Maternity Update

Maternity bookings with Matilda International Hospital (MIH) are managed in ways that enable us to maintain the highest level of safety and care for mothers who choose to deliver with us.

For us as hospital operators, there is a delicate balance between being able to offer the safest standard of care, and disappointing as few mothers as possible.  Nonetheless, we give first priority to patient safety.  This means that we need to set and observe a limit to the number of bookings we can safely accommodate based on availability of facilities for delivery, any urgent medical care, as well as postnatal care.  With this, there will be occasions when we have to stop taking more bookings.

Managing maternity bookings, therefore, encompasses wide considerations.  Here, we would like to offer a glimpse of some of the key elements in the booking process to strengthen understanding of the complexities, and to prevent misconceptions.

For one, the number of bookings we accept per month has been finely tuned, leading to significant improvements that have prevented the need to close the unit due to over demand of bed spaces. The system is reviewed and monitored regularly to maximize the efficiency and safety of the unit, and we aim to maintain the same number of deliveries this year as 2011’s.

Meanwhile, booking quotas are allocated to recognized obstetricians, and they are aware of the number of bookings we can accept from them each month. The crux of the matter is that there are a finite number of places we can offer and once an obstetrician has reached their quota there are no additional places.
Obstetricians make the decision on who they book within their allocated quota. Should the obstetrician over book their quota, these ladies will receive a notification that the booking has not been accepted.  When this happens, these ladies should work with their obstetrician to make arrangements for an alternative hospital booking as soon as possible. We would like to dispel misconceptions by stating clearly that MIH does not have a waiting list.

Whilst on the subject of bookings, please note that, effective 1 March 2012, we have adjusted the time maternity clients have to pay their deposits to reserve their bookings to two weeks (14 days) upon receipt of the Provisional Acceptance Letter from us.  This will expedite the allocation of the finite number of bookings we can accept. As with our usual practice, if the deposit is not received within the prescribed period, the provisional booking will automatically be cancelled.

The rationale behind the abovementioned measures is not unique to MIH.  The excessive demand on hospital resources is a Hong Kong wide issue. There are many factors that limit the number of deliveries which we can safely perform, and it is not purely a case of getting more midwives. A careful balance of support staff and specialist services are needed, such as that for operating theatres for scheduled and emergency caesarian sections, the special care baby unit and intensive care support, as well as a wide range of healthcare professionals.

That having been said, it is openly acknowledged there is a worldwide shortage of midwives to which there is no immediate solution. MIH has a robust recruitment process in place both locally and overseas. Furthermore, we have added new accommodation on site for nurses, and employment terms are comparable to other private hospitals.  Recruiting a midwife from overseas to work here can take up to 18 months, as applicants need to meet the requirements of the nursing council, and its examination process. We will continue to work with the relevant governing bodies on ways we think may help with the manpower situation.

In summary, we hope to use this opportunity to share information on our maternity bookings, as well as to clarify certain aspects.   The underlying principle is very simple: We take our responsibility to provide safe and top quality clinical and maternity services very seriously, and hence, we must observe our safety capacity. We thank you for your understanding and invite you to contact our Client Relations Manager at 2849 0355, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   should you require further information.

Maternity Manager