nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

before i start i would like to apologise as i am not a Brit expat - I am an Indian who moved to Barbados a couple about two and a half months ago

but i wanted to share my experience on this forum hoping it will benefit you guys

we moved to this wonderful island and the people were really awesome and we managed to settle down within no time

my wife was pregnant with her second child -first one is 3 yrs - we found a great ob-gyn, dr john mcconney and he referred us to a wonderful Paediatrician, dr anne st john - we were really happy with them

anyway my wife had a complication and we had to have an elective c-sec. the doctor recommended QEH due to availability of emergency facilities.

so this thursday we checked into the hospital - private room ward B (room no 2 on thursday and friday) and room no 1 today (i.e. saturday)

the place is really bare bones (no air conditioning!!) - but the nursing staff we had on thursday and friday were just awesome - the sister in charge did everything possible to keep my wife comfortable

yesterday was the big day so they had my wife fasting from midnight (no water!!)..... we were told that she is scheduled for 100 PM

100 PM passes by...... its about 300 PM and we are told that there is only one OT available - the second OT does not have adequate staff - OMG - i mean my pregnant wife is fasting from midnight in this hot place and we dont know when and if they can perform the c sec

the nursing staff on duty and dr mcconney were great, they organised drips to keep my wife hydrated and the nusing staff was there comforting my wife

but can you imagine our state? we dont know if the OT will be made available and where is the guarantee that we wont have the same experience on Saturday? anyway finally at 630 my wife is reeled in.... at 744 PM the boy is born - the staff in the OT were excellent

we put the incident behind us..... but no there's more to come - at night we are told that our baby is breathing abnormally - he is moved into the Natal ICU - luckily he's not critical but its still worry for us

saturday around 1130 we are told that we can see the baby so my wife is wheeled down - she tries to feed him but he has an infection and throws out the feed - at 1200 noon, we are asked to return to the ward since the place is to be mopped.....

before i continue, i would like to point out - ward is on the second floor and NICU is on the first floor - there is an elevator next to the ward but it does not function, the next closest elevator also does not function - the closest functioning elevator is at the other end - my wife has been asked not to walk and was being pushed in a wheelchair

now back to our story - so at noon i request the sister to arrange for the orderly to bring a wheelchair - 1220 - noone comes - i remind the sister.... 1230 - another reminder - 1245 i go back up to remind her

i am told that she (the sister who was in charge of the ward on saturday) is not responsible - she was so arrogant and indifferent i started losing my cool - i ask for her name - she refuses to tell me - i am really upset now and i told her that she didnt seem to care for patients unlike the sister yesterday - this holier than thou lady started "lord hv mercy" - lord needs to have mercy on us who are under her care - finally at 100 PM the wheelchair is arranged - the head nurse comes up and she calls security since according to her i should not be screaming - well i ask her that she can be apathetic towards patients and i need to just roll over - she didnt like my sarcasm

the security bit was really bad cause one of the arrogant pr!cks was threatening me to leave the hospital - i was really not too fussed and i held my ground until my wife came by -and for those of you out there - well i am hardly a security threat - i am 5"6 and weigh 120 lbs!

its really terrible that the hospital is in the state it is in - instead of treating patients with respect, you are at the mercy of nursing staff- u better pray you get a good staff

my advice - stay away from QEH - u dont want to leave your health your child's health on luck

QEH HAS LEFT ME FUMING - UNFORTUNATELY MY BABY HAS TO BE THERE FOR ANOTHER 4 DAYS - I REALLY AM DREADING IT :frown:

i am also seriously reconsidering my stay here - i came for a 3 year stint but dont know if i will survive - i may come from a "poor" 3rd world country but my experience with my first child (also a c sec) was a pleasure

barbados maybe beautiful but the apathy of some of the ppl here make it unlivable (having a child is a serious thing but even small items like buying a car depends on who you are dealing with)

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

our nightmare continues, the elevators in the hospital are no longer functioning! my wife cannot access our child - this is so very frustrating

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

I can understand your fustration the QEH is the worst in the world the elevators never function and when they do people become stuck in them.My wife is a nurse in europe she got into an accident in barbados taken to QEH she spent 2 days with out anything to eat because the reason is she MAY:frown: have to get an operation when the nurse put drips on her, blood flew allover the place,another nurse told her a lady died on that bed yesterday,one nurse give morphine and administer it at a speed faster than lightening she had to stop the nurse.. Unlucky again she was six months pregnant with twins and we was in Barbados the water broke they said there is nothing they can do the baby can survive 2 weeks,I decide to get her airlifted since she was just there lying on the bed at the QEH with infections with no help, we was lucky to get an emergency plane to go to another island not from the QEH but from our european insurance company i had to sort this out my self,when we got to that destination in 2 hours both babies was already dead she had life threatening infection.

