Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital vs Capitol Medical Center

At last, I am scheduled to give birth via C-section on the 23rd of April at Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital.  It took us months, to finally decide on the hospital. I was torn between Capitol Medical Center and JDMH, but chose the latter only yesterday.

For those of you who don't know, Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital is a " Level IV General Hospital" located in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. It used to be a maternity hospital, so it is small and still has very few doctors. Though customer feedback is high at 90% (according to their website), there are a few negative things I noticed in this hospital, including overall hygiene.

Photo Credit: from Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital

Capitol Medical Center is also a tertiary hospital, located in Quezon Avenue. It is bigger and cleaner compared to JDMH. This is the hospital where I gave birth to my first born. The hospital is impressive. The lobby can only seat very few people, but it's more cozy compared to JDMH.

Both JDMH and CMC are not like five star hospitals like Asian Hospital, Medical City or St. Luke's where you enter a nice, hotel-like lobby with a pianist playing classical music on a grand piano, where the bed sheets are crisp and blankets smells good as new and every furniture in private rooms are labeled "sterilized", the food served warm and everything is just "cozy". St. Luke's Hospital was like a second home to me during the time when my Dad was ill with cancer, so it has become more like my "ideal" hospital.

Back to reality of being low in budget and unemployed, I have no choice (more like no "right" to be choosy) but to choose an "okay" hospital, after all, I am just going to give birth and stay there for a few days, 3-4 days max.


My concerns for doubting JDMH, and most probably the same issues for people who will be visiting this hospital are the following:

1. My OC-ness kicks in. When I was rushed in JDMH because of asthma, the emergency room only has 4 beds. The air conditioning seems too low, the bed sheets and blankets are old, yellowish and thin -almost see through. My mom, who's less of a complainer like me noticed it too and commented about the bed sheet: "parang pinambalot na sa patay".
2. Dirty comfort rooms. The CR in the emergency room has this huge yellow pail for dirty bed sheets. So when you sit on the toilet, you're facing the dirty laundry. Not only that, the tiles are dirty, like it hasn't been sterilized for a year. The sink is not clean. No hand soap avaialable and no tissue paper.
   The comfort room outside the ER (accessible to everyone) was also dirty. It's so disappointing, but I am also taking into consideration that maybe it was already past midnight so there's no one on duty to clean the rest room. Anyway, all comfort rooms in the hospital seems to accommodate only 1, meaning, no multiple cubicles. The only clean comfort room I've entered is the one in the UltraSound Room.
3. The waiting area/lobby can only seat a few people, I think 12 at most. There's one small flat TV with a bad reception, and a lot of mosquitoes to keep you company. Oh well, like I've said before, it IS a small hospital.
4. Few doctors. Unlike St. Luke's Hospital and Capitol Medical Center, where there are a lot of doctors available, JDMH only has few doctors. The doctor's clinics are small. For a "general hospital" it's almost unbelievable that they only have 2 endocrinologist/diabetologist. Sad to say that only 1 of them has a clinic 2x a week from 3pm-6pm. When my diabetologist has a lot of patients and it's past 6pm, her patients have to move to the ER to have our check-up with her, and an additional Php100 for consultation fee. How fun is that?
5. My mom was scheduled for a 2D echo in JDMH, but when she went there (on schedule), she was asked to come back again because there's no doctor. She was told that there should be at least 4 patients who are scheduled to have their 2D echo at that same time so that the doctor can come over. I was like, "SERIOUSLY?!!"

My concerns for not choosing Capitol Medical Center:

1. Private rooms are small. When I gave birth to my son, the small private room lived up to its name: SMALL.
2. To match the "small private room" is the tiny comfort room. The CR is so small, you can just open the door and sit. There's not enough space for a shower - though they were kind enough to provide a small pail and dipper. Amen.
3. My diabetologist is in JDMH, so if I choose to give birth at CMC, I need to schedule an appointment with an endocrinologist/diabetologist from CMC. -- This is the major deciding factor.
4. There are a few negative feedback about CMC in some forums I checked, regarding service etc., while I found none about JDMH. Though my experience with CMC before was excellent, the forums somehow affected my decision.
5. Though the hospital is conveniently located along Quezon Avenue, restaurants and fast food chains are quite a distance away (you need to drive). The hospital has a small canteen, a small pizza hut stand and a siomai and sandwich kiosk outside. So my husband has to go outside the hospital and buy food from the carenderia (near the parking lot), or drive to Jollibee or fast food chains along Quezon Ave.
6. It's Php10k more expensive compared to JDMH.

Photo Credit: from Capitol Medical Center

The reasons why I chose JDMH:

1. If the bedsheets and blankets provided by the hospital bothers me, I can just bring my own bedsheet and blanket.
2. I'm not going (and hoping not to) use the public toilet anyway, so I'll let this go.
3. I won't be staying in the lobby, so it shouldn't concern me that much. Although the mosquito part is still bothersome. (Note to self: send a note in their suggestion box)
4. As long as I have my OB/Gyne, my diabetologist, a reliable anaesthesiologist, and a reputable pediatrician, I am all good. After I give birth, I have the option to look for another diabetologist, so I don't need to worry about lining up at 3pm and getting my check-up at past 8pm and paying an additional Php100 for the consultation. (Though I honestly think my diabetologist is good, I really need to take this into consideration).
5. I don't need the 2D echo. JDMH specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, so I think I am pretty safe there.
6. Private rooms are bigger compared to CMC. There's a sofa big enough to be a sleeping bed for my husband or anyone who decides to sleepover in the hospital.
7. The comfort room is bigger and has a shower area - and thank God, it is CLEAN! (At least the room I checked...)
8. JDMH has a small canteen but the hospital is located in Tomas Morato area, a prime spot for restaurants, fast food chains, etc. So there's a lot (of restaurants/fast food) to choose from. At the back of the hospital, at walking distance are UCC Coffee and McDonald's and a few more bars and restaurants.
9. Budget. JDMH is cheaper. Beggars can't be choosers.

Just a few more days to go before I give birth. I hope that I won't regret the decision of choosing Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital over Capitol Medical Center. I'm just thinking that at least, I get to experience the difference between the two hospitals, and if God would bless us with a third child, I can confidently choose between the two.