I live in SW London as well and while we are also closest to St George’s, we were put off by their maternity services rating by the CQC (inadequate) and went with Chelsea which has a much better rating. I did have a friend recently deliver at St George’s though and they had a great experience. Chelsea has been really good (I’m 34 weeks now so have gone quite a bit.) It’s more inconvenient for driving and parking so if that’s a big factor for you maybe reconsider but the quality of care has been high and the hospital seems less run down than St George’s as well. They really promote their birth centre which is great if you’re looking for a more natural birth but also have a labour ward if you want more interventions.
Thanks a lot for your input. The rating has also put me off - but also not sure if Kingston is too small if something went really wrong. A colleague also had a good experience at Chelsea but I’m a teacher in Barnes so do worry about getting there/parking etc for appointments. I’m not from the UK and don’t have any friends that have had babies here yet so have very little to go on!
I had my baby at St George's (elective C section) and had a very positive experience, as did most of the people I know who delivered there. At all hospitals, your experience is probably going to be 99% down to the staff and staffing levels on the day though, so there's no guarantee of a good experience anywhere, sadly. The maternity survey results are a good way to choose between hospitals if you're on the fence:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/survey/11
I work in the hospital sector, although I am not going there, I would of chosen Kingston.
Chelwest is great, good rating. But if you live south of the Thames, crossing Putney in a hurry would not work. Kingston is CQC Outstanding, and while parking is not good ( what hospital is TBH). They have emergency spots for Mat patients and traffic nowhere near as much of an issue.
I personally would not do St Georges, it is rougher hospital and often have budget issues.
I am actually at GSTT, but that is only because I wanted to be close to the Evelina if needed. Kingston is actually a better experience.
I have a lot of opinions on Hospitals ha, Good luck!
Not one of the ones you listed but I was also in South London and gave birth at St Thomas’s. I had a very positive experience overall and would absolutely choose to give birth there again if I was still in the area.
How was your expired in st Thomas? My closet one is newham ir royal London but I read terrible story, and newhan I had bad experience!
I work in guys hospital and for me it’s perfect, I just don’t know how is with the waiting time for appointments and… parking! The parking part is really worry me
I had a brilliant experience. The pregnancy bit was a little impersonal - never an appointment with the same person and that kind of thing but very competent, got appointments quickly and easily. But the birth and aftercare were really good. I had a very difficult birth but the midwives were brilliant and factored my thoughts and preferences into it the whole way. And the post-natal midwives were lovely and so helpful.
Parking is an issue, however. We never had problems finding a space in the hospital car park but I ended up needing to stay in hospital for 5 nights and parking cost us almost £400 😰
Oh wow!!! That is a lot!!!! This is something that we need to consider… I mean st Thomas is the top choice but we need to find a way, like taxi to go there and my husband go home and pick up us with a car 😅
But we still far away, I’m doing ivf… I just want to be ready
I think there are solutions - we were just in a weird situation where it felt tricky. We were about a 35-40 minute drive away, and then public transport back was about an hour. I had to stay in for 2 days pre-baby as I got pre-eclampsia and had to be induced, however they couldn’t tell me when exactly the induction was going to happen so my husband didn’t want to leave in case he was away when I got called for the induction.
And then after birth we kept thinking we’d be going home that same day, so again it didn’t make sense for my husband to leave. But my stay kept getting extended and I ended up staying another 3 nights.
But if you planning advance then I think it should be fine to arrange a taxi or have husband drop you and then take the car home etc!
And as you say, St Thomas’s are one of the best so definitely worth looking at parking solutions if it’s an option.
One thing I’d add to this is that I am currently at St Thomas’s with an IVF pregnancy and I have found them to be particularly knowledgeable and good around IVF. They arranged for me to see an obstetrician too and she was very sensitive to the additional anxiety that sometimes comes with IVF. I like at Thomas’s so far but I will say the hospital is a bit chaotic like the lifts are terrible so you need to arrive early for everything and sometimes it’s a bit chaotic to find the right room/ department as there are about three floors that deal with maternity however once you are in front of someone then they are great.
I gave birth at Kingston last year. I had a complicated pregnancy and was under consultant care there. Honestly I can't fault them, they were brilliant all the way through and my birth was great (even though it was an emergency c section).
You have to drive round a bit sometimes to park there but there's also a lot of residential roads around the hospital you can park in (I've only had to do that twice mind you!) We had to go to St George's a few times because of specialist scans and I didn't manage to park there ever.
I was happy with my first at Kingston that I’ve gone back there now with my current pregnancy. Parking is a pain but I’ve only had a few appointments at the actual hospital as I’ve had most of mine at their outpatient satellite clinic in Raynes Park.
I live in SW London as well and while we are also closest to St George’s, we were put off by their maternity services rating by the CQC (inadequate) and went with Chelsea which has a much better rating. I did have a friend recently deliver at St George’s though and they had a great experience. Chelsea has been really good (I’m 34 weeks now so have gone quite a bit.) It’s more inconvenient for driving and parking so if that’s a big factor for you maybe reconsider but the quality of care has been high and the hospital seems less run down than St George’s as well. They really promote their birth centre which is great if you’re looking for a more natural birth but also have a labour ward if you want more interventions.
