or had a baby there? im wondering what there stay was like and how they were treated? im due to give birth there in september and would love to know a little about the place from people who've been there!

Hi there!

The Salvator Hospital is a very good hospital. My sister is a training doctor and has worked in dozens of hospitals all over Belgium and Holland. I've only heard good things about Salvator.
The best hospital in Flanders is the UZ in Leuven but very big and unpersonal and the best option in case of any complications.
I'm sure the hospitality in Salvator will be better and a lot of the staff will also be able to speak English.
Do you live in Hasselt?

Annelies.

Hi, Jupiler just wondering how the birth of your baby went in salvator? I'm due to give birth there in december and I'm just wondering how relaxed etc it was? did you have alot of choice on birthing positions etc?.I've given birth once in Belgium and it was a total farce and this time I'm hoping for something quite different

I had my second brain tumour removed in November 2006 in Salvator Hospital and cannot sing my praises enough for this hospital. The differences between the care I received there and in my first operation back in one of the top neurosurgery hospitals in the world in the UK are marked.

1. The surgeon gave us his mobile number and spent as much time with us before the op as we needed. He stopped by to visit me in my hospital room and was genuinely concerned. The UK surgeon did not even stop as he passed my bed. He just briefly asked how I was as he kept walking.

2. In Salvator I paid for a multi-person room (max 4) but was given a room on my own with flat screen TV (40 channels), phone and private bathroom. In the UK I shared a mixed ward of 19 with communal bathroom!

3. In Salvator the floors were spotless. In the UK my blood was spilt and after waiting three days with constant reminders to the staff, I cleaned the blood myself with a babywipe. In Epsom A&E, my blood was still on the wall three weeks later when I was admitted to the same observation room!

3. I chose the date of entry to Salvator. In the UK I waited 7 weeks and then had to call on the day of entry to confirm whether the bed was still available.

4. In the UK I was kept in ICU/Intensive care for 4 hours and only that long because I wanted to stay in the air conditioning rather than the hot ward. In Salvator I was kept in ICU for 48 hours with an unbelievable number of machines checking on me and frequent visits from the nurses.

4. I was told to expect 4 days stay in the UK but stayed 10 days due to complications that set in. I was told to expect 2 weeks in Salvator but stayed 6.

5. The high number of agency nurses in the UK ranged across many nationalities, not one of them being English. The closest was Irish but I could not understand the English of some of them. In Salvator I spoke Dutch to the staff but most spoke excellent English anyway.

6. The UK bathroom was disgusting. Salvator was spotless.

7. The UK nurses wore noisy wooden clogs because they were better for their health, never mind the noise of keeping patients awake. The Belgian nurses wore soft sole quiet clogs.

8. Salvator nurses responded virtually immediately to my button calls and gave me painkillers when I needed them. I had to wait for the UK nurses and was once told to wait 45 minutes for a painkiller because she was too busy filling in forms.

9. Finally, the UK surgeon told me the brain tumour should not recur but if it did within 10 years, he would be "seriously pissed off". Within 3 years, the tumour was back on my scan. The Belgian surgeon removed the piece of brain dura on which the tumour had regrown and placed it with plastic so in theory it should not regrow.

The nurses told me that more and more Dutch and British patients are paying to have operations in Salvator and I can see why.

Belgium is a little country with a small population but they do it right.