"Extended waiting periods"

I would like to begin by saying that we have received excellent care during our time on the ward. The midwives have been incredible, and the student nurses we encountered were also very kind, attentive and professional. I really appreciate how hard the staff are working, and it is clear that they are doing their very best for the patients in their care.

However, I would like to raise a concern regarding the length of time patients are having to wait to be seen by a doctor. This was my first admission to the ward during this pregnancy, and I was quite concerned by the long periods of waiting that I witnessed. If your baby is unwell or there is a concern about your pregnancy, it is understandably very worrying to potentially wait several hours before being assessed.

I appreciate that this may have been an exception, particularly as there have been changes to the medical team and I understand that the doctor was in emergency theatre. However, during my previous pregnancy almost three years ago, I also experienced long periods of waiting in the corridor to be seen. Unfortunately, this made me feel that the situation has not significantly improved.

It appears that having only around 3–4 beds, with 1–2 staff members covering the area for the whole of the Northern Trust, may simply not be sufficient to meet the demand across Northern County Antrim, particularly since the Causeway Hospital maternity services have closed a number of years ago. This is understandably concerning from a patient-safety perspective.

There were a number of women who had been waiting to be seen by a doctor since around 1pm and were still waiting at approximately 9:30pm. As a patient, this raises the question of whether someone with a serious or time-critical problem would be seen quickly enough if something unexpected were to happen.

I want to stress that this feedback is not a criticism of the midwives or nursing staff. Quite the opposite — they were incredible and appeared to be doing everything they could within the resources available to them. My concern is whether the current staffing levels and capacity are sufficient to provide timely medical assessment when demand is high.

I believe that this may need to be escalated to the appropriate senior levels so that the pressures on the ward can be properly reviewed and, where necessary, addressed. Ensuring that there is a safe working environment for staff and a safe, responsive service for pregnant women and their babies is incredibly important.

I am providing this feedback constructively, because I genuinely want to see the service improve and to help ensure that unexpected or serious situations are not allowed to become emergencies simply because a patient has had to wait several hours to be assessed.

Overall, I am extremely grateful for the care we received from the midwives and nursing staff. They were compassionate, reassuring and worked incredibly hard. I hope this feedback can be used positively to look at the wider pressures on the service and help ensure that both patients and staff are adequately supported.