Maternity Facilities - Westrand/Randbug

Being someone who obsessively plans everything, I started researching hospital maternity facilities even before we were TTC (yes, I know, some mild OCD and psychosis happening there). What I found was that the websites don’t give you much information and I couldn’t find many forums giving feedback on hospitals in the Westrand/Randburg areas (I may have given up too early in searching for this).

So, I decided, I think I’ll write to all the hospitals in the above-mentioned areas and get some feedback on what they have and don’t have instead of pitching up for tours and not being pregnant (weirdo alert!). I’m hoping this will also get feedback from former patients who were at these hospitals and can give some feedback on what their experiences were at these hospitals.

Hospitals prefer you to go there and do the tour, which makes no sense to me. I’d rather know upfront what they have and then choose which tours I’d want to go on based on that, but that could be just me. So the information below is what’s on the website and includes any feedback I had from the hospital.

I included the following hospitals in my fact-finding mission with some interesting information about Netcare Park Lane Hospital and the Genesis Clinic:
• Life Flora Clinic, Little Falls Rd, Roodepoort
• Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital, Amplifier Road, Radiokop Ext 13, Roodepoort
• Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital, 9 Burger Street, Krugersdorp
• Netcare Olivedale Hospital, Cnr President Fouche and Windsor Way, Randburg
• Netcare Park Lane Hospital, Corner Junction Ave and Parklane Parktown
• Genesis Clinic, 5 Northwold Drive, Saxonwold

 
LIFE FLORA CLINIC
Website info:
Our services to parents commence long before the birth of your baby – we offer a very special programme commencing with an orientation to the Unit. The orientation is open to both mums and dads and focuses on the following areas.
• An introduction to both administrative and nursing personnel
• Identification and explanation of specific facilities
• Information for preparation of patients to the hospital
• Explanation of pre-admission and discharge processes
• Services provided by external suppliers including birth registration, photography
• Information on eye testing procedures in Neonatal ICU for premature infants as well as hearing tests
This unit is staffed by highly skilled individuals who will provide you with a quality, loving service, in a fully secured area, with access control.
Visiting hours:
15:00 - 16:00 (Grandparents & Siblings only)
19:00 - 20:00 (Grandparents & Siblings only)

Hospital feedback:
No response to date.

My own 2 cents:
I have heard 2 stories about them though which were not good, which of course, I can neither deny nor confirm and it is only from 2 patients out of the many that do go there. Hopefully someone can give some feedback here also.

Facilities close by:
Checkers Hyper, KFC, Spur close by. MacDonalds, Hillfox Shopping Centre (with Food Lovers Market), Clearwater Mall not too far away.
I read on a forum somewhere (sorry I couldn’t find it anywhere) that parking was always packed and it was difficult to find parking. I’m not sure when that was written so maybe the parking has been upgraded/increased since then.

LIFE WILGEHEUWEL HOSPITAL
Website info:
• 2 Anti Natal Beds
• 3 Labour Delivery Rooms
• Two 3-Bed Units
• 3 Semi-Private Rooms
• 3 Private Rooms
• Private Rooms Have En-Suite Bathrooms
• A Nursery
• Milk Kitchen
• Photo-Therapy Unit
• Enclosed garden
All rooms and labour units have television facilities.

Hospital feedback:
There are some private and four bedded rooms. A maternity tour of the unit is held on Sundays, you are under no obligation to commit to the hospital. You can contact Izelle on 011 796 5025 for an appointment.

Facilities close by:
Shopping centres close by on John Voster with Woolworths, Pick ‘n Pay, Checkers and restaurants and fast food.

NETCARE KRUGERSDORP HOSPITAL
Website info:
Stork's Nest, maternity passport, 4D ultra sound, ante and post natal care. Pelvic Dysfunction.

Hospital feedback:
30 post natal sharing beds, no semi-private beds and 7 private units. Private rooms are en-suite and have rooming in facilities. Private rooms are subject to availability and additional fee of R950 per private room per night and R1100 per executive suite per night. Spouses are allowed from 05:00am – 22:00pm. Family and friends visiting hours 10:00am-11:00am, 15:00pm-16:00pm and 19:00pm-20:00pm. The Hospital has a fully equipped Neo natal ICU for new born/premature babies. You can book in advance from 28 weeks at the Hospital reception for your delivery

Facilities close by:
No idea 
I’m not familiar with Krugersdorp so I have never been to this hospital or even driven past it actually, so I’m not sure what is nearby or if it’s in the middle of a rain forest or something? Hopefully someone can give some feedback.

