Public Hospital (Queen Elizabeth) Queries

H

HK Foodie

Registered User
I am delivering at QEH in June & have a few queries about what to pack & the experience itself. I am aware of all the essentials & thanks to some previous threads I am aware of those extras necessary for delivering at a public hospital but not exactly sure what they all are!!
This is my 3rd babe but 1st in HK. I had my previous babes in Australia in the private system so I'm not sure about some of the things I am supposed to take to the hospital.

1. What is a receiving cloth?
2. Do they provide a hospital gown for the delivery or should I take an old shirt that can get messy?
3. The maternity pads they request apparently require a bandage. Can anyone extrapolate on this for me? I was planning to buy maternity pads while in Australia at Easter which I know are heavy duty but will they allow me these or can I just be forceful & tell them that is what I am wearing?
4. What are underpads? (I am assuming a form of a liner for the bed?)
5. Can I request a western/European diet at the hospital? If so, how/when do I do this?
6. Does anyone know if any restaurants (even Pizza Hut would be ok) deliver to QEH?
7. I would love any recent info on delivering at QEH as I have trawled this site & any info is now about 5 years old (maybe things haven't changed?).

I really appreciate any help/advice that you can give me as despite this being my 3rd babe I am starting to have some teary moments at the thought of delivering at a public hospital (bit precious I know!:tongue:).

Thank you :smile:
 
1) a blanket in which to wrap baby
2) they provide gowns
3) buy the kind that they request, usually they are available directly at the hospital. save your luggage allowance for better stuff than maternity pads
4) yes, a padded bed liner
5 & 6) yes, you can request western food (i believe) but it's still horrible. for food delivery, you would have to canvass the area to see who would deliver. i'm sure there must be a pizza hut, possibly a KFC etc that would deliver
7) no idea, sorry
 
Food deliveries are a no-no. Not sure if they're allowed during visiting hours. But even then, the nurses would certainly not allow the delivery men into the wards. You'll probably still have to walk out to the ward entrance.
 
food deliveries are no problem at least as QMH. the delivery men canNOT come into the ward. they CAN come to the floor and wait near the lifts.

i was hospitalised for total of about 3 months over 2 pregnancies. i would have starved if not for soho delivers.

as a matter of fact, i used to order pizza and because i didn't have access to a fridge, i'd share it with the nurses. they loved me! ;)
 
I guess QMH is different from QEH in their food delivery policy. I recall the nurses at QEH specifically said no food deliveries because they don't have the manpower to care for all the patients and be on the lookout for deliveries, which I completely understand.

But I suppose rules can be bent sometimes. Guess the key is to just be nice to the nurses.
 
as i said, i made the phone calls. i asked the delivery company to call me when the food arrived and i just left the ward and went to the lift lobby to pick it up. never had a single issue. the nurses had nothing to do with it. they wouldn't even have known that i had done it until after i received the food.
 
Hi HK Foodie... i delivered at QMH in Sep 2010 and had really good experience there... we answered another thread recently regarding packing for QMH and here's the link:
http://www.geobaby.com/forum/thread157981.html

as mentioned by Carang, just buy the maternity pads and bed liners at the 7-11 when you get to the hospital, they have their preferred brands there so don't waste your space / time to look for them else where. just get one pack each to be used when you are in the hospital, then switch you whatever your preferred brand is when you return home.

clothing is provided for the mommie ward (pink pj) as well as delivery (purple gown), baby gets a little wrap and is changed daily when being bath by the nurses. of course you can ask for change of clothes for you and baby anytime in case its soiled.

re food... i was in a private room so the meals were different from the ward, we got to choose our preferred items for each meal (there were choice of Chinese and Western items) and my husband who was staying in with me also had the same meals... he is a more picky eater than i am and we both thought it was delicious =) not sure about meal request for the ward though... there is a starbucks at QMH and fast food canteen if you are desperate.

don't think much has changed in the past year, had 3 other friends delivered at QMH (both private room or ward) and all experience seem very similar.

all the best!
 
oops sorry... just realize you are asking for Queen Elizabeth... sorry for providing info re my experience at Queen Mary
 
i think the food for the wards is vastly different to the food in the private rooms... hence, some of the difference in price.

all of the food in the wards seemed to come with some sort of gooey, slimey sauce... including their 'sweet and sour sausage' which was in actual fact, 'sweet and sour hot dogs/frankfurters'... YUCK! to say the least. often the only thing i could eat from the tray, besides the fruit, was the boiled cabbage that seemed to come with every meal.

needless to say, hubby's main job throughout my hospitalisations was keeping me fed! he always brought food for me and usually for lunch, i'd go down to the public cafeteria and have bbq pork rice, which was pretty good most of the time.
 
