altogether. All other care was fine but going to see consultants was an absolute nightmare

I was pretty annoyed by that too as i had layers underneath so how could it give an accurate reading? My problem is that I should have never been would the consultant led clinic. When I queried this today I was told that with the midwife led clinic that the onus was on me to request midwife clinic after my first visit with my consultant as he/she has to give permission for a patient to attend the mid wife clinic. I first saw my consultant at 32weeks! surely if they had bothered to check my chart they would see that I had requsted the midwife led clinic- in fact my first visit was with a midwife in pearse street.. Clerical error or failure of the staff to ensure that I was given the right care.. I also had bloods taken at 30 weeks which showed that I was anaemic (iron level 9.4) I was sent a letter and told to take galfer ( which i had been taking) and that my bloods would be taken again at my next visit (34weeks) When i went to this visit my bloods were not taken. Tried to communicate this to the consultant but he literally walked in took my blood pressure and walked out! I know they are busy but surely they have a duty of care to ask u if u are feeling ok - fetal movement etc. As this is my first baby I am possibly more anxious but I also know that this is unprofessional. I had to inform a midwife at my 36 week check up that my bloods wern't taken at my 34 week check-up and that they needed to be done despite a letter in my chart detailing that bloods had to be taken!!

petalgumdrops

Moonbeam wrote: »

That is awful:(

I had 2 in Holles st semi private (Jan 2009 and Jan 2011) I had the same consultant for every visit both times and felt that they answered all my questions fairly.
Some of them have more time to answer questions that they don't deem relevant and some will tell you to talk to your gp.
The system has changed in the 2 years there,semi private has become way busier I had to wait 45 minutes for one of my appointments because the consultant got delayed coming over.
If I have any more kids I will probably consider Mount Carmel or going completely private more but, all in all I have been pretty happy with the level of care in Holles St.

I understand that a consultant cannot answer every little question but surely if u have failed to feel any movement for 2 days that that is something that must be addressed. I had to leave my appointment and go and visit my GP!! Gp also noticed a rash on my chest that needed an urgent blood test to rule out any abnormal liver function. This should have been noticed in holles street as if left unnoticed and had the bloods shown up positive can result in a still born baby. Most people who have this are monitored more carefully between 36-38 weeks and are often induced to lower the risk of complications to your baby..

Moonbeam

I find that unacceptable to be honest.

petalgumdrops

Moonbeam wrote: »

I find that unacceptable to be honest.

I dont want to be molly coddled just given the care that my baby deserves. on another note Should I have been asked about my wishes in regard to labour/pain relief/ being induced. Im 37 weeks on friday and as its my first i have no experience of giving birth and really dont know what to expect. its getting too close to be worried about all of that!

purplecat

petalgumdrops wrote: »

When I queried this today I was told that with the midwife led clinic that the onus was on me to request midwife clinic after my first visit with my consultant as he/she has to give permission for a patient to attend the mid wife clinic.

Yes the onus is on patient to request which and whatever clinic/ midwife you want to attend, Its not up to Administration staff to know, because to be honest they know nothing! All they do is book your appointments, file reports etc, i know this by sitting long times in waiting rooms watching them. I am not having ago at you, But the reality is if you don't open your mouth and say something you will be just booked into whatever is available.

petalgumdrops wrote: »

I dont want to be molly coddled just given the care that my baby deserves. on another note Should I have been asked about my wishes in regard to labour/pain relief/ being induced. Im 37 weeks on Friday and as its my first i have no experience of giving birth and really don't know what to expect. its getting too close to be worried about all of that!

Regarding your labour /pain relief/being induced/ either discuss this with a midwife, or attend one of the Antenatal classes they are free during day time hours, ( or you could ring in and asked to speak to midwife ) we attended one not so long ago and well i am not that far long like you, but most of the stuff was all about pain relief etc, and its run by a midwife that knows a lot she would defo guide you. I read posts on previous threads saying that the classes are all rubbish etc, but to be honest I couldn't falter the midwife who gave the class she was brilliant.. And the class was excellent!
wishing you good luck and hope you get answers to your questions, don't let this go and take it up with the complaints officer, ring the hospital and speak to the person.