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

Neal, that's really heartbreaking, i cannot imagine what you and your wife would have had to go through.

given your experience i can only say that we are lucky and have no reason to complain, at least so far we have just been inconvenienced and not harmed in any way which going by your post seems to be a very real possibility

thanks Neal

p.s. we still have not decided on a name for a boy (we had a lot of names for a girl), one of the names on top of the list is Neal or Neel :)

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

Neal will be correct , the government seems to be thinking more about four seasons resort, than the well being of its citizens.

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

Horrific stories - I cannot begin to imagine how you and your wife have coped Neal, and Manuc, I hope these days will soon be behind you and your son will be with you at home.

I would like to redress the balance slightly by saying I had my youngest in Barbados 2 years ago (in one weeks time :)) at Bayview and could not have been happier with the experience... Far better than my previous experience in the UK at the hands of the NHS.

Keep us posted with your progress Manuc, try to work within the boundaries you have and just get through it, that is all I can suggest for now.

That is not how it should be, clearly, but focus on the importance of getting your son home safely. Good luck to you and your family!

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

2 things I need to add (wasn't going to but am).

1. I have shown this thread to someone in authority (newly so).. and hopefully things will get better (likely not before you go home with your newborn, but in the not so distant future). It is a hard thing in Barbados, when, on one hand, "everyone was just sooo nice" and on the other you get treated like dirt (elevators don't know nationality but people do). Life everywhere is not easy, but it surely hospitals should be a place for caring, supportive people helping those in need, regardless of the situation.

2. I was fortunate enough to have a doctor who is attached to Bayview Hospital when all 3 of my children were born. Yes we paid the fee, even though I could have bone for free (or cheap to QEH). I was also lucky enough to have 3 fairly uneventful (well almost) deliveries and 3 healthy children. I do have friends, Bajans, who also had children there and had to rush them to QEH due to lack of medical facilities for newborn care at Bayview. I'm only saying that with complications, QEH was likely better able to handle your situation. (I'm not saying it's good that the elevators were not working, or the staff were really the pits, but it is/was better than you were already at QEH.)

I could have gone back to the USA to have my children born there, but chose not to and am thankful. I was able to stay for the needed rest after giving birth all three times and had I been in the US, I would have been rushed in and out likely within a day (like my sister was with her children). I did have caring nurses (and to this day thank God for them).

I can also say I've known other women to give birth at QEH with no issues whatsoever and some with even worse issues, who have had their newborns flown out within a matter of days for medical treatment that could not have taken place here.

it is an unfortunate incident that you have been through and one I would not with on anyone.

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

Gosh some awful stories there, I feel for both of you, and my deepest sympathies Neal.

I too had one baby in QEH very recently, and apart from one awful nurse (who had me in tears) the rest of the nursing staff were lovely. However, I can understand your frustrations. Manuc try to put the negative stuff to one side now and focus on the health of your baby and be positive for your wife. My son was in NICU for a few days and the staff and facilities couldn't have been better. You will get through it.

I've had really horrible experiences in QEH with my grandmother and my mother, but it is the only place with an ICU and there are some good doctors and nurses, but you have to be insistent and persistent to get good care.

Good luck

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

Hi Sunniebgi

my baby returned yesterday :)

my experience was so mixed - we had some really really great staff - Maureen comes to mind immediately - she was like a guardian angel but then we also had this lady who was in charge of ward b1 during the day on saturday who was dreadful

what i also want to highlight is how badly the hospital is managed - when i came in on friday i located 4 elevators of which only 1 was working - why are the authorities waiting until all breakdown to repair them? when there are sick ppl arent elevators required? for a 600 bed hospital and the only one catering to emergency cases how can only one OT be functioning?

we may want to say, life on the island is tough but that seems to be created more by the callous attitude of the hostpital authorities rather than anything else

we considered Bayview but our doctor recommended QEH on account of the ability to handle emergencies so i guess that's the price we pay

i honestly hope that authorities help improve QEH and i dont mean painting the place or putting TVs but ensuring basic amenities and lets not take shelter under the "life is tough"; it is a matter of having the right administrator and care for the hospital; the infrastructure is probably there - the care is not

Re: nightmare at Queen Elizabeth - had a baby in barbados
 

thanks, we did get through it - baby's home and keeping us awake - never thought not sleeping could make one so happy :lol:

another amusing experience - my wife was walking to the neonatal icu from the second floor to the first floor a couple of days after the C-sec since wheelchairs could not be used (no elevator) - but when she was being discharged (luckily elevators were working); she was not allowed to walk down, had to be wheelchaired - hospital protocol!!

most of the staff is lovely - one nurse the lady who headed ward b1 on saturday and sunday during the day was a nightmare and was so callous - ditto for the head of the nursing staff - head sister who instead of listening to our complaint justifies the fact that it takes 70 minutes to get an orderly and the fact that the ward b1 nurse refused to listen - guess if the head of the nursing staff is such a shrew, it is amazing that most others are nice and have not followed their leader!