Having a baby: “5 Stars to Westmead Private Hospital” – Part 1

I had a carpet picnic with my new friend ‘Jacqui Lambie’ – Westmead Private Hospital rocked!

It’s 3:02PM and I am back at home sitting at my PC. About 3 metres to my left is my wife and new daughter both getting some well-deserved rest on the couch.

I think they totally deserve it. I didn’t even give birth and it’s been an arduous experience for me and I am the first to declare that I will never understand what it’s like having a baby.

What I do understand though is how amazing Westmead Private Hospital was. We were there for a good 4 days and although I didn’t sleep over there; from my viewpoint it was like I was living there.

The first day is very ‘where am I’ and by day two or three – you get into the swing of things. You start getting to know people, you build your own routine and people start taking a liking to you as they get to trust you / like you.

This included a range of adventures from learning about what nurses do on a daily basis, getting lost and wandering into other wards and seeing the going on’s and even watching whole massive families (talking 15+) celebrating Christmas in the atrium (I was even given some amazing Tiramisu, another story for another time).

For what is a challenging experience for everyone, I really got a feel of it and on day 3; at times it felt like home and I even started to forget my old life. I think for me to get that engaged into an environment is testament to how well it’s run.

I am saying that a ‘hospital’ felt like home. Let that sink in for a minute.

Westmead Private Hospital were just amazing and I loved them from multiple viewpoints. Here are the 5 x reasons I why I think they deserve 5 stars:

– Staff: The staff are very good, kind and patient. Even at the end, the ladies on front admin helped us figure out for the first time a crazy baby seat (they are really hard you know!).

– Food: The food quality at Westmead Private is counter stereotype and you can’t fault it. Fresh bread, well cooked food, salads provided and the dessert portions are generous.

– Noise control: Hospitals are noisy places and you can manage the noise really well. If you shut the door on your room, you won’t hear a thing.

– Pleasant atrium: This was actually quite well done in Westmead Private in that the hospital is almost a square / rectangle with cover over the middle. You get lots of natural light, but it’s a good 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (even with it getting up to 38 degrees Celsius outside). For my US friends, it was quite pleasant at a nice 65 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

– Parking: As a dad I was going in and out all the time. Parking was never an issue – even in the peak before Christmas hit. You can also get a parking pass to give you unlimited access in and out.

Overall it was a great experience and Westmead Private is part of the Ramsay Health Group. They own lots of private hospitals across town and that is no accident.

They are really good and with quality like that; you’d expect it to grow into a massive business.

So if you are expecting and in this part of town, I would highly recommend Westmead Private. I would also bet too that any part of the Ramsay Health Group would hold up to similar standards (if you are say in another part of Sydney).

Love your work, thank you Westmead Private. Touch wood we shall be back in 6 to 12 months (lol).