Tsan Yuk appointments

C

Canucker

Registered User
Hi All,

Hoping to get some feedback from anyone who has gone through Tsan Yuk/Queen Mary to have their baby.

I had my first appointment (10 weeks) today. I arrived just before 11am, sat there for 45 minutes, saw a couple of videos and then a nurse who took some blood and personal data. I left after 12:40pm. When I asked her if all appointments will take this long she said no, this one is the short one, the rest will be longer. Was she serious? When they booked my next appointment, they justed booked it (3pm in a few weeks), and lucky for me I don't work that day so I will be able to make it. Are there certain days I can expect appointments to be made so I can ask my boss for those days off in advance? I honestly didn't think the visits would take that long and I didn't have one question to ask her either (this time at least).

Thanks,
Canucker
 
I'm going through Tsan Yuk/ Queen Mary... and no she wasn't joking. From this point on, you have a scheduled day that you will go. For example, all of my apts. are on Tuesdays. (They never ask you if the day or time is convenient for you, they just expect you to rearrange your schedule because they have certain days/times assigned for certain types of appointments.) Your next apt. will probably be in 6 weeks, and the next another 6 weeks after that etc. Until you get to about 30 wks and then your apts will be every 2 weeks. I think once you hit 36 wks, the apts will be every week. They will always ask if you need a certificate to take to your boss to prove you were there.

But anyway, basically, they give you a time to show up, say 9am. You show up at that time and they give you a number, and then you wait. And wait. And wait. They weigh you and test your urine and then you wait some more. Finally they call your number and you go see a nurse for about 5 minutes. Later on in the pregnancy (can't remember if they did it in the beginning or not), you wait some more and then you see a doctor for a couple of minutes or another nurse who will listen to babies heart beat and measure your tummy etc. then you make your next appointment.

I have learned that you probably need about 3 hours scheduled for these appointments. But at my last one, I was scheduled for 9am, but couldn't make it there until after 10am, and the waiting was considerable shorter... Proabably because half of the ladies had already gone through. :)

So yeah, take a magazine or a book to read, and a bottle of water and/or a snack... It's not the most fun in the world, but that's the way it's done.
 
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when you go for your next appt. you will most likely see a med student. if you want to see a "doctor" then make the request when you get there. there is always at least one full fledged dr there. sometimes, it can make the wait faster, sometimes shorter.

i'd say, invest in an ipod video or a really good book. the ipod video saved me from hours of boredom waiting for my appts at QMH (i was part of high risk team, so didn't go to tsan yuk for this pregnancy), not to mention during all my days spent in hospital!
 
Hi, I'm going through Tsan Yuk/Queen Mary at the moment; I'm 29 weeks pregnant. On average I find that the whole appointment will take up an hour and a half, which isn't actually that bad. I always take a book and some fruit. Admitedly, I don't work so I'm not on a clock so I accept the system as it is. I registered at Tsan Yuk at 13 weeks pregnant and had my next appointment in 6 weeks time but after that they have always been every four weeks; always on a Thursday and always in the afternoon. At 28 weeks they have just increased the appointments to every two weeks. If you are a low-risk pregnancy, as I am, you only go to Tsan Yuk for the initial registration and the initial antenatal appointment, then you go to a maternity clinic. I go to Sai Ying Pun (I think that's it) right next door. I've just been back to Tsan Yuk for a 28 week appointment and a glucose intolerance test and I believe you go back there again for a 30 something appointment. Any scans will be done at Tsan Yuk too.

I signed up for the antenatal exercise classes (if you want to attend these you must ask the Dr to sign the form you should have been given at registration) antenatal education classes and the breastfeeding class + the hospital tour. The forms I was initially given for all these were too soon for me, but I just kept my eye out for new ones with more suitable dates; but get signed up quickly before they get filled up. The forms are available at Tsan Yuk and are on the wall next to the desk where they make your next appointment. I did the hospital tour at around 20 weeks.

