Tag: baby change room

Categories
Blacktown NSW

Blacktown Hospital (Level 3 & 4) – Blacktown Rd, Blacktown NSW 2148

Overall: Extremely poor. Nappy change, rest, feed (no microwave).


Good Points: Additional powerpoints in the Level 4 room. Bench. Sink, soap and paper towel. Rubbish bin. Loads of space. Armchairs.


Bad Points: Inadequate signs and fitout. Terrible hygiene regarding nappy disposal. No nappy mats or proper change space in the bench. No proper nappy disposal bin. Pressure swing doors. No toilets in the rooms. No food prep facilities. Cold.













I thought this was going to be a much better trip than it turned out to be. We were at Blacktown Hospital with the rest of the extended family to visit a very dear and much loved member of the family. While we took turns visiting, I decided to have a look at the Parent Rooms in the hospital. Now being in a hospital,  I thought at least the hygiene standards would have been over and above expectations. Blacktown Hospital is a public hospital so isn’t exactly overrun with surplus funds (to say the least), but the hygiene standards of these Parent Rooms is just pitiful. It makes me wonder a little about the hygiene standards throughout the rest of the hospital.

First up, I’ll tell you about the Parent Room on Level 3 (ground level). It’s not overly well sign posted, which is never a good indication of things to come. During a lull in conversation and needing to stretch my legs, I decided to go for a wander and see what I could find. Just past the waiting room type area of the ground level, along the back wall, is a Westpac ATM with a Directory sign next to it.
At the bottom of the sign I found the arrow pointing to the toilets and another one pointing to the Parent Room. Now normally toilets and Parent Rooms are in the same direction, so I was initially a little puzzled about the arrow pointing downwards  for the Parent Room. Hmmmmm……where were the stairs to take me down to the next floor? I couldn’t see any. Was I meant to crack a hole in the floor and burrow my way down to the Parent Room? Probably not. So I thought I’d head off to the left, in the direction of the toilets, and see what I could find. Do you know what I found?! A Parent Room!!! (lousy sign)

Quick note before I go on, the Parent Room actually has ‘Change Rooms’ written on the door (yep, a handwritten sign). I know, it’s not terribly clear but this is where you are meant to feed and change your bub. ‘Change Room’ huh……I was expecting it to be a staff locker room.

Anyway, the Parent Room is basically just a spare room that has had a bench, sink and couple of chairs thrown in it. There’s not even a proper hygienic nappy disposal bin, like you see pretty much everywhere else you go. And this is a hospital!! The last place you’d expect to see an open top waste paper bin to be used for nappy disposal. 

The chairs are wipe-clean armchairs. Comfortable enough for sitting down while you feed. There’s a few of them in here too, so some one’s missing out up on the wards. The door is the usual non-user-friendly pressure swing door which can’t be locked for privacy. It’s not wide enough to cater for a double side-by-side pram and it’d be tough going with a regular chunky style pram too. 

The bench is a disaster. It’s just a regular old bench, with a sink stuck in it. It’s so narrow that only a short baby would be comfortable changed on here. There’s not a single change mat to be seen anywhere. No paper towel to put on the narrow bench either. Nothing! Personally, I’d be changing my little one on the floor instead. At least I know they’ll be safer there. 

There’s just nothing that great to say about the Level 3 Parent Room. When I made it to Level 4, there was a proper Parent Room sign on the door. This gave me a bit more hope. Sadly it ended up being a fat load of nothing. Just the same as the room on Level 3. No lock on the door, no proper nappy disposal bin, no paper towel, no microwave, no proper change mat or change groove in the bench. Lousy lousy lousy.
By the end of my investigative walk, I was not feeling too happy and reported back to the family my findings. No-one was impressed at all, especially on the part of not having proper nappy disposal bins. It’s a hospital!!! Of all places, surely a hospital would have the best hygiene systems. But it’s just not the case.
There’s a few babies due in the next few months, so when I go to visit the new arrivals at the different hospitals……..watch out because I’ll be checking out the Parent Rooms too. And they’d better be in a whole lot better shape than Blacktown Hospital!
Categories
Blaxland NSW

McDonalds – Great Western Hwy, Blaxland NSW 2774

Overall: Basic. Fast nappy change only. 


Good Points: Wall mounted fold out change table; clean and in good condition. Nappy bins. Soap, sink and hand dryer. Assistance rails around the toilet. Nappy wipes in the change table storage unit (big plus!). Door locks from the inside.


Bad Points: Narrow hallway and doorways. Pressure swing door. Extra nappy bins tucked behind the door.


Even when grabbing a quick coffee during a trip into Sydney, I keep my eyes open for Parent Rooms and how child friendly a place is. McDonalds Blaxland is always busy, being the only Maccas on the Great Western Hwy/Motorway between Eastern Creek and Lithgow. 

As expected from a fast food restaurant, the baby change facilities are for quick visits only. Head to the back of the restaurant, following the toilet signs. The hallway and doorways are quite narrow so I wouldn’t recommend taking the pram into the toilet with you. It’ll be more hassle than it’s worth. Save your sanity, just take bub and the nappy bag.

