Frequently asked questions to help you get ready for your appointment in our women’s outpatients.
How will I receive my appointment?
Once you have your outpatient appointment booked with us you will receive an appointment letter letting you know when your appointment is and where you need to go. It will also tell you which consultant you will see or which specialist clinic you will be attending. You may see the consultant or a member of their team, including specialist nurses and trainee doctors.
We may offer you the opportunity to receive your appointments and letters electronically via the NHS App. We will be able to help you organise this if you would find this more convenient than our current paper system. Just ask our reception team who will be happy to help.
What do I do when I arrive for my appointment?
Our outpatient departments are divided into different clinic waiting areas. When you arrive for your appointment, you should go to the main reception desk to let them know you have arrived. They will point you in the right direction.
You will also have the opportunity to use one of our self check in kiosks as a convenient alternative to waiting for one of our reception team. You can do this by entering your details and checking in, or by scanning your appointment letter if this includes a barcode. We hope this makes your check in process as quick and efficient as possible.
What should I bring to my appointment to get the most from it?
When you come for your appointment please bring:
- your appointment letter
- list of medications
- anything specific will be asked for in your letter, such as a urine sample
It can also be helpful to think about what questions you might want to ask our teams in before your appointment and make some notes. We understand that appointments can be stressful and often having pre-prepared some things that you want to discuss will ensure you get the answers you are looking for.
Will I get a reminder about my appointment?
You will be contacted one week before your appointment either by our automated appointment confirmation system or by a text message to your mobile phone to remind you about your appointment.
This will ask you to confirm your appointment or give you the option to cancel and re-book. If you need to cancel your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible by calling our central booking office on 01642 383838. Occasionally we may need to re-arrange your appointment date or time and we will try to give you as much notice as possible.
We make every contact count
We understand that lots of different factors have an impact on our health and wellbeing – the physical environment in which we live, our homes, our jobs, our finances, our social networks, genetics, education and our behaviour (smoking, activity levels, our diet). It is important that we understand if there is anything else that we can do to support you to improve your health and wellbeing.
We encourage our staff to ‘make every contact count’ with you. That might mean they ask you about your lifestyle – how much you move each day, if you smoke or even how well you are sleeping. We encourage you to embrace those conversations and if we are here to help if you would like some further support to explore how you could start to make changes that could improve your lifestyle.
For more information about making every contact count, please visit our living well with us page.
I’ve been asked to go to an antenatal clinic
Our antenatal clinics provide a range of obstetric consultant supported care for the assessment and management of women with ‘high risk’ pregnancies during the antenatal period.
The clinics are provided by consultants, specialist midwives and doctors-in-training. Ancillary staff co-ordinate the clinics.
You may be referred to the antenatal clinics by:
- Community midwives
- General practitioners
- Consultants
- Hospital-based midwives
Following a dating scan (first scan) an appointment will be arranged for you with a consultant.
Clinics run at the University Hospital of Hartlepool on Tuesday mornings, Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings. At the University Hospital of North Tees they run on Monday mornings and afternoons, Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings.
What are specialist clinics?
Multiple pregnancies
This clinic is run by a consultant obstetrician and a midwife with a special interest in multiple pregnancies.
Combined medical clinics
You may be referred to these clinics if you have a medical condition which could impact on the pregnancy. This includes diabetes, other endocrine disorders, heart conditions and respiratory diseases.
These clinics are run by:
- Consultant obstetrician
- Medical consultant
- Specialist diabetic nurse
- Specialist midwife
- Sometimes doctors-in-training
Preterm prevention clinics
These clinics are led by a consultant obstetrician and midwife with a special interest.
What is the maternity day assessment unit?
We have two maternity day assessment units, one on each hospital site. We provide a specialist and high quality service to antenatal women and follow up care to postnatal women who are experiencing ongoing problems.
Our staff are committed to providing you and your baby with the best care.
Why might I need to go to the day unit?
We will see you if you are over 14 weeks pregnant, unless you are suffering with significant nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Exceptions to this will be at the discretion of the unit staff.
You may be referred by:
- Your midwife
- Your GP
- Yourself
If you have had a problem in a previous pregnancy or your midwife feels you should have added specialist care during your pregnancy, you will be referred early in your pregnancy to see a consultant. We may arrange for you to attend a day unit as part of your care, for example to have your blood pressure or the growth of your baby closely monitored.
If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch using the contact details on this page. It may be that the midwife can offer you enough assistance on the phone or it is possible that she will recommend that you come to one of the units for assessment.
What tests could I have?
There are a number of tests that you could have in women’s outpatients.
Other tests include:
- Checking your blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate
- Checking your urine
- Feeling your tummy to make sure your baby is growing well
- Listening to your baby’s heart rate
- Blood tests
- A presentation scan to check which way the baby is coming, head first or bottom first
- Other tests that check your liver and kidneys are working well
- X-rays or other scans for yourself rather than your baby
If your community midwife has felt your tummy and thinks the baby is small, she will arrange for a scan at the hospital. You will be asked to come to the day unit after the scan and the midwives will explain the results to you.
Cardiotocograph
If you have noticed that your baby is not moving as much, we will monitor your baby’s heart rate. This test takes around 20 minutes using a machine called a cardiotocograph (CTG).
We will ask you to press a button when your baby moves so we can see how often he or she is moving. This does not hurt you or the baby and is a quick and simple test to do.
At the end of the test the midwife will explain the results to you.