NETCARE OLIVEDALE HOSPITAL
Website info:
Maternity with rooming in facilities, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and 4D scans

Hospital feedback:
Currently there are 19 beds available. 2 private rooms with their own ensuite bathrooms, 2 semi-private wards and 2 general 4 bedded wards. They will be renovating the unit in the near future to only have private and semi-private rooms with ensuite bathrooms
The unit encourages the mothers to room in with their babies from day 1, however we do have a small nursery for the babies to be placed in should the mom need to leave the ward or go to the bathroom
The private rooms work on a first come, first served basis, as there are only 2 available. if you have requested a private ward and they are full, they will then place you in a semi-private room and not have anyone else in the room – this is dependent if the ward is full or not
They do not offer for the husbands to stay overnight at this stage but husbands are welcome to spend the whole day from 06:00 – 21:00 with the mom. For grandparents we have dedicated visiting hours from 11 – 12 and for other visitors the hours are 3-4 and 6-8pm. We only allow 2 visitors per bed at time and no children under the age of 12 unless they are the baby’s siblings.
They also have an 8 bedded NeoNatal ICU which is directly opposite the Maternity unit.

Facilities close by:
Shopping centre across the road and one a little farther away with Woolworths, Spar and Northgate mall not too far away.

Having said all that, my friend recently had a baby at NETCARE PARK LANE HOSPITAL

Website Info:
At Netcare Park Lane Hospital we aim to provide the highest standards of patient care. Our hospital has a special focus on Gynaecology, Maternity, Paediatric and Neo-Natal care. We are one of the few hospitals which has been awarded Baby Friendly status by the Department of Health. With over 40 resident Obstetricians and Gynaecologists based at the hospital, you can be assured that you are being treated by some of the leading specialists in their fields. In addition to our focus on mother and baby care, we offer General Surgical services.
New Maternity Luxury Ward:
Netcare Park Lane Hospital has recently upgraded one of it’s maternity wards. We are now able to offer suites, deluxe rooms and private rooms. Your partner may room-in with you for the duration of your hospital stay. These rooms are available at an additional charge and are subject to availability.

My own feedback:
My friend had the private room booked. The room was lovely, en-suite bathroom and rooming-in facilities for her hubby (even though her mom ended up using it). I would suggest that you need to bring your own duvet though, she only had a sheet but I’m sure you can ask for something to keep you warm but your own duvet might be nice if you’re staying for a few days?
Visiting hours in the private rooms are not restricted at all and the number of visitors is also not restricted, which may or may not be a good thing depending on how you feel after you’ve just pushed a baby out of your body  I always think that maybe visiting hours are good then you can prepare yourself before the visiting hours otherwise you always have to look presentable, or is that just my paranoia talking? I am that person that worries about driving to work without putting my shoes on and getting into a fender bender or getting pulled over by the cops and have to get out of my car wearing socks and/or flip flops. The horror.
Apparently the food was not that great, but I never tasted any of it so I cannot deny or confirm this. We drove around for almost 2 hours looking for KFC for the new mommy and couldn’t find one anywhere in the vicinity except in the CBD where there was no parking. So it is something to keep in mind – find out what food places are close by in case you don’t like the food.
Nursing staff were friendly and the doctor that we did see when we visited seemed friendly enough in the few minutes we met her.
All in all, the facilities are great, but it’s quite a distance to drive (from the Westrand anyway), but what isn’t far in Johannesburg. Not many shopping facilities in the immediate vicinity unless you go to Killarney Mall or Melrose Arch.

THE GENESIS CLINIC (www.genesisclinic.co.za) in Saxonworld also looks amazing, but I’ve never been there or seen it but seems to be quite pricey if your medical aid isn’t affiliated with it, but check it out. It looks like incredibly luxurious…but also far (from the Westrand area) and maybe over budget and I’m not sure about any of the facilities nearby but I doubt you’ll need much if you stay there 

And that’s all I have to say about that.

I hope my ‘research’ has helped some of you out and has given a platform for other people who have been there to give feedback. What would be even better would be if you could give feedback on the OBGYN you had/have also. The doctors you have also contribute to the selection of the hospital but that’s a story for another day 