Colette Fitzpatrick's (TV3) experience of Irish Maternity Care

SanFran07

http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/i-paid-euro4k-on-top-of-a-hefty-health-insurance-premium-but-still-had-to-go-into-labour-on-a-trolley-2486442.html

What a horrific experience for a first time Mum. It's great that she is highlighting what has become a normal birth experience for lots of Irish women.

sarahlulu

This is why on my last two babies, i didn't bother going private, even though I am a member of VHI. i could not see the point in having to pay to get the exact same experience as I wouls have for free in the public system. Thankfully, i never had to go through labour on a trolley though.

January

I believe this is just an unfortunate side effect of the recession and the recent baby boom.

It's not like her waters were broken in full view of the rest of the hospital. They obviously forseen this happening because they had curtains that they could pull around for privacy.

I don't think private patients should get priority over public patients when it comes to being assigned a delivery room, it should all be first come, first served (as you were!), or most urgent cases in first.

As it were, I went public in the Coombe and my waters were broken in the labour ward with three other women who were getting the same thing done as me, and the same in the Rotunda the time before.

Das Kitty

She should have come on here and asked what to expect, she might not have expected so much.

I don't know what the fixation with the trolley is though, it's pretty much a bed on wheels. She had her baby safely, tbh she sounds more annoyed that she paid for what she could have gotten for free.

Jinxi

Makes me glad I chose to go public!
It sounds like a conveyor belt. I cannot understand why there are no birthing centres like in UK and USA.

January

There are, in Cavan and Drogheda, the Midwife Led Units, they're lovely, apparently!

wmpdd3

I spent the next two nights in a room with five other women and their five crying newborns. I didn't sleep the entire time I was there. I can't believe that any woman in the room did. By day three, I just couldn't cope with the lack of sleep and decided to leave early.

...sorry...Should't laugh!

Speaking to my American friend I got 6 days healthcare for free that would have cost me 20,000euro in America minimum.

In saying that she choose a birthing center for her 2nd / 3 rd and 4th child!

Squiggler

And the possibility of that type of experience, or worse, is why I am planning a home birth, and plan to have any/all children at home if at all possible.

How is a woman supposed to relax and allow nature to take it's course in a stressful and exposed situation like that?

Each to their own I guess, but I'd completely freak out in that situation.

lynski

Das Kitty wrote: »

She should have come on here and asked what to expect, she might not have expected so much.

I don't know what the fixation with the trolley is though, it's pretty much a bed on wheels. She had her baby safely, tbh she sounds more annoyed that she paid for what she could have gotten for free.

trolley is the same as a hospital bed really, i think the problem was the trolley in the corridor. It horrifies me to think you could be expected to labor in such conditions. Think I would have gone home.
I would be p-ed off if I had paid a cent to experience what she did, and lets face it we have paid over and over again with our taxes, but wow I dread to think how I would react if I were put in that situation.
I labored in a single room last time and it was great. I was in a shared room previous time, but I was so out of it on drugs that I did not remember it in detail. both in coombe.
Really, really hoping for single room again this time.
I was also on a ward for 4 nights afterwards and was so stressed by that I cried uncontrollably on the fifth morning and they moved me to a private room for the rest of the week (CS and infection = 10 days in hospital).
My sis had a single ensuite room for labor, birth and stay, on the same corridor with all her friends from the ante-natal class, that the hospital had made sure were in the same ward, as much as possible. All free also in the UK.

Little My

Does anyone have any experience of giving birth in UCH Galway?

These stories are really starting to put me off having my baby here, and I suppose I could arrange to have the baby at home in Northern Ireland but it would be a hassle too.

I havent the option of going private or semi-private or whatever, so am currently signed up to combined care. Im getting the impression that care in the Uk is much better.

I'm not getting seen in Galway hospital until March. (I'll be 20 weeks by then) Would scans be sooner under the UK system?

