Domino scheme (coombe)

Cameoette

Just wondering if anyone is on the Domino scheme with the Coombe at the mo, or has had a baby with them previously? I'm due in Aug and so far so good, but would love to hear of people's experiences. Even of dominos in other hospitals either. Cheers!

JDD

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.

Millem

Cameoette wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone is on the Domino scheme with the Coombe at the mo, or has had a baby with them previously? I'm due in Aug and so far so good, but would love to hear of people's experiences. Even of dominos in other hospitals either. Cheers!

I did domino in holles street. They were are amazing! I only stayed a few hours then went home and the midwives called to my house for 6 days. The only bad thing I found (it is a criticism of me and not them) was I didn't rest much as I had sooooo many visitors etc whereas if I had stayed in hospital I would of had to stay in bed and only my OH, parents & I laws would be allowed to visit!

Cameoette

JDD, sorry to hear your experience in the public ward was bad. I won't be able to go semi-private/private so hopefully the labour is uncomplicated and I can go home early. You never know I guess. Your story sounds quite like a friend of mine who ended up having a section too, I remember her saying she found it nearly impossible to get hold of a midwife to give her pain relief after, they were so understaffed.

Millem, I totally get that! I am prepping my boyfriend to manage the whole visitors situation to try and keep people at bay for a few days at least. I will already have my mother and one close friend very nearby so I would say that might be enough between them and the midwife visits.

Millem

Cameoette wrote: »

JDD, sorry to hear your experience in the public ward was bad. I won't be able to go semi-private/private so hopefully the labour is uncomplicated and I can go home early. You never know I guess. Your story sounds quite like a friend of mine who ended up having a section too, I remember her saying she found it nearly impossible to get hold of a midwife to give her pain relief after, they were so understaffed.

Millem, I totally get that! I am prepping my boyfriend to manage the whole visitors situation to try and keep people at bay for a few days at least. I will already have my mother and one close friend very nearby so I would say that might be enough between them and the midwife visits.

The midwives visits started to kind of annoy me too! They would say I will be there between 9 and 1 and some days it would be 2.30!! My visitors were out of control to be honest. I think once people hear you have a baby the world and his mother want to come and have a look! I remember coming home to find everyone including my parents dog in my house!! lol lol lol

xalot

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.

JDD

Cameoette, I should say that a lot of my friends had very positive experiences on the public wards and I'm comparing the public wards on one hospital to another which isn't really fair. I would just say that if I was to end up on the public ward again I would do the following:

1/ Take advantage of the midwives offer to watch baby for the first night (the do this in Holles St if you've had a c-section). I wish I hadn't been a martyr and insisted on having her with me. Sleep is SO IMPORTANT to your recovery.
2/ Don't take the midwives attitude to things to heart. You might be a newbie, but you know what, chances are you're going to be great at this job. So when the midwife looks at you like you're a bold child because you can't remember how long you fed off the left boob or when your baby last did a poo shrug your shoulders and think "yeah, so what" and not "THEY THINK I'M A BAD MOTHER" and then mull over it for the next two hours.
3/ Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That means buying at least five of those horrendous Dunnes nighties and a million of the granny knickers BEFORE you go into labour and don't end up like me sending my husband to do the shopping the day after I gave birth. He will likely screw it up and it'll only put you in more of a bad mood. If you don't need the stuff because you were home after six hours, all the better.

And that's all I can remember for the moment.

Cameoette

JDD: No worries at all, I think it's completely fair to say if you hadn't the best experience- it is your experience after all, and for every good story I've heard re. public wards there's been a not-so great story too. I want to hear everyone's experience, good or bad, especially as a newbie.

I can only imagine what kind of bizarre items my other half would buy if I unleashed him alone in Dunnes right after the baby was born.

olaola

I had Emmet 4 weeks ago tomrw with the Domino midwives in the Coombe. Can only say amazing things about them! Had to get epidural in the end, but it was all discussed and agreed upon before moving to next stage.

Can't imagine going any other route if I was having another baby. No queues, see the same women, get to go home early. Recommend it totally!

olaola

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.

Millem

olaola wrote: »

I had Emmet 4 weeks ago tomrw with the Domino midwives in the Coombe. Can only say amazing things about them! Had to get epidural in the end, but it was all discussed and agreed upon before moving to next stage.