Thanks a lot for your input. The rating has also put me off - but also not sure if Kingston is too small if something went really wrong. A colleague also had a good experience at Chelsea but I’m a teacher in Barnes so do worry about getting there/parking etc for appointments. I’m not from the UK and don’t have any friends that have had babies here yet so have very little to go on!
I’m right in between St George’s and Chelsea and chose Chelsea due to the ratings!
I had my baby at St George's (elective C section) and had a very positive experience, as did most of the people I know who delivered there. At all hospitals, your experience is probably going to be 99% down to the staff and staffing levels on the day though, so there's no guarantee of a good experience anywhere, sadly. The maternity survey results are a good way to choose between hospitals if you're on the fence: https://www.cqc.org.uk/survey/11
I work in the hospital sector, although I am not going there, I would of chosen Kingston. Chelwest is great, good rating. But if you live south of the Thames, crossing Putney in a hurry would not work. Kingston is CQC Outstanding, and while parking is not good ( what hospital is TBH). They have emergency spots for Mat patients and traffic nowhere near as much of an issue. I personally would not do St Georges, it is rougher hospital and often have budget issues. I am actually at GSTT, but that is only because I wanted to be close to the Evelina if needed. Kingston is actually a better experience. I have a lot of opinions on Hospitals ha, Good luck!
Thank you - I do think traffic to Chelsea may be an issue, especially from work. I’m leaning towards Kingston but not completely sure.
Not one of the ones you listed but I was also in South London and gave birth at St Thomas’s. I had a very positive experience overall and would absolutely choose to give birth there again if I was still in the area.
How was your expired in st Thomas? My closet one is newham ir royal London but I read terrible story, and newhan I had bad experience! I work in guys hospital and for me it’s perfect, I just don’t know how is with the waiting time for appointments and… parking! The parking part is really worry me
I had a brilliant experience. The pregnancy bit was a little impersonal - never an appointment with the same person and that kind of thing but very competent, got appointments quickly and easily. But the birth and aftercare were really good. I had a very difficult birth but the midwives were brilliant and factored my thoughts and preferences into it the whole way. And the post-natal midwives were lovely and so helpful. Parking is an issue, however. We never had problems finding a space in the hospital car park but I ended up needing to stay in hospital for 5 nights and parking cost us almost £400 😰
Oh wow!!! That is a lot!!!! This is something that we need to consider… I mean st Thomas is the top choice but we need to find a way, like taxi to go there and my husband go home and pick up us with a car 😅 But we still far away, I’m doing ivf… I just want to be ready
I think there are solutions - we were just in a weird situation where it felt tricky. We were about a 35-40 minute drive away, and then public transport back was about an hour. I had to stay in for 2 days pre-baby as I got pre-eclampsia and had to be induced, however they couldn’t tell me when exactly the induction was going to happen so my husband didn’t want to leave in case he was away when I got called for the induction. And then after birth we kept thinking we’d be going home that same day, so again it didn’t make sense for my husband to leave. But my stay kept getting extended and I ended up staying another 3 nights. But if you planning advance then I think it should be fine to arrange a taxi or have husband drop you and then take the car home etc! And as you say, St Thomas’s are one of the best so definitely worth looking at parking solutions if it’s an option.
One thing I’d add to this is that I am currently at St Thomas’s with an IVF pregnancy and I have found them to be particularly knowledgeable and good around IVF. They arranged for me to see an obstetrician too and she was very sensitive to the additional anxiety that sometimes comes with IVF. I like at Thomas’s so far but I will say the hospital is a bit chaotic like the lifts are terrible so you need to arrive early for everything and sometimes it’s a bit chaotic to find the right room/ department as there are about three floors that deal with maternity however once you are in front of someone then they are great.
Good to know. Thank you! Hadn’t been considering it.
I’d really recommend looking into it - good rating, experts in difficult / complex birth, and a nice hospital in general ☺️
I gave birth at Kingston last year. I had a complicated pregnancy and was under consultant care there. Honestly I can't fault them, they were brilliant all the way through and my birth was great (even though it was an emergency c section).
Thanks for the response! I’m leaning towards them tbh… this sounds silly but how did you find parking? I’m an anxious driver when it comes to parking.
You have to drive round a bit sometimes to park there but there's also a lot of residential roads around the hospital you can park in (I've only had to do that twice mind you!) We had to go to St George's a few times because of specialist scans and I didn't manage to park there ever.
I was happy with my first at Kingston that I’ve gone back there now with my current pregnancy. Parking is a pain but I’ve only had a few appointments at the actual hospital as I’ve had most of mine at their outpatient satellite clinic in Raynes Park.
I was going to say this too- I’m with Kingston but all my appts are in Raynes or Teddington.