Hannibal Smith

petalgumdrops wrote: »

I was pretty annoyed by that too as i had layers underneath so how could it give an accurate reading? My problem is that I should have never been would the consultant led clinic. When I queried this today I was told that with the midwife led clinic that the onus was on me to request midwife clinic after my first visit with my consultant as he/she has to give permission for a patient to attend the mid wife clinic. I first saw my consultant at 32weeks! surely if they had bothered to check my chart they would see that I had requsted the midwife led clinic- in fact my first visit was with a midwife in pearse street.. Clerical error or failure of the staff to ensure that I was given the right care.. I also had bloods taken at 30 weeks which showed that I was anaemic (iron level 9.4) I was sent a letter and told to take galfer ( which i had been taking) and that my bloods would be taken again at my next visit (34weeks) When i went to this visit my bloods were not taken. Tried to communicate this to the consultant but he literally walked in took my blood pressure and walked out! I know they are busy but surely they have a duty of care to ask u if u are feeling ok - fetal movement etc. As this is my first baby I am possibly more anxious but I also know that this is unprofessional. I had to inform a midwife at my 36 week check up that my bloods wern't taken at my 34 week check-up and that they needed to be done despite a letter in my chart detailing that bloods had to be taken!!

That is incredible! Are you sure this was a consultant you saw and not one of his team? They always check for a fetal heartbeat at your consultant's appointment and when you go to the clinic are you not weighed by a midwife and your urine checked etc? It's the midwives that organise the blood tests so she should really have organised that for you.

One of the 'stand-ins' I saw was checking my blood pressure one day and he took the machine, pumped it up, started to let the air out, then all of a sudden stopped and walked out of the room. He walked back in with a stethascope It was only as he was releasing the air on the BP monitor that he realised he'd nothing to actually hear with If he'd tried to take it through my coat I'd have asked to see someone else :pac:

Moonbeam

petalgumdrops wrote: »

I dont want to be molly coddled just given the care that my baby deserves. on another note Should I have been asked about my wishes in regard to labour/pain relief/ being induced. Im 37 weeks on friday and as its my first i have no experience of giving birth and really dont know what to expect. its getting too close to be worried about all of that!

Make sure you have your partner well educated about what you want and don't want. Then write it down and put it in your giving birth bag so that you can get it easily when you get to the hospital.

Include whether or not you want an epidural,if you want to breast feed,can't think of anything else off hand.

petalgumdrops

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

That is incredible! Are you sure this was a consultant you saw and not one of his team? They always check for a fetal heartbeat at your consultant's appointment and when you go to the clinic are you not weighed by a midwife and your urine checked etc? It's the midwives that organise the blood tests so she should really have organised that for you.

One of the 'stand-ins' I saw was checking my blood pressure one day and he took the machine, pumped it up, started to let the air out, then all of a sudden stopped and walked out of the room. He walked back in with a stethascope It was only as he was releasing the air on the BP monitor that he realised he'd nothing to actually hear with If he'd tried to take it through my coat I'd have asked to see someone else :pac:

Yes this was the consultant I saw. He was very rude and when I voiced my concerns I was dismissed and he left the cubicle. Heartbeat was never checked at any of my visits just blood pressure. I get weighed by the midwives and my urine checked and I suppose it should have been them that checked about my bloods. I dont think its up to a patient to tell consultants or others how to do their job. The duty of care is on them. Such mistakes can lead to serious consequences for mother and baby.

petalgumdrops

purplecat wrote: »

Yes the onus is on patient to request which and whatever clinic/ midwife you want to attend, Its not up to Administration staff to know, because to be honest they know nothing! All they do is book your appointments, file reports etc, i know this by sitting long times in waiting rooms watching them. I am not having ago at you, But the reality is if you don't open your mouth and say something you will be just booked into whatever is available.

