RBH or Mater Brisbane for public system?

[mamachops]

Anyone have experiences of using the public system at both of these places? I've been given the choice which I wish to book in with, but wonder which is better.

Any ideas?

[drewid]

Hi

I went private at the Mater - but i have heard HORRIBLE stories about people going PUBLIC there.

I guess you can hear bad stories about anywhere, but i am yet to hear one good story coming out of that public hospital.

Just my 2c.

[Benandrewsmum]

A good friend of mine had a terrible time at RBH public......she was two weeks overdue and was meant to be induced at 7am in the morning....after sitting there all day she was told to go home because they couldn't induce her as they had no beds available, no OB's available and no labour rooms available. Weant back the next day and the same thing happened.....

So, I think the moral of the story is that there are horror stories for all places, you just need to remember that it is your right to demand a decent level of care and don't put up with the hopital's ****!!

Cheers

DP

So, it

[Supermum]

I had a lovely experience at the RBWH where I had my second. My obstetrician - Carol Portmann ... was one of the best (top neonatal specialist and works out of the Private Specialist Centre at the hospital .. bulk billed) , my midwife - Annelise was delightful and they were both very respectful of what I expected of my natural labour. I checked myself out the morning after I had my daughter. No complaints here ...

[melbee70]

i had some early pregnancy testing at the mater & the staff were great but the hospital is old & i found it confusing to get around - i know it's not a big deal about it being old but i just didn't feel comfortable there - i had my baby at RBWH & the staff were excellent & the maternity ward is fairly new - i was induced too & called just before i was to go in & they didn't have room for me either as they had had a heap of births but they called me back at lunch time & everything from then on went perfectly - i had panic attacks during my pregnancy which made me claustrophobic & the staff were great in finding me a bed next to a window - in fact ended up having the room to myself
see if you can go on a tour of both hospitals & just go with whatever you feel best with

[JenNT]

I had my first public at Mater Mothers and could not fault it. I decided to go to RWH for my second as we lived at The Grange then but after a few antenatal appointments there i didnt feel comfortable there so i rang The Mater in desperation and they took me halfway thru the pregnancy as i had been a previous high risk patient. I loved that hospital, the midwives were excellent. Sure it is older but the delivery rooms were brilliant and over looking the city, as were the rooms. So pretty.

[mshobbit]

I now live in Adelaide, but I had my son at RBH and he had his first cleft lip operation at Mater Childrens.

I found most of the staff at RBH to be completely rude and incompetent. My epidural was done incorrectly, leaving me with complete feeling down my left hand side. I had an emergency c-section after 55 hours of labour pains and 3 days of no sleep. My husband was very emotional as he had been through it all with me (without a break) and knew we were expecting a cleft baby and the nurses gave him no sympathy what-so-ever. I had to fight the doctors to get my son out of special care and into my room and when he wouldn't settle when my milk was coming in I asked a nurse to hold him for a moment while I went to the toilet and she said "we're not supposed to do that". I won't be going back there. There were only a handful of nurses who made me feel ok about being a new mother of a baby with special needs.

Mater Childrens was absolutely perfect. The staff were friendly and helped me with everything. I'm not sure what the docs and nurses are like in the labour and maternity wards, but if they are anything like the nurses on the baby ward at MC, then you will be much better off.

Hope this helps.

[Nickster]

I had my baby at the Mater Public, although I saw my own GP during the pregnancy, the consultations there were great, the staff and midwives and antenatal classes were wonderful.
The delivery itself was complicated, ending in an emergency c/section, but the midwives and doctors in the delivery suites were wonderful and couldn't do enough for me, getting me pain relief very quickly.
I found many of the midwives on the maternity ward afterwards were run off their feet, resulting in a sometimes brusque manner, especially towards the end of their shift. I was left for half an hour in the shower (my first after the c/section) because the midwife had too much else to do. She subsequently disappeared about halfway through her shift to be replaced by somebody else, so maybe there was more going on there with her than I knew??
If you want them to take your baby to the nursery at night, you have to be fairly insistent. I didn't really want to send her there on the second night, but I was exhausted due to complications after the birth and couldn't care for her (just for a few hours, something I still feel guilty about but couldn't be helped at the time).
A lot depends on who you share your room with, I was with a young mum the first time and she had very noisy visitors and the TV on loud at night. I was readmitted after I discharged myself early (due to the complications I mentioned earlier) and shared a room with 3 other mums, and they were all lovely, everyone really supportive, and wanting to help each other with babycare. Just make sure you are discharged with any pain relief you might need, and don't do it at night like I did!!
Overall, it was a pretty good experience, just take some earplugs as it can be noisy sometimes. Sorry to waffle on, but I hope I've been able to help you.....

[AlisMum]

I had my daughter at RBH & they were wonderful with all of my appointments (I had quite a few as I had gestational diabetes!). The midwives were also wonderful. I got to know them quite well as I was there every 2nd day towards the end! :D

When I went into labour, they rushed me straight in for an emergency c-section - as she was my first bub & in a breech position with cord around the neck. The doc on duty who did the c-section was excellent - had no problems recovering. I remember my husband & I joking around with the medical staff as I was being prepped for it! The wardsman even let us borrow his digital camera as we had forgotten to bring ours (and delivered them to us the next day).