Sheena99

Congrats Little My, great news. I had my first child in UCHG in Dec 07 and am currently 19 weeks along with number 2. I had my 20 week scan last week and it was pretty busy. It was also pretty busy with my first when I went into labour and I had to wait a while for a delivery suite. Colette Fitzpatrick's story is quite possible in UCHG but the midwives are amazing, and once you get into the delivery suite, it's just you and them, and a very positive experience. I do know the baby boom is putting quite a bit of pressure on all areas of the maternity system so maybe look into the options at home as an insurance policy if you find your experience coming up to the birth negative. I would suggest signing up for the antenatal classes as soon as you could, you can chat to the PHN and get a tour of the facilities in the hospital, which could help you to decide. All the best for you and the baby, hope all goes well.

fiona stephanie

Im sorry that she feels she had such an awful experience!
But I just wanted to say that I had my 3 children in Holles street, and I honestly couldnt fault the care I recieved! I think she was just unlucky.

I went semi private through my health care provider, but I would never choose to go private as its such a huge amount of money and you are NEVER guaranteed a private room or special care just because you are a private patient, and rightly so. All expectant mothers recieve the same level of care regardless of wether you are public, semi or private! I think on a whole women are happy with the service in maternity hospitals.

Moonbeam

I hope it is more pleasant when I have my baba in the next week or 2.
Last time it was a wonderful experience and only person that kept me awake was baby girl.

Moonbeam

I hope it is more pleasant when I have my baba in the next week or 2.
Last time it was a wonderful experience and only person that kept me awake was baby girl.

Grawns

If you read it thoroughly Colette Fitzpatricks baby was put in intensive care immediately and stayed in hospital when she left. She was actually in the public ward ( sans infant) with all the new mums with their healthy babies gawping at her. Nightmare!

A good candidate for post natal depression probably.

Das Kitty

Grawns wrote: »

If you read it thoroughly Colette Fitzpatricks baby was put in intensive care immediately and stayed in hospital when she left. She was actually in the public ward ( sans infant) with all the new mums with their healthy babies gawping at her. Nightmare!

A good candidate for post natal depression probably.

There was woman in my ward like that. I felt awful when James was crying all night and she was just sitting on the side of her bed weeping. . I got talking to her the next day though and we're still in touch.

January

I was on my own in the ward for one night without my baby and three others there with theirs... I was awake when the other babies were crying but sure what else could I do? You can't complain... you can't give out about a newborn crying... one mum actually slept through her baby crying.... she just turned over enough to ask the nurse to feed him for her, the nurse was busy so I did it... no big deal...

LegacyUser

I had a traumatic pregnancy, birth was okay, and afterwards was traumatic as i was on crutches after delivering a baby over 10lbs, so post natal depression did kick in, colette is definitely a candidate for it....looking back the experience kick started the depression and the depression was nothing like i could have ever imagined....an horrendous illness and i would not be here now only for my husband, my wonderful understanding husband. two years on we're all fine.

Vel

After I had my last baby in Holles Street, I was moved from the delivery room to an area just outside while I was waiting for a bed to come up in a ward. It was a small 'inner' area before you go out to the main corridor itself and there is a door between it and the main corridor. There were two tolleys there with curtains around them and I'm wondering if this is the area she means. While waiting, I could see the cleaners going in to clean and another couple then went in after that.

If it is this area, it certainly isn't the corridor in the sense that you might think, with people walking around. I certainly never saw any areas of the corridors where there were curtains hung up to screen beds.

wmpdd3

Thinking about it further the indignity of this:

Meanwhile, my waters were broken on the trolley. Any woman who's had this done will tell you how uncomfortable and painful it is.

Hopefully most hadn't the indignity of having it done on a trolley in a corridor. Because my baby had a bowel movement inside me, they also had to insert a tiny monitor on his head. All of this happened on the trolley, the midwives apologising, my husband doing his best to reassure me.

would replay over and over in your mind.

kco2010

I am pg with my first and have friends who have had numerous little bundles and from all stories I just do not understand what would posess someone to pay such a large sum of cash for private when there are absolutely no guarantees at all. Its nuts! Unless you are going to the likes of Mount Carmel it sounds like semi or public is the way to go. I had an m/c last July and the staff in the Coombe were absolutely fantastic. No long waits to be seen at all and everyone was very helpful. Semi private with combined care if you can afford it seems like the a great middle of the road option! Having my waters broke in a corridor, I would not be impressed whether I was public,semi or private. We need more birthing centres in this country!