Regarding your labour /pain relief/being induced/ either discuss this with a midwife, or attend one of the Antenatal classes they are free during day time hours, ( or you could ring in and asked to speak to midwife ) we attended one not so long ago and well i am not that far long like you, but most of the stuff was all about pain relief etc, and its run by a midwife that knows a lot she would defo guide you. I read posts on previous threads saying that the classes are all rubbish etc, but to be honest I couldn't falter the midwife who gave the class she was brilliant.. And the class was excellent!
wishing you good luck and hope you get answers to your questions, don't let this go and take it up with the complaints officer, ring the hospital and speak to the person.

I requested the midwives clinic after my first visit. They discussed how I would be cared for and told my my options in regard to early home scheme etc. I was given an appointment and told where to go. My problem is that there was a lack in communication. I did not see my consultant until 32 weeks and I wrongly assumed that I must have been with the midwife led clinic as I saw midwives on my first 3 visits. ( my chart etc was in the consultant led clinic) Holles street told me that it was my fault because I should have gone to my consultant first - and he would inform me if i was eligible for the midwife led clinic and i then had to relay this to admin when arranging my next visit. This information was never relayed to me and It was not detailed in any correspondance from Holles street. I also didnt get to see my consultant until 32 weeks! Am i supposed to be physic? This is my first baby surely they should inform patients of procedures as the onus really is on them..

Hannibal Smith

What annoys me most is Petalgumdrops, if it was any other profession or business there's no way you'd tolerate that kind of attitude or treatment, so why do we all take it from doctors? It's busy...you're supposed to ask..blah blah, that's a poor excuse for getting them to do their job, particularly when it's your first baby.

I remember on my first pregnancy I was to have a Glucose Challenge Test, i wasn't told I was to have one, it was never actually verbalised to me. At about week 32, I turned up for a regular appointment and the nurse tells me rather rudely that I was supposed to have it done at week 28, why didn't I have it done. I explained I didn't know I was to have it. She points to a note on my file which says GCT 28/40, apparently I was suppose to be able to decipher that?

Anyhow, on your next appointment, (though at 37 weeks you may not have many appointments left) whatever you need done ask the midwife when you're being weighed. They're the ones that keep everything ticking over and they'll organise whatever bloods you need.

JDD

I'm a little confused by the original post.

I'm also going to the MLU with Holles St, and I am a public patient. I filled out the booking form and made my first appointment with them. There was no input from a consultant at any point. I have made all of my appointments directly with them so far. I don't really understand how you could have turned up at the hospital for your MLU appointment at 32 weeks and for them to mistakenly direct you to a consultant? At 32 weeks this would have been at least your third appointment at the MLU - if you are doing combined care wth your GP. If you're not doing combined care 32 weeks would have been your sixth appointment with the hospital? How did you not notice that you were being seen by a consultant and not the midwife led clinic?

Or was it that you attended your first appointment at 12 weeks at the MLU and then they mistakenly put you back into consultant care for all your appointments since then?

In any case, I do think it was substandard care for that consultant not to take your weight, urine test and listen to the heartbeat at that appointment. You are right to feel aggrieved at that.

The antenatal classes are where your given all the information on interventions and pain relief. They don't make you decide what you want before the birth - they just let you make the decisions as they happen. If you feel strongly about your birth being cared for in a certain manner (e.g. not having your waters broken, not having an epidural etc) then write it all down and discuss with with your care team at your last appointment before your due date. It's also important to make your birth partner aware of your preferences as you may not be able to vocalise them by the time you're in labour.

At my first MLU appointment at 12 weeks I was given a sheaf of information on when I should have each appointment, and who with. It stated that I should attend an antenatal class between 32 and 35 weeks. I am assuming that I make my own appointment for that class too.