Hope that all helps, if I've missed anything out; then please feel free to ask away. When I first became pregnant I found this forum invaluable for learning all about the Tsan Yuk/Queen Mary system.

Regards, Polly
 
Thanks for the heads up. At my next appointment I will ask the nurse/doctor/receptionist if my appointments will always be on Tuesday and around the same time and then make the necessary arrangements at work. I may even ask - if my pregnancy is low risk - if I can go somewhere else to do all the check-ups. Until then I will get my hubby to start downloading some TV shows/movies onto his Ipod and will start taking it with me.

While I think my boss will be understanding once I tell him I am pregnant (waiting until 12 week mark), asking for 3-4 hours off every few weeks to go to a medical appointment might be pushing it. My office is not on the island. Maybe another clinic might just be a better idea. Does anyone know if times at clinics are shorter?

Canucker
 
An hour and a half was a good day at Tsan Yuk.. the appointments are long, heaps of waiting and being shuffled through like an assembly line.

One trick is to get there early, before your scheduled time, so that when you're given a number, you get in the first five or so. If you arrive 5 mins late, it can add 30 mins to the waiting time because of the number assigning system.

It must be very hard when you're working for a company. My employer was extremely flexible and forgiving with the long afternoons off.

Remember, at first your appointments won't be too frequent. They only get to once a fortnight towards the end, then once a week in the last month or so (from memory?).

Waiting and feeling like a number is part and parcel of going public. In my opinion it's still worth it for the money you pay!!
 
Yes, I agree with hkaussie, it's definitely worth getting there early. I always try to get there 15 minutes before my appointment time and, so far, I'm consistently out of there within an hour and a half - I'm referring to Sai Ying Pun Maternity Clinic btw but it's the same process as Tsan Yuk.
 
Having gone through the smae process myself, I agree with what others in this forum have said - it's worth to invest in an iPod or bringing a book to read AND if at all possible, get there early. Getting ticket stub 1-5 vs 20-25 makes a big difference in time wasted in the cue.

You do have a choice of which clinic you want to go to (if I remember correctly, there are a number of clinics that are on Kowloon / New Territories side) but it doesn't necessarily always mean a shorter cue.

As for your employer, I believe that by law they must give you the time off (as sick leave) to go and attend these check-ups (refer Sec 33 of Employment and Labour Law of HK, Item 3A).

G'luck!
 
Hey my ldbug,

I know they are supposed to give the time off, but our depatment is only 9 people that have to cover 2 shifts and day over a 7 day period - in other words we are short-staffed with no end in sight (another co-worker just quick and will be gone in 2 weeks). I will try to schedule my appointments on my days off and will go from there... but if there are days I have to miss some work it will have to happen, although I hope not very often.

This site has been great for advice, everyone is so friendly and willing to help out a first time mom. I will take others' advice and arrive 15 minutes early - of it saves me 30-45 minutes it is worth it.

Canucker
 
when i went through the system last year, here is what i did to make it faster:-

- the afternoon appts at the clinic next to tsan yuk have 2 appt slots. 1pm & 1.30 to prevent everyone coming at the same time. even when i had a 1.30 slot i'd still try to get there at 12.30. when you get there, they'll sit you down in arrival order on the plastic chairs. so when the appt window opens at 1pm, there is no fight to grab the numbered slips.
- always have your urine sample ready before you go for your weighing, if not then you'd have to queue twice. the queue at the toilets is often as long as the queue for everything else.
- if there is no need to see the doctor, you can generally get out of there before 2pm. if you need to see the Dr, then it'll be a bit longer as they don't come back from their lunch until 2pm.
- the alternative is to go after 3.30, then you'll probably be out by 4.45
- don't bother watching the videos, the contents are covered in any good pregnancy book

not sure how much change there has been since last year, with all the hysteria surrounding "mainland mothers" etc.

HTH
 
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