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In-patient experience for baby in public system - how much time do you get to visit?

  1. #9
    gzdad is offline Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by nicolejoy View Post
    Cara told me about this thread and I wanted to come and post. My daughter was in NICU at QMH for 4 months. Since then, she has spent a day in PICU after a surgery.

    In both NICU/Special care (same ward), the last I knew, visiting hours are 3-8pm. It is the same for PICU as far as I know. Visitors are restricted to parents only. Breastfeeding mothers are allowed at any time, but only for breastfeeding - and only if it does not interfere with doctors rounds etc...

    NICU is hard going - particularly if it is for long term. For a few weeks, it is manageable. It even has some benefits - by being forced to be home, I found that I rested more and recovered faster than if I was looking after a newborn 24 hrs a day myself. QMH is probably the best hospital in HK for those kinds of situations - the NICU there has fantastic results. They are possibly overly cautious in some cases, but if it is a common situation, they are more used to dealing with it.

    My opinion: IF you have the option, it is easier to stay in a private hospital. If there ARE complications, they will transfer your baby to the public hospital. You will be more comfortable there and probably less stressed. IF you want to take the "safer" road medically, QMH is the place to be but be prepared that it will not be emotionally easy for you...

    If you want to chat more, please send me a private message.

    All the best!!
    Nicole, and others: thanks so much for the replies and help. It's lovely to feel like we're in this foreign city dealing with a health system, and being helped by the kindness of strangers. Just reading your helpful responses makes us feel less alone!

    All three of the health professionals we deal with (pd, nurse, midwife) all recommend a change to qm, so we're going to move today. It's good to know what to expect: good care, but not much parent support. The breast feeding access for the mother is really good news if true. That was our main concern. I guess we'll just set up camp in the cafeteria for two weeks!

    I'll update you all on our experience!

    D.
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  2. #10
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
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    please do! all the best to your whole family, but most especially to your little one!


  3. #11
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    nicolejoy is offline Registered User
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    All the best - they are great medically. It will be over before you know it :) Please update us!

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  4. #12
    gzdad is offline Registered User
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    So, the facts:

    - You can breast feed your child from 10am to 8pm. Form 10am to 3pm you have to wait outside and you get called in when your child is hungry. From 3pm to 8pm is visiting hours, and you can sit with your child. Your husband can join you.
    - They will feed your child EMB over night provided it is provided FROZEN in quantities large enough for a full feed. So if your child is taking 150ml a feed you have to provide 3 x 150ml full frozen bottles.
    - While you breast feed they bring a funny curtain on wheels around to protect you from prying eyes. Which is a bit funny. They're very strict on this.

    Other observations:
    - The doctors and nurses at QM work as a team in the way they do not at Matilda. It means you get a more consistent message, and I had a lot more trust in the continuity of care.
    - The prices for incidental things at QM are a lot less than Matilda, so the non-insurance stuff can work out at about half the price it seemed.
    - The food from the canteen is OK - the BBQ stuff is the best.
    - The Delice'd France in the main block has good WiFi and isn't too expensive
    - The seats outside the ward are rubbish and it gets very cold
    - The doctors at QM thought they'd rather over-egged it at Matilda, and substantially reduced the dosage of antibiotics and their strength.

    In general, I'm incredibly glad we made the switch. I like the bossy doctors and nurses at QM - they are the professionals. I prefer it to the slightly inconsistent supplicancy at matilda. And the detail they take over the care - the quality of notes and monitoring etc. - is just miles better. We weren't paricularly impressed with the nurses at the Matilda PD ward - specially the night ones. Though, as just said, we're not experts so it may have just been sleep deprived grump that made us think that.

    Anyone got any questions I can help answer?

    Thanks again for your help earlier!


  5. #13
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
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    i'm very sorry that you don't get more visiting hours. it is good to know that different public hospitals have different rules.

    i hope your little one is doing better! that is the most important info you forgot! ;-)


  6. #14
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    Glad you are having a good experience there - sounds similar to my experience a few yrs ago! My understanding re the breastmilk is - if you only can provide 100mL of breastmilk for a 150mL feed, for example, they will feed the baby the breastmilk first, and then top up with formula, is that still the case? I know the visiting hrs are probably the worst part, but I hope it's "forcing" you to rest a bit more so you're not so sleep deprived...

    All the best!


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