LegacyUser

I feel so sorry for her. What a terrible experience to have and so unnecessary. If only more women informed themselves about the option of home birth. I invite Collette to attend one of our support meetings to hear the positve stories from first time mum and also mums who have had all their babies born at home. Check out www.home birth .ie

Cat Melodeon

Good article by Collette. I don't feel she's being precious at all. It's good to have someone in the public eye highlighting how underfunded, underresourced and understaffed the maternity services are. I'm also amazed that they let someone with her profile be stuck on a trolley for so long - not nice for her but kind of reassuring to the rest of us that it is a fairly egalitarian system - even if that really means that it's equally bad for everyone!

I think the whole paying to go private thing is a bad idea to be honest. There are no guarantees and if you are private in a public hospital you really are just paying for a very expensive lottery ticket that gives you only slightly better odds than the free ticket public patients get.

And not all hospitals or birth experiences are like this - I can't praise the antenatal and delivery staff of St Luke's Kilkenny enough. Postnatal experience was not so good, but better than most I've heard of.

You should have come back home to Thurles and gone public to Kilkenny Hospital Colette!

Hannibal Smith

I have to agree with Colette Fitzpatrick. I think it's a disgrace that you pay E4k for private health insurance and end up having your waters broken on a flippin trolley in a corridor.

I went semi private and would have kicked up flippin murder if that happened to me, but if I'd forked over 4k, I'd be livid!

Yes they tell you your level of care is dependant on what's available at the time, but I don't think any woman would just take it on the chin if her waters were broken on a trolley in a corridor.

Das Kitty

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I have to agree with Colette Fitzpatrick. I think it's a disgrace that you pay E4k for private health insurance and end up having your waters broken on a flippin trolley in a corridor.

I went semi private and would have kicked up flippin murder if that happened to me, but if I'd forked over 4k, I'd be livid!

Yes they tell you your level of care is dependant on what's available at the time, but I don't think any woman would just take it on the chin if her waters were broken on a trolley in a corridor.

The article says it was outside a delivery room behind a curtain. Another poster has mentioned that there is a curtained waiting area there in that hospital. It's no different from it happening in a curtained ward.

yosemite_sam

SanFran07 wrote: »

http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/i-paid-euro4k-on-top-of-a-hefty-health-insurance-premium-but-still-had-to-go-into-labour-on-a-trolley-2486442.html

What a horrific experience for a first time Mum. It's great that she is highlighting what has become a normal birth experience for lots of Irish women.

The very same thing happened to my wife with our first child, but she did not write an article in the paper about it

Banjaxed82

It's an interesting discussion. Myself and my wife went semi-private in the Rotunda for our first. Horrible experience.

Went private (didn't have the money to be honest) in the Coombe for most recent birth. What a difference! The consultant was the nicest man I've ever met. Really understood pregnant women. The experience had its blips, but was light years ahead of Rotunda experience.

The amazing thing is I've heard stories of women having wonderful experiences in Holles Street and then others who wouldn't grace the place again. Likewise with the Rotunda and the Coombe. Public, Semi-private and Private - there seems to be no guarantee of optimum service. Only Mount Carmel seems to guarantee that!

In my experiences, I feel that women are treated in a shocking manner when it comes to child birth. The feel of the conveyor belt is unreal. Sometimes you'd swear that certain figures within these hospitals see no emotional connection in having a baby. I've heard too many stories from women who play down the bad experiences. You all deserve much more. Even a bit of post labour, bed-side manner wouldn't go a miss. How much does that cost?

Hannibal Smith

Das Kitty wrote: »

The article says it was outside a delivery room behind a curtain. Another poster has mentioned that there is a curtained waiting area there in that hospital. It's no different from it happening in a curtained ward.

I'm glad you think so :eek:

Das Kitty

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I'm glad you think so :eek:

How is it different so?

Hannibal Smith

Das Kitty wrote: »

How is it different so?

If you think this is an acceptable way for a woman to be treated, fair enough. I'm not going to be sucked into an argument about it. Consider your own experience and what you went through and then remove all small elements of privacy and dignity that you tried to cling to. That's how it's different.

Jinxi

I think Hannibal is onto something. I think the standards we have come to accept are deplorable. The"Well at least it wasn't a trolley in the hall" mentality is from years of sub-standard care.
From reading the boards labouring in Irish hospital is akin to whelping in puppy farms.