West Suffolk Hospital

5 years ago at the WS hospital I had my first baby and it was an horrendous experience, I wasnt listened to by the maternity staff when I was in need after my waters had broken , it has taken me 5 years to decide to do it again but I am hesitant. I think having the consistency of the same midwife all the way through is important to a mother to build trust. I firmly believe that we need to look after pregnant women well, as they are bringing the next generation into the world and they do not want to be put off from producing babies as new life is our future. I have paid privately for a midwife to be with me as an extra support this time which I know not everyone could afford but I need that extra reassurance. Staff have been kind to date this time.

3 years ago Mum was diagnosed with cancer. In her appointment with the consultant they got to a point when she was told approximately how long she had left and at that point she got up and walked out. From that point forward it became really difficult as no one every made contact again to try and get her to engage with care and support , it's like they just forgot her. It was then so difficult for us as a family to get her the help she desperately needed.

It's been very busy today and there has been a long wait to be seen but it's not normally like this. The support provided has been amazing and they always do their best, it's not lacking in anyway as the staff are great.

Its a busy department so there can be long waits at times but staff keep you informed and are really friendly and accommodating. They are really helpful with the explanations they provide and were truly wonderful when we lost a baby. The only difficulty is not being able to bring our other child in for appointments, so it means that I have to go in to scans alone which is hard.

Everyone is very helpful and appointments have been quick to be arranged. I'm happy with how the scan was done and the member of staff was friendly and explained everything well. Having online access for the appointments is much better and easier. At times it can feel a little overwhelming but staff are very reassuring.

I'm having a very complicated pregnancy and have been completely happy with everything the team here at the hospital are doing. I have appointments everyday, scans weekly and a daily ECG and all staff have been very informative and reassuring. They are happy to listen but also answer any questions we have and nothing is too much bother for them. They are doing everything they possibly can and have been really accommodating.

I attended the antenatal clinic for my first scan and all staff have been polite and helpful. I've seen my community midwife too and they provided lots of information which was explained well. They were lovely and filled me with confidence. It's great that appointments have been planned ahead and are already in the diary.

It has taken me 8 years of speaking to my GP about the symptoms I was experiencing only for them to dismiss them and say that a referral to gynaecology wasn't needed. I've finally been referred and was listened to when I ended up in A&E in so much pain. I wasn't really helped when I went to A&E, they did bloods but I wasn't given pain relief and told to visit my surgery on Monday which I did and then I finally got the referral. It has taken a long time for this appointment to come through but was actually quicker than I was advised by the GP who did the referral.

I'm early in my pregnancy so I haven't had much contact with the department yet but it's been very good so far and I've had great staff at all points so far. They have provided the right amount of information and support, however, being my second I probably don't need as much as women having their first baby. I had our first baby during Covid and it was very difficult not having my partner with me during the labour and at that point I didn't feel overly listened to either however, they were extreme times and it won't be like that this time around.

I attended the antenatal clinic for our first scan and all contact with the staff was really good. Everyone has been so lovely and friendly and explained every step. The portal is nice and simple to set up and use and my community midwife was brilliant.