Posted by
pinkie
17 yrs ago
I have started to hear alarming stories about patients not being able to deliver in the main hospitals (eg matilda, adventist). this seems pretty concerning - it is an added stress - is this just hype or is it true. i'm due next year (may time)
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Hi Pinkie, unfortunately it doesn't appear to be hype. I am due early April and have already been asked by my OB to select a hospital and been booked in. Apparently the number of women prepared to come to Hk and pay full dollar to have their babies here is making really early booking esential. There is an update on this on the Matilda web site
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noc
17 yrs ago
This is true. In fact, many private doctors are pushing patients to do Caesarean in order to confirm a bed in hospital. Apparently, this is the only way to confirm a bed. For natural births, even if you have already booked in advance, this is not the same as a confirmed booking (e.g. still subject to availability).
Next year should not be as bad as it is now, as the peak season just started last month and is expected to end by this year's end.
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wow thanks for that - i just read matilda website. this is pretty scary - i hope the situation improves - i mean it would be awful to be scrambling around at the last minute to find a hospital. i hope to have a natural birth (although i had a c section first time around) so i might struggle to find support for this especially with the pressure on for beds. kind of dissapointed not a stress you want to have when should be looking forward to the birth.
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Hi
We have been on the waitlist for a few months but have finally received confirmation on Friday 28th Sept that a bed is confirmed at Matlida. So hope that provides some glimmer of hope regarding bed availability.
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hi,
i had to book my hospital bed at the matilda when in my 7th wk of pregnancy, before even knowing whether i would go full term. i opted for a second c-section and when the time came, the matilda had a room and a bed for me. but that didn't stop me worrying throughout my pregnancy as to whether i'd have a bed or not!
my dr also tells me that many more women are opting for c-sections just so they can get into the hospital of their choice.
the hk government, in their wisdom to charge mainland women to use the public services, has just caused these women to defect to the private system. they feel that if they are going to have to pay in hk to have a baby then they may as well do it properly in the private sector! so well thought through...
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Yes, but at least the local women can now use the public facilities that were literally being denied to them before the change happened..........
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oh well maybe i will end up choosing elective c section anyway. i was keen to try for natural but am a little scared after an c section but i have a long way to go (although clearly need to book a hospital now!)
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My doctor is also telling me to book something soon even though I am only in the very early stages -- seems mad.
I am very happy with my doctor but he only delivers on Hong Kong Island. Does anyone know of any good gynaes delivering at St Teresa or Baptist Hospital in Kowloon? I would like to know my options before making a decision but need to decide soon if I am going to switch doctors.
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babybemine - I will ask my wife, she used one previously in TST when she was thinking on St Teresa's at the early stages. Remember going there.....can't remember much else though!
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Its crazy....
I was aiming for natural delivery. However, now at my 36 weeks, my doctor advised me to consider a C-section due to high blood pressure and other undesirable factors...unfortnately, no operation room can be booked, they are fully occupied. Even I had booked a hospital early in advance at my 12 weeks, it doesn't mean anything, doesn't mean that I am confirmed with a bed....sigh...very frustrating...
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cara - i would be happy with a public hospital but if you do have private cover then is seems kind of silly that you can't deliver at one of them and kind of difficult not to know where you will go. It is reassuring to know the public hospitals are available and i hope not to be turned away but i guess they were turning away people and that is why the govt changed the rules for mainlanders having babies (so now the private system is overflowing)
The main thing for me is I would like my doctor to deliver - I had complications first time round and whilst I have every confidence in the public system it would be nice to have the doc with me especially if i was to try for VBAC which I probably will not do if I can't be sure I will be able to go to a hospital if I go into labour - i would be too scared something would go wrong while i'm waiting to get in and I am not sure how much support I would get in public hospital probably lots of support but it is unknown which is the concern.
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Pinkie - agree with you on insurance - when you have paid that amount - you deserve the luxury of private.
Also agree with you Ricardo and Pinkie - I would be very peeved if I was told at 36 weeks that my doctor could not help me at the crucial time because I would need to be in a public hospital. By all accounts - English language can be hit and miss and without the constant of your doctor who knows your history and has been with you from the start, the process is so much scarier.
As for public hospitals - agree that everyone says that the treatment care in an emergency or complications is better than private but I am told that the tours of Queen Mary currently tell potential patients that there is a chance that you will be in a rollaway cot bed in the corner of a delivery ward after the birth so although you might not be turned away, it is still not a non-issue and concern for pregnant woman that the public hospitals are concerned that they will be filled to over-capacity.
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Each to their own I guess
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appreciate your point of view cara - i'm not exactly freaking out but just concerned perhaps if i had had a good experience first time round I would not be. and to be honest delivering in a public hospital on a bed in the corner of the delivery room does not sound that appealing - like i said for me it is more the unknown that is a concern (but i guess every birth is unknown) . Anyway hopefully it all balances itself out in the end but at least i am aware of the issues and i can prepare myself for alternatives which is why i posted to not to create an issue for the sake of wingeing!
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Ha ha ha! Delivering on a bed in the corner of a delivery room!! Dunno about QMH but that is certainly not the case with PWH. Individual delivery suites, nice quiet wards. Superb English. Certainly not the mud and straw huts that some are trying to convince us the public system has now.