The baby change table is in the disabled toilet, just to the right as you enter the main door to the toilets. It’s the usual pain in the backside pressure swing door, which is another reason to not take the pram. The good thing though is the door does lock from the inside. Changing nappies and keeping your little one calm during the process is something best done free from interruptions. 

There’s four nappy bins in here. Two just inside the toilet door, and the other two right next to the wall mounted fold out change table. I don’t know if this is a regular event, but for the first time ever there were nappy wipes in the nappy wipe storage section at the back of the table. Yay!!! First time for everything. It definitely is the little things that make parents smile.

On the right side of the change table is the sink, hand dryer and soap. My little one goes completely beserk at the sound of the hand-dryer, so just be aware of the close proximity of the unit when you’re changing bub if your little one has the same reaction. These machines are breeding grounds for cooties anyway, so it would be better healthwise and to keep baby calm if there was a paper towel dispenser instead of a hand dryer.

So that’s it really. There’s a fold out wall mounted baby change table in the disabled toilet. Don’t take the pram because it’s only going to frustrate you when you try and get it into the toilet. Just take bub and the nappy bag. It’s not a quiet place at all, but it has what you need for those quick changes. Sadly this Maccas doesn’t have a playground. Bit of a bummer when kids need to stretch their legs and burn off some pent up energy from being cooped up in the car for hours on end. Maybe get takeaway and find a park further on down the highway instead.

Categories
Castle Hill NSW

Myer Level 3 – Castle Towers, 6-14 Castle Street, Castle Hill NSW 2154

Overall: Average. Old, tired and run down. Nappy change, rest, feed.


Good Points: Private locking door feeding room. Big main room. Armchairs and side tables in the private feeding room. Loads of bench space. Separate sinks for food prep and hand washing. Microwave. Nappy bins. Nappy change mats. Additional powerpoints. Soap and paper towel. Locking door to Parent Room. 


Bad Points: Marked, worn and dirty furniture and walls. No extra powerpoints in the feeding room. Old wooden square playpen in main room with nothing in it. Nappy bins stored away from the nappy change bench. Change mats move around on the bench (not built-in). Main door too narrow for a double side-by-side pram. No toilets.















I finally got around to checking out the Myer Castle Towers Parent Room recently. I’d heard from different people in the past it was meant to be great, so my hopes were fairly high but quickly fell through the floor when my little one and I walked in. 


The Parent Room is located on the far right wall of Level 3, between the boys and girls tweens/toddler clothing section. There’s a bit of signage hanging from the ceiling when you first enter the floor, but if you miss it then just head to the kids clothing on the right hand side of the floor. 


The door of the Parent Room can be locked from the inside, so if it’s closed when you find it, try opening it. But if it’s locked, head to one of the other Parent Rooms in the Towers. For anyone with a double side-by-side pram, it might be a struggle/impossible task getting the pram inside.  


The main room is pretty spacious, but it’s bland, old, worn and dirty. There’s two armchairs in here, in case the private feeding room is occupied, but they are so marked and dirty. It’s just not a clean feeling environment. Absolutely nothing has been done to give other children some distraction/entertainment while your looking after the littlest ones. A plain square wooden play pen is all that’s available for kids in terms of play equipment. What a joke.


Some good features of the room are the microwave, separate sinks for food prep and hand washing, and loads of bench space. The food prep bench and nappy change bench are on opposite sides of the room, which is good for hygiene. Sadly though, bins for both benches are not really within easy reach. The regular rubbish bin is next to the main doorway. The nappy bins are on either side of the sink, rather than tucked underneath the nappy change bench. There’s loads of room under the bench for the bins, so they really would be much better placed under there.


The change bench itself is only ok. It has two vinyl change mats, which move about if you haven’t got a firm grip on them. It’d be much better for mum and bub if the change mats were attached to the bench.


The private feeding room is very big, which is lovely. It has three armchairs, each with a side table. The room is also marked, dirty and worn, like the main room. There aren’t any additional powerpoints in here, although this would be the best place for them. You could fit a couple of prams in here, so if you’re not too shy then it’s a good space to share with other mums and bubs. Next to the size of the room, the best feature would be being able to lock the door from the inside. Most mums want privacy when feeding their babies, and also like to feel safe and secure. Curtains don’t provide that, and neither do toilet-stall style feeding cubicles. This private feeding room is great for giving mums and bubs the privacy they need when feeding or just having a rest.


Obviously, maintaining the Parent Room is not high on the priority list for Myers. Although if they do put some time, attention and money into it, they might find more mums happy to stay there and shop. There are cleaner Parent Rooms throughout Castle Towers, even on the same floor. And most of the others also have adult and child toilets in them. This is another let down with this Parent Room. It doesn’t have a toilet. If your little one is learning to use the toilet, or just needs one that is their size, then definitely head to one of the other Parent Rooms in the Towers.