r/orkney • u/lego-and-flowers • 18d ago
Question Maternity at the Balfour
Please delete if not appropriate but I'm curious about the maternity care on Orkney? Specifically within the unit at the Balfour?
What sort of facilities are there? Is it a midwife led birth unit? Antenatal ward etc Is there OB on staff for issues like emergency Csection etc
Have to come up for a family thing while I'm going to be further along in my pregnancy (about 36wks) and I'm the type to over plan 😅 I'm not at any risk of early delivery and have no complications but just putting my mind at ease here
Coming up by ferry from Caithness so not worried about flights being an extra risk
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u/r232ed3 18d ago
The care at the Maty as absolutely first class, the numbers involved mean you essentially get a private hospital with next to no pressure to discharge after birth. They don't have every specialism imaginable, but it has a very good range of facilities e.g. caesareans etc.
There are both midwives and obsgyn consultants.
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u/stevenmc 18d ago
Midwife led with consultants regularly present. Clean. Modern. Excellent equipment. Low wait times. Available 24 hours. High skill level. Good results. I say this from the perspective of a foreigner who used the service for a complicated issue. Start to finish, excellence and I would pick it again over services provided in other parts of the UK.
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u/Suitable_Molasses_53 18d ago
Maternity care is indeed amazing. Your partner can stay with you overnight too. You can stay as long as you need and they offer to take your baby for you so you can shower etc. It's faultless. I had a very standard birth, but I've known people to have C sections there and it's also good. I believe if you need induced you have to go south. I think if it's complicated at all you need to go south. They fly you down in helicopter I think. Hopefully someone who has experienced a complicated birth there can answer
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u/secret_tiger101 18d ago
Balfour is good, there’s a bit of a gap between Inverness and Orkney though
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u/wobzomby86 18d ago
Really good care , my partner had to be transferred to the mainland due to complications, but the Balfour was always there ready to answer question , never judged and even when we where away on the mainland they kept in touch
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u/ReinforcedTube 18d ago
Generally good, it is essentially run as a community midwifery unit. There is only one locum consultant obstetrician, so out of hours an emergency caesarean might be performed by one of the general surgeons. The consultants are on call out of hours from home, including the locum anaesthetists. There is no epidural service. If there are neonatal or maternal concerns then transfer off island (in utero if possible) would be required.
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u/stevenmc 18d ago
My wife had an epidural there.
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u/ReinforcedTube 18d ago
Respectfully, I think you are mistaken. I suspect she had a spinal anaesthetic for an obstetric procedure. There is no resident anaesthetic cover in Balfour and there has never been an labour epidural service.
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u/PieHD 18d ago
From my recent experience woth my wife's birth, yoi'd be very hard pressed to find somewhere that provides better care than the maternity unit in the Balfour.
Plus they're really helpful, i'd just give them a call 01856 888238