As cara mentioned if you do have pregnancy complications it doesn't matter whether "your" doctors is with you or not. You will be sent to a public hospital anyway and specialist teams will take over. That is one thing they do not have in private hospitals.
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cd
17 yrs ago
I had 2 babies at the PWH, one 8 years ago I had a private delivery room, the 2nd 5 years ago I was on a delivery ward, although all the beds had curtains, and luckily I was the only one in there. But too be honest by the time I got there the delivery was so fast I don't think I would have noticed if anyone else was there anyway. Staff were OK both times, some better than others but thats true of any hospital whether public or private. As the other posts say, you will get into a hospital even if its not the one of your choice, and the public hospitals may lack the creature comforts but they don't lack on the medical knowledge. Pregnancy is stressful enough anyway without worrying whether you'll get a bed in the Matilda or not.
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Just confirmed with our maternity unit that maternity is now booked up until April next year and there are only a few places left in May so it is worth booking soon. We are not trying to create worry but want to let people konw early so they have a better chance of getting the hospital they want.
lynne - 2849 0328
Matilda International Hospital
Hong Kong
http://www.matilda.org
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oh dear - i really don't mind which hospital i go to but would like to know i'm not scrambling around at the last minute. are all private hospitals like this?
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My due date is 21st March. At 12 weeks all hospitals were full and I'm currently on a waiting list for Mathilda, Canossa, Sanitoriam and Adventist. Surely those who pay taxes and are resident in HK should get first priority?
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They do get priority, but in public hospitals. When you're in the private sector then you have become part of a business. Businesses do what is best for them and being resident here doesn't really mean a thing.
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Matilda (Lynne),
Would you please clarify what a booking actually means? For those who want to delivery naturally, how does one commit to an actual date? For instance if one goes into labor one week earlier than the actual date booked and arrives at the Matilda only to find the hospital with no available beds, will the Matilda then turn this patient away? If this is the case, then a booking actually means nothing at all.
Keepontrying
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MAWU
17 yrs ago
Wow, this is scary.
I'm still trying to get pregnant and already have to worry about a bed in a hospital?
How does it work when you prefer natural birth to C-section? You obviously can't plan the day you deliver.
Where can I find the press release from the Matilda Hospital regarding the bookings?
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My goodness... I'm due the coming July...the second time. The first time I had a C-session and the pain after the surgery was unforgettable and it is still haunting me!!! I'm getting very depressed when I think about going through the whole torture again next year... I was wondering if anyone had C-session the first time but a natural delivery the second time... Some said my tummy may burst in the middle of the delivery if I insist to get a natural this time... !_!
Also, I am also hesitating whether I should choose public or private hospital as I had quite a terrible experience at St. Teresa in Kowloon last time... and private dr always suggest a C-session...
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Hi Sharona - I agree i think in some ways more likely to have natural delivery in public ospital but there are a lot of docs who support natural delivery after c section. I have a very good obst. who said the risk for me will be very low - it depends on the reaosn for your first c section and if that might occur again. also he said they would never induce me as that increases the risk of ruptering. but he said in 35 years he has never seen it actually happen - of course there is a risk and it needs to be managed. i feel quite confident - look up vbac on the internet and find the info. mind you nothing wrong with opting for a csection if you are scared - i think if you are confident in your doc you will be ok but everyone is different. i had a bad expereince first time as well so i know how it can haunt you!
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These threads are making me worried. I'm due on 14 Feb next year but I'm opting for a natural delivery, baby should be due a week earlier just like my first baby. My gynae has booked me into Canossa and Adventist Hospitals but I was told to pay a 20k deposit to either hospital soon so that I can be 'guaranteed' a bed during my delivery. If the hospitals are really that busy, how can they be so sure that they can 'reserve' a bed for me even though I've paid a deposit ? This is made worse as I don't know the exact date that I'm going to deliver. Anyone has similar experience ?
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I was 6 weeks pregnant when my ob booked me into Matilda. Last week I received an sms saying I am on the official waiting list which needless to say threw me into a nervous panic. I am now 8 weeks gone and given I live in Kowloon, I was recommended to also book into the Union Hospital in case I have a fast labour and can't make it to Matilda. I have since decided as we have the private cover, I am going to just "make the dash" to Matilda when the time comes. I spoke to the nurse at my doctors suites voicing my concern over the waiting list and was told I am 2nd on the list so my chances of getting in to Matilda are excellent, but cannot confirm this until May and I'm due at the end of June!! The only other hospital my ob delivers at is Adventist and they are not taking any more bookings until after December. It is nervewracking playing this waiting game and for the first time ever, I am considering asking my ob about a c-section which I am generally opposed to (other than for medical reasons obviously). I had my first naturally and whilst it was not a pleasant experience at all and very very painful, the recovery is just so much quicker and vaginal delivery is also better for the baby as well. I am in a real quandry with what to do. It also saddens me that no matter how happy we are to be having another baby, always at the back of my mind there is the worry about whether I can get into the hospital. Don't we have enough to worry about!
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