Can't imagine going any other route if I was having another baby. No queues, see the same women, get to go home early. Recommend it totally!

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

January

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

If you're in the throes of labour anyway you're still going to be under the care of the midwives so there's probably no point in swapping between the Domino midwives and the normal midwives on duty. A consultant will only come during delivery if there is a problem. So while the Domino might state that an epidural is not an option, in reality unless you're in a different setting to a hospital you'll most likely get the epidural if you feel you need it.

Millem

January wrote: »

If you're in the throes of labour anyway you're still going to be under the care of the midwives so there's probably no point in swapping between the Domino midwives and the normal midwives on duty. A consultant will only come during delivery if there is a problem. So while the Domino might state that an epidural is not an option, in reality unless you're in a different setting to a hospital you'll most likely get the epidural if you feel you need it.

I know a consultant will only come in if there is a problem but I thought they would switch you to the normal public? Do the coombe not have a domino delivery suite? In holles street the delivery suites were like musical chairs I was kicked out of the domino suite twice during labour! The put me into a wheel chair at one stage because I swear the pain was so bad I couldn't walk out of the room lol lol My friend told me me in the MLU in drogheda they defo do move you out of their special room if you want an epi.

How Strange

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.

January

How Strange wrote: »

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.

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

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.

olaola

The delivery suites are for everyone, there's no specific Domino suite.

Millem

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?

How Strange

I think they actively discourage epidural a because they want women to try giving birth without pain relief apart from gas and air. It's well known that the use of epidural increases the likelihood of interventions so I suppose the less of those then the less likely that a consultant would be required to attend.

Cameoette

olaola wrote: »

I had Emmet 4 weeks ago tomrw with the Domino midwives in the Coombe. Can only say amazing things about them! Had to get epidural in the end, but it was all discussed and agreed upon before moving to next stage.

Congrats on your baby! I like that if you do want to get an epidural it's not ruled out.

PLL

Awful, disgrace of a hospital. If having a section be prepared to be doing everything on you own, no nurse will helpful and you partners visits are restricted to certain times of day. Feel free to PM, I have a complaint wrote out which I sent to the HSE I can forward it you so you know all the details if you wish. I was in there in September 2011.

Two women have died from post natal neglect after a C section since then and I am not one bit surprised.

Cameoette

January wrote: »

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.

That sounds awful January! Didn't even occur to me those works were outside Rotunda. Congrats on your new arrival too.

Lovely reading about the new delivery suites in the Coombe. I switched from Holles St public (not domino) over to Coombe domino at 20 weeks when I suddenly copped I was in the catchment area for the Coombe, not sure how that escaped me until then. I would love to try the labouring pool/bath in the delivery suite if its free when the time comes. My sister had a water birth in the UK and said the pain relief it gave her was fab. Although I know you have to hop out of the one here to do your pushing! There's a history of fast labours in my family and she didn't have time for an epidural so if I'm the same I love the idea of the pool!

January

PLL wrote: »

Awful, disgrace of a hospital. If having a section be prepared to be doing everything on you own, no nurse will helpful and you partners visits are restricted to certain times of day. Feel free to PM, I have a complaint wrote out which I sent to the HSE I can forward it you so you know all the details if you wish. I was in there in September 2011.

Two women have died from post natal neglect after a C section since then and I am not one bit surprised.

Par for the course in most hospitals these days unfortunately, in the rotunda last week I got no help after my c section either.

kkcatlou

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!!

Ms2011

I asked to be put on it at my booking appointment, they assessed my history ( you have to be low risk ) & then I was switched over to it.
Basically instead of trekking into the hospital to wait hours to see a consultant for 10 minutes you can visit a midwife at your local clinic where you're usually in & out within a half hour. I found doing the Domino Scheme made my pregnancy so much more relaxed, I'm not one for hospitals!

herself81

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.

WittyName1

herself81 wrote: »

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.

Yeah that sounds similar to my experience so far. I never mentioned the domino scheme at all when sending in my form but they took it upon themselves to book me into naas, which suits me fine.
At your booking appointment they will assess if you can stay on the scheme or if you need to see the consultant. The consultant appointments are in naas too.