Whilst I was recovering the nurses were admittedly run off their feet, but never failed to give me advice when I asked for it. My husband & I are definitely going back there to have our 2nd (we haven't even decided when to start trying again but we do know where it will be born!). :)

You're always going to hear horror stories no matter what hospital you go to but in the end the choice is yours. I would definitely take a tour around each one & make your decision from there.

Cheers

Kate 26yrs
Wayne 27yrs
Alisha Sara 9mths

[mandymoo]

I had my daughter at the Mater Mothers and I have nothing to complain about at all. My daughter was born 10 weeks early and she had the best care in the Neonatal ward for 8 weeks. I found all the nurses to be lovely and would not hesitate to help you out if you needed it. I would go back there again.

[Marcy]

Hi

I had my son at Mater Mother Public last year i did have any problems with the public system but its also up to the individuals but the Mater is a great hospital.

Marcy

[mamachops]

Wow! Thanks for all those stories!

Are the rooms shared at both places?

Cheers,
Chris

[Zoe & Troy]

Hi Chris.

I had Jayden at the Mater Pubic, and Im hoping to have #2 at the Birth Centre at the Royal Brisbane.(Im just waiting for the ballot to be drawn for April!)

The Mater was ok. The midwives in the delivery section are great. The doctors not that great. I was in labour for over 70 hours and the doctors wouldn't break my waters incase it ended in a c section. The midwives did as much as they could. The midwives on the ward get so busy, so if you need help ring your buzzer till someone comes.

The rooms at the Mater are shared with one or up to 3 other women. I had 3 others in my room - not the best experience.

From what Ive been told the RBH has shared rooms as well. Im hoping to be accepted into the Birth Centre - they have private rooms where your hubby can stay!! Fingers crossed I get in.

Im sure you and your baby will get great care where ever you go. Just remember that its your baby, so what you say goes. Don't let anyone bully you into something you don't want.

Good luck and let us know where you end up going. Zoe

Zoe 21 Full time working mummy
Troy 26 Stay at home daddy
Jayden Born 7th April 2004
Angel Sent to heaven June 2005 @14 weeks
Bug Due 9th April 2006

[Mel-Lou]

I went private at the Mater but have friends who've been public and were very happy with it. I think everyone has different experiences and expectations so it's very hard to get a true picture of what each hospital is like. I would tour each one and then see which one you feel more comfortable with.

[Marcy]

Hi Girls,

I was public at mater mothers i shared with 1 other mum there r single rooms on the ward the delivery suites were lovely very personal and relaxing i loved the delivery suites.

Marcy mummy to Samuel 16mths
Daddy Scott 34

[Caitlin's Mum]

I had both my babies at the RBH. I shared with 3 others the 1st time and with 1 other the 2nd. They do have single rooms too - it's just the luck of the draw. I don't have anything bad to say about either experience, The midwives and nurses were excellent!

[bpato]

Hi

My best friends younger sister had her first child may of last year at the mater mothers public, and raved about how wonderful the staff were, and what a great experince it was. She recommends it to everyone.

Personally we are going the mater mothers private (only because we pay private health premiums)

Hoped this has helped.

bpato

[alicesmum]

hi chris
i had alice at RBH (RBWH i think it is now) thru the Phoenix Program - a midwife based program. All the midwives on that program were awesome. My only complaint about the hospital was that i always had to wait SOOO long for all my appointments (btw 1-2 hours). but I have heard this about other places too (even private patients often have long waits), so the moral is to bring a good book with you or some work to do for all your apointments!!

in terms of the delivery and postnatal care, I couldn't fault the midwives. the only rude member of staff was the pediatrician who was more cold and impatient than rude. i didn't enjoy sharing with 3 others though i have to say, and so went home after 24 hours, which they were more than happy to support as they needed the beds!! :)

good luck!!!

[jlrjyeboah]

I had my first son at the RBWH, and the only good thing was the delivery. I went there for all my appointments and was never seen at my assigned time. I was induced at 37 weeks and labor and delivery were fine, except for one midwife who insisted I not move as I was hooked up to an IV and cathether(sp?). The postnatel care was horrendous. I was left on my own, nodody showed me how to breastfeed, then I was asked why my son was sleeping so much, it turned out because I was not feeding him often enough, or for long enough. I had to express milk then, but they just left the machine on my bed and didn't show me how to use it. It was shocking, I was so glad to get out of there. That was 4 years ago however, maybe they have improved since then.

[Briannabear]

I had my DD at Mater Public. The ante-natal classes and check-ups were great, but the labour, delivery, and after care were not good. I would never go there again. I was in a room with about 4 other *snoring* mothers!! :mad:

[belinda]

i had my son at RBWH public and they were good through the labour and afterwards they were ok wernt fantastic but only had to share with one other woman so that was really good... and the food was horrible lol thought i would add that

belinda