Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

Having driven 40 miles at 02:00 to Gloucester as no ambulances were available, I presented with a severe painful foot and leg. No GP was available for six hours and A&E were too busy to see me. "Triage" nurse did minimal exam, said try tomorrow. That morning drove 2 1/2 hours to where I live, presented myself to Portsmouth A&E, and was admitted within 30 minutes, surgery scheduled a week later.

The staff were amazing, and very supportive during a difficult time. However, I was unimpressed by the domestics having a break in the parents room on the ward- the parents room should be somewhere parents can escape for a few minutes for a cup of tea, I don't want to listen to bitching about staff members, or motivational YouTube videos. We were also sometimes not told relevent information about our child's health until a couple of shift changes after test results etc. had come back. It seemed like we were just being forgotten.

All members of staff who cared our child, Ewan were wonderful. Professionally they were Second to none however, I honesty believe that they went beyond what is expected. Everyone was very supportive and could not have been more helpful. At times during the night, my wife was given a break as members of the nursing team looked after Ewan so my wife could get some rest. On one occasion, we were both given some restbite for an hour which really helped having spent several days on the unit. Please pass on out thanks to all members of the team.

Post delivery of my first baby: - ALL staff were so helpful, friendly and informative, We received lots of advice and support and nothing was too much trouble for the staff. We were seen by many different professionals during our stay and all were caring and supportive. - Made to feel comfortable pressing buzzer to ask advice. - Brilliant support with breast feeding our baby. Advice how to hand express and the upmost respect given throughout. - Sophie from the infant support team supported us in neo natal to give first breast feed to baby and this was a highlight during a very difficult time. - Helen England midwife communicated everything so clearly to us and was memorable for her kindness and support provided. - we were so impressed with Gloucester staff and facilities and will continue to rave about the after care we received.

-student midwife on ward did not time my contractions as I would have expected. I felt unable to do so at this stage of labour as they were so regular. Therefore, the urgency of my immiment delivery was missed and I was told that a 30minute wait to go to delivery was suitable. - There was no midwife on delivery for me to transfer from the ward to delivery suite and I had a long wait to be transferred down. This meant that I was unable to receive my preferred method of pain relief. Also, the wait to go to delivery instilled panic and fear (as I was in stage three of labour and ready to birth my baby). This panic created a negative birth experience for my first baby. Staff were only just able to get me to delivery suite 5 mins before I birthed my baby. As a result, the midwife who handed over did not have any of my details; not even my name. - my baby was taken to neo natal care whilst I received stitches. I was not instructed on how to use gas and air to prevent pain and as a result the stitching process was traumatic. Also, the midwife did not effectively communicate what she was doing or indicate length of time the stitching would take. - There was no clear information about my baby during this process and this was distressing as he was not with me. Positives: All staff were very friendly. Midwife visited to debrief after the birth and advised I discuss birth notes to piece together the event.