Hey,

I delivered in QE in September 2010. I have a good experience overall (it's not their fault the delivery didn't go well). The only problem I had was that I found it very difficult to rest after an exausting labor. Even though it was a room of 6 beds only, we could hear babies crying in other rooms and they kept on waking me during the day to give me medecine or check on me. So one thing I recommand is an eye mask. Best thing I brought there! The level of care was very good and the nurses very nice, just really busy.
Don't worry about coming with the wrong things because they will provide almost everything if you forgot it or got the wrong one. The only exception seems to be newborn nappies, bring that with you.
For the food, yes, it wasn't good but I only stayed 3 days and my husband brought me cookies and muffins to cheer me up :)
If you have any more questions, you can send me a private message. Good luck!
 
Many of the things on the public hospital list are not that necessary. This I realised after delivering my second baby. The first one I got everything and then some and was hard to fit it all in one suitcase. For the second baby I took:

1. Diapers and wipes (these you must have though they used their own in the special care unit whre my baby was for a couple of nights and when she came to the nursery, they asked me to replace with mine).
2. Maternity pads which tie around the waist - these you must have. For my first, I couldn't get them and they gave me a pack but made me replace later. But I have a feeling they will grumble about this. You generally get these in the 7.11 or pharmacy near the hospital.
3. Nicer maternity pads - after the first couple of days you don't need to use those big fat tie up maternity pads. It's only for the delivery and the time after when they help cleaning you that you need them. for my first I used a brand of maternity pads that came in an orange pack (not sre of the name) after day 2. For my second, I used two regular kotex pads.
4. Box of tissues: for my second, I didn't bother carrying this as i didn't really use it for my first. However, I had a c-sec and got nauseaous and the nurse ketp asking me for my tissues. finally a kind nurse got me a box. Same with the lady opposite me... she was so pukey but they were being so stingy with the tissues and she either didn't have her own or couldn't get to them. So yeah, take a box.
5. Toilet roll: some people don't like the toilet paper in the hospital loo. I found it ok so for my second, skipped this.
6. Your own cup: they provide water but not to drink it with.
7. Spoon/fork/knife: for lunch they provide a spoon. for dinner only chopsticks. kind of hard to eat rice with chopsticks. Also, they provide an orange but I have no idea how people peel it without a knife. That is, if you intend to eat the orange.
8. Snacks: You do get the munchies and there isn't enough food provided. So carry some snacks that you like or fruit.
9. Thing to charge your phone with: You are not supposed to charge your phone using their plugpoint. Later I realised there;s a device you can charge and take to charge your iphone. get one...it's a pain running out of battery.

I quite liked the hospital food. I never got sausage in tomato sauce as described above. There was some kind of pork/boneless chicken gravy and boiled veggie. Not stellar but fine by me. A lot of the chinese ladies had homecooked food delivered. As Cara said, you can have food delivered and go out of the ward to get it. However, if you've had a c-sec you may not want to/be able to do that short walk initially. For my second, I discovered there are visiting hours from 12-1 too so a lot of ladies had food delivered (from home/confinement lady) to their bed. Maybe the delivery guy will come to your bed during visiting hours?


Stuff for takng the baby home - don't take it on the first day. Have whoever is helping you get home bring it. Honestly, most things you can just have brought to you during visiting hours as you need it.
 
PS: I didn't deliver at QEH but at United Christian but I think the list is the same. Also liner for the bed was never used or asked for... took it for my first, didn't bother for second.
 
