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Epsom General Hospital 2015-01-26 Person 3 5 0

We attended the tour of the delivery suite on Monday 26 January, but after having heard great things about the facilities, I was sadly disappointed with the experience. The woman taking the tour seemed to be really rushed/annoyed and keen to get it over with. She expected everyone to use the stairs, making all the heavily pregnant women who preferred to use the lift feel rather a nuisance. We were whisked from place to place-the first room being presented as being 'where you will have your baby' on the obstetric ward. Having heard so much about the new midwife led unit I was rather surprised at this statement. Those of us who were keen to see the new Midwife unit had to keep asking, and were told that it was only for the very, very few women with no complications. When we were led there we were shuffled into the corridor, but both rooms, despite being empty remained dark, and she was unable or unwilling to tell us anything about them. I'd been told about birth pools, balls and lovely kitchen facility etc. I asked a question about how busy the unit was as I had heard it was quite quiet, and was informed yes it was quiet because they only had funding for one midwife- which worried me that when I go into labour , if a woman is already in there I wouldn't get a look-in due to the limited staffing. We were then, in my opinion, given the hard sell on the suites you can pay for, the only one being available to view that night being the £250/night one. I fully appreciate the tour is not the priority of the staff there, and we couldn't see rooms in use, but as a nervous new mother-to-be I was really hoping the tour would give me some reassurance about the practicalities of the experience and the facilities available to help me achieve a trouble-free birth, and visualise a positive experience as I prepare. Having only experienced the most dedicated and sympathetic care so far this experience was rather an affront. May I suggest that a virtual online tour might be preferable to allow everyone interested in Epsom's birthing facilities to have the same experience? With full details of all the labour support and food/drink facilities for birthing women and their partners. When I have tried to look up the Epsom birth centre online I keep ending up on the St Helier site, making Epsom feel rather second-rate and neglected. It may be the smaller of the two hospitals but so far I cannot fault the medical attention I have received and can only hope now that this will continue into my labour and birth. With thanks