under-staffed at matilda?

B

bexterHK

Registered User
our obgyn just told us to think twice about delivering at matilda as they are chronically under-staffed. has anyone else heard about or experienced this?
 
No- planning to give birth at Matilda sometime in next three weeks and oby hasn't said anything.

He did mention something about a shortage of experienced nurses in HK, but said it hadn't affected the Matilda, although he did advice against using another private hospital on HK Island due to lack of experienced nurses.
 
If they are understaffed you would never have known it. When I had my bub there in May they attended to my every need. Always friendly and polite. They always tell you to use your buzzer for what ever you want. When you do buzz they get to you straight away. The care I got at Matilda was brillliant. They were so helpfull, informative and encouraging with everything especially breastfeeding. My stay there was a lovely experience.
 
Hi,
I second Kimmi. I delivered in June for the second time at the Matilda. It was fantastic. Wonderful staff, helpful and very caring. I can't recommend the Matilda enough and if we're lucky enough to have another child I just hope we're still here so that it can be born at the Matilda.

Jools
 
Have sent you pm- it's his personal opinion, so don't want to go creating negative reaction to somewhere I have no experience of!
 
bekyboo44,
please please pm me the name as well - i am in the middle of deciding hospitals as well.
thanks. :)
 
Just got home from delivering at the Matilda, and had a very positive experience. As well as the mid wives / nurses being on call, you can call for an amah at any time for house keeping and food needs etc.
 
All doctors tend to have their reasons for avoiding some hospitals and rarely tell you the real reason -- which is more than often personal.

Check with folks who have recently delivered and you'll get a more objective response.
 
Understaffed Matilda

Im really worried about the Matilda , a freind of mine told me that one of the chinese papers said they were being sued for a lot of money because they did not have a doctor there and a baby was braindamaged .has anyone else heard this ?
 
I haven't heard about this, but all I can do is tell you what I experienced. My doctor was called as soon as went into labour. She was kept fully informed by the hospital and arrived when the time came to start pushing. As far as I know there is always a doctor on call in case of emergencies.

When my waters broke it was apparent that my son had passed the meconium (that sticky green stuff) in the womb. My paediatrician was immediately called, as there is a concern that this stuff can get into the lungs. She arrived very promptly and was able to suction my son out as soon as he was born.

You have to be aware that newspapers will report sensational stories, because it sells news. You also need to realise that they don't always give you all the facts. There may well have been a baby that had complications which caused brain damage and if so, I feel greatly for the parents.

If you feel concerned about the Matilda then use another hospital. All I know is that I have had two fantastic experiences at the Matilda and if we're lucky enough to have a fourth child then we will be going back there without a shadow of a doubt.

Jools
 
Thanks Jools , Ive just searched for the english article in the SCMP-- (because this was stressing me a bit !) it says that a Dr despasqule was telling a midwife what to do over the phone and was not there!! the baby is handicapped it sounds kind of serious -- but i agree about what newspapers are like -- thanks for sharing your experience
 
Hi- the Matilda has an obstetrician based at the hospital 24 hrs a day, in case for whatever reason your obstetrican is unable to make it in time. It says this in their info. and I asked, just to make sure.

My obstetrician also told us that as soon as we called the Matilda to let them know we were coming, he would also be called and would come straight away.
 
Eek. I hope things have changed a lot at Matilda since 1998. This seems to be more of a reflection on the doc than the hospital, but you do wonder why another obstetrician wasn't called in.
 
Understaffed Matilda

Thanks Rani , Ive just read your article about what happened at the matilda -- its terrible ( and looks to have made worldwide news by the looks of your article !

I also wonder why another obstrician was not called in . Thanks for the info .

sal
 
As awful and terrible as this obviously was, the current question is that the Matilda is understaffed and based on my experience and those of others, this has been seen to not be the case.

Based on the reports this did happen and I really feel for the parents and would be taking the same course of action as them, by taking it through the courts; this was in 1998 and based on my experience is not a reflection of what happens in the hospital now.

Jools
 
Thanks . I think the current question of understaffing can cover both staffing by nurses and doctors . I think its really important to understand whether there are staff obstetricians around at the matilda --- especially since , like in the report , lack of staffing by doctors can put lives at risk

Sal
 
The Obstetrician I used actually lives on site at the Matilda and in an emergency if he wasnt available for any reason the information I got informed me there is always a Doctor available 24/7 at the Matilda. I find it very hard to believe that there wasnt a Doctor available as most of the so called best OB/GYN in HK actually deliver and operate at the Matilda sometime or other.
The Hospital and facilities are wonderfull, why would they be understaffed, I myself have worked in the medical industry for over 21 years, I would like to work there if I could. Its a very unfortunate story and I hope its not true.
 
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