Thank you to everyone who spent time giving me a reply. I feel much less anxious already now I know a little more of what to expect.
Strangely enough I just met a lady this morning who delivered there a few years ago & is due again in 3 wks. My only concerns after speaking to her were regarding the massive "warehouse" of women (without their husbands) braying like cattle waiting to get into the delivery suites & the fact that she begged for an epidural & didn't receive one.....I'm such a sook!:eek:
 
Hello All,

I just had someone PM me regarding how it all went at QEH so thought I had better put up my experience.

To be brief, all went well....

To be more specific....

I was thankful this wasn't my first baby as QEH provides a safe, delivery baby service & that is it!

We arrived at the hospital & I was told I was only 2cm dilated & sent to the labour monitoring ward (no husbands allowed). Being my 3rd babe, I was pretty sure I was further along than that...so after being forced to lie down with a foetal monitoring unit on for half an hour they then rushed me back upstairs to the labour delivery ward as I was 10cm. Again I was forced to lie down even though I had been labouring really well at home for 4 hours by showering & walking thru contractions.

My husband was not allowed with me until I was in the actual delivery suite for about half an hour. And we were pretty lucky that he was allowed in at all. There were signs saying that if it was really busy, your husband may not be allowed in. Up until this time every nurse I had contact with would ask/tell me (!!) I needed an epesiotomy. I refused as I didn't tear with my previous deliveries & I was aware that HK public hospitals had one of the highest epesiotomy rates in the world at about 85%!

The 2 midwives we had for the actual delivery were great & after asking if I wanted an epesiotomy they were happy to allow time for stretching. Lucky they were great, as I never got the requested epidural due to there being no anaesthetist & the quick labour. I had been told in one of my ante-natal check-ups that you have to time your labour really well to get an epidural - 8am in the morning is the best! Bit hard to time these things though.

The delivery went smoothly & really was no different to my experience in Australia. Immediate skin to skin contact & breast feeding are promoted. A paediatrician comes around & checks out the baby after the delivery. The nurses also take a picture of you with the baby which is a lovely touch.

A number of hours later we went up to the wards. Our baby was briskly taken away before we knew it for his first bath.... without either of us!! We were sad about that. Also as it was not visiting hours, so my husband could only stay for 10 mins to settle me in- really tough after such a momentous experience. The baby rooms in with you & again, the nurses promote the baby sleeping on your chest (skin to skin contact). There is a crib for the baby so you don't have to do this.

The actual room you are in is shared with 5 others but the rooms are almost open plan & I guess there are another 5 or so rooms. Consequently with about 30 women & their babies it is quite noisy. They also keep lights on all night so sleep is difficult. The nurses speak quite good English & are efficient. They insisted on making me wee into a bed pan the 1st time I needed to pass urine. I could easily have walked to the toilet but as I knew I wanted an early discharge I thought I had better pick my battles!!! ;-)

Unlike Australia, there is no tray of sandwiches brought to you after labour. And I was starving! I had packed some snacks (biscuits) but I would have loved something more substantial.

Breakfast was congee which I can't even look at let alone eat so I was super hungry. They do give you hot water to drink.

I asked for early discharge as it was so boring & noisy at the hospital. The doctor & the paediatrician both came around & then we were able to go home after signing early discharge forms.

So we arrived at the hospital at 4pm. Had the baby by 7pm. Were in the room about 10pm & on my way home at midday the next day.

That being said, I had a natural delivery with no tearing or complications & being my 3rd baby knew what to do. Plus I have a helper at home & yummy food & a glass of wine!!

I called in a midwife from Annerley midwives for a 3 day checkup on our baby too (I guess you would normally still be at the hospital at that point).

Our hospital experience cost us $150 so definitely no complaints about that.

Another thing I did was take too many clothes, etc. They get you into pj's straight away & your babe will be in hospital clothes too(they provided the blankets for the baby so you don't need that either). You really just need nappies, wipes, going home clothes for you & the babe, toiletries, underwear, maternity pads & food! Oh & I took in my own Panadol for after birth tenderness. So I didn't need the pads with bandage (?), the antiseptic, bowl that they tell you to bring.

Hope that helps with anybody considering QEH. Because of the early discharge I can't tell you whether it gets chaotic or not at visiting hours. I would also recommend taking an iPad as it is really boring in there!
 
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