Matilda - overbooked?

S

starbucks2

Registered User
Hi

Have heard from friends that even people who booked at 9 weeks have not got a place at Matilda due to some issue with staffing (not sure exactly what that means??!). Anyone have any more info? Are people who have been confirmed a spot, being turned away closer to their due date or is it that people are not being confirmed at all even if they are trying to book in at 9 weeks along?

Thanks
 
hi starbucks2. i booked at Matilda when i was 9 weeks and have been waitlisted since and now my doctor is telling me to register at a public hospital just in case. yes, apparently they are having major staffing issues, along with changes in management and there have been several cases in the last couple months where they've turned away patients with confirmed bookings. it's not a good scene over there.
 
Thanks mariac. What a nightmare! I am not pregnant but had my two up there and was just curious to hear what is going on. It will be good news for the Adventist I guess although they were already pretty booked up without also having to accommodate overflow from Matilda. Hope you get confirmed soon.
 
yes, i would've loved to deliver at Matilda but i'm not going to wait for them until week 35/36 - apparently that is when they will give the final word to waitlisted people. besides if they are as short staffed as they say (apparently there is no shortage or beds, only staff), then the situation may or may not be fixed in the next 3 months. so i am going to go with either Canossa or Union. Adventist and Sanatorium are fully booked for April and my doc just broke the news to me last week. i got misled by my doctor, who apparently got misled by Matilda.
 
That is terrible. Hope you can get into to Canossa or Union then. My friend ended up booking a private room at Queen Mary as she couldn't get into the Matilda. Apparently more expensive than Matilda (!!) but she has insurance so is lucky.
 
We tried to book at Matilda at the 9 week stage (this was 2 months ago, in November) and were refused booking. We booked the Sanatorium instead as neither of us fancied waiting for months on the off-chance of getting in to Matilda.

I think it is unlikely to be a staffing issue though, much more likely to be them being full to capacity, and giving priority to their favoured obgens? Even if they are short of staff currently, I would think they would be confident they could resolve this situation in the six months before our due date.
 
2010-NewDad, good choice on Sanatorium. i think you made the right choice by not waiting. actually the fact that you didn't get in at 8 weeks confirms to me even more that the issues are management as well as staffing related, which they may or may not be able to solve in the next 6 months. 8 weeks has never been too late to get in there as they start taking bookings from 9 weeks onwards. as for the quota for the favorite obgens...well my last doctor and her partner are (or shall I say were) literally the most popular ones there...but apparently not so much anymore with all these changes going on. a few things have happened, which i learned from inside sources, that have really affected Matilda's relationships with their old favorites. there is no one villain in any of this - but the hospital really is going through some major management issues.

anyway, i just booked at the Union, which actually turns out to be a gorgeous new hospital, so fingers crossed about my new doctor there, as I did really like my old doctor.
 
The issue is that the Matilda has reduced its number of maternity beds in favour of orthopaedic provision whilst at the same time they are accepting more maternity bookings from Chinese mainlanders, who all book in for c-sections. Obviously the Matilda love this because c-sections are more profitable and require less flexibility on their part than vaginal deliveries. They know which day these women are going to show up. With a vaginal birth, it could be any day within a month. On that basis, if they mainly do c-sections they can achieve a higher throughput which translates to higher profits (Given that a high % of their costs are fixed)

Therefore, there have been a number of occasions in 2010 (about 10 I believe) where women in labour have called up and been told that the ward is closed. I was one of them. Fortunately after some negotiations, my Obs (LL) managed to get me admitted, and I have to say that once I got in, I could not fault their service and I had a very positive birth experience with great midwives, but it was unnecessary stress at an already quite emotional time. Fortunately my labour was quite long (first baby). Next time I might not have the two hours to wait to be admitted.

I really hope the Matilda doesn't end up going "c section only". If so it would be a sad day for women wishing to have vaginal deliveries privately in HK, which, after all, have benefits for both mother and child in an uncomplicated pregnancy. Part of the problem is that most HK Obs are either pro-csection, or indifferent. As far as I know, only Lucy Lord and Grace Cheung are really shouting about this problem- they have a +70% vaginal delivery rate- the highest of any Obs in HK because they actively support them where appropriate.
 
LOJITT said:
Part of the problem is that most HK Obs are either pro-csection, or indifferent. As far as I know, only Lucy Lord and Grace Cheung are really shouting about this problem- they have a +70% vaginal delivery rate- the highest of any Obs in HK because they actively support them where appropriate.
Click to expand...

That's very unfortunate that profits are prioritised over a patient's/woman's preference to have a vaginal delivery at the hospital of their choice.
 
Dear Members,
Thank you for your support, having read your threads with interest I appreciate the comments on our level of care and would like to use this opportunity to offer comment on some of your concerns directly, as I am not sure where the information is originating but it is inaccurate.
Yes, our hospital as a whole is performing a lot more orthopedics and spinal surgery with advanced treatment options than before. This does not affect the maternity services as these surgeries are performed in a completely different department and cared for by nurses not midwives.
The number of mainland mothers choosing to deliver here is still very low, less than 5%, and this percentage has been unchanged for well over ten years. We are a not for profit organization. While responsible to be an efficient healthcare provider, profit is not a driving factor, and the provision of safe care is the management?s utmost priority.
All decisions made on the type of delivery are done so between the obstetrician and patient, and we support this choice. Due to finite resources midwives, delivery rooms, beds and special care facilities we do have to limit the number of bookings that we accept, and we have a daily limit for the number of managed deliveries (caesarian section or induction of labour).
As noted from a previous post, it is indeed a fine balance being able to offer the safest standards of care whilst accepting as many people as possible. If we were truly only concerned with revenue we could accept all ladies for delivery. However, we are and will remain committed to safety and giving all our mothers the best care possible.
In 2010, over 1200 babies were born here. Unfortunately as the department was full to capcity we suspened admission on occasions and were unable to admit a total of 7 ladies with confirmed booking. Obviously we try to avoid this at all costs. Although we work very closely with our obstetrians, the decision to recommence admissions is made by the midwifery team as they have to consider all the patients under their care, as you can understand this is a very dynamic environment and safety must come first.
Meanwhile, new parents who are unable to receive a confirmed booking from us are strongly advised to look for an alternative hospital as we understand that the uncertainty of being on a waiting list can be very stressful.
I know this does not help your position but hope it can enlighten others who may be about to try to secure a booking. Information is available on our website or should anyone would like to contact us directly please drop us a line to [email protected] and we will be happy to follow up.
Lynne Fung
General Manger, Communications
(Registered General Nurse)
 
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