Thursday 20 August 2015

Confinement Centre Viewings Final - Serenity Confinement Centre

Ah finally, my last post on the viewing of the confinement centres. Hubby and I decided that we have seen enough to make a decision. So we made our way to Bandar Baru Sri Petaling to visit Serenity Confinement Centre which is our last stop.

I had browsed their website http://www.serenity.my/ before going and the information was pretty comprehensive and since they had photos and a video tour online I didn't take any pictures...again.

This is the only centre that was located in a shop lot commercial area. Hubby was doubtful if I would like to stay in a shop lot for one month but we went anyway because for us, the location was much nearer to our home than the other centres that we visited. More convenient for Hubby...

When we arrived there, the first thing we encountered was the difficulty in getting a car park. What would you expect from a thriving commercial area? After spending some time looking we manage to park along the side of the road which is not even a proper car park but because everybody else was parking there we thought...eh why not? Malaysia boleh...

It was a corner lot next to a clinic which we found out belong to one of the partners of the centre. The entrance was on the 1st floor and we were greeted by a pleasant elderly lady and 3 smiley nurses. So this is what we found out.

  • The centre is brand new and huge! The first Mummies will be staying there in Sept/Oct. They have two floors. One for deluxe rooms and one for Premium rooms. When we visited the Premium Floor was not completed yet. I can't remember how many rooms but if I am not mistaken they can accommodate like 20 over mummies at one time.
  • The centre was spacious and well appointed. It looked professional and almost like a private hospital. It didn't have the warmth of home like the other centres but you could still be sure that your needs will be taken care of. 
  • The centre has two kinds of room which is Deluxe and Premium. The current promotional rates are RM 9,388 and RM 11,388. The regular rates are RM 10,888 and RM 12,888.
  • The difference between the two types of rooms is the bed and toilet. In the Deluxe room you get a single bed and share a toilet with another room whilst the Premium gets you a queen bed and personal toilet
  • They have their own photo therapy machine in case your baby has jaundice, you don't have to go to a hospital. They can treat baby there for a fee.
  • The centre is owned by a few doctors and one of them has a clinic on the ground floor and is the resident in-house doctor which allows them to have a 24 hour on-call doctor in case of emergencies.
  • They also have a dining area where Mummies can come out and socialise and eat together, thought I noticed that two deluxe rooms open up to the dining area. NOTE: Definitely make sure that we request specifically for rooms that are not in the dining area because it would be really noisy and less privacy if we decide to stay here.
  • They have no surcharge for the Chinese New Year period! However, they require the Mummies to go home for 3 days and spend CNY with their own families and then come back to the centre to complete the stay. Hubby and I was of the opinion that it sounded like a good deal but we think that it might be more hassle than worth it. Having to pack up and cart Mummy and baby back home and worry about food...etc. 
  • They do encourage breast feeding and more importantly they do not stop you from direct latching your baby during the night and early morning hours. 
  • We were informed that they hire qualified nurses to care for Mummy and baby.

For us, the centre seemed to fulfill our needs and price wise the difference is marginal. The only thing that concerned us was, parking is going to be a nightmare for hubby since he is going to visit everyday. This is a bustling commercial centre. Secondly, having to go home during CNY.

Decisions, decisions! Arrgh!!

Anyway to end this post, if you would like to see what the place looks like, they have a video tour on their website. Or you can click on this link to watch it. http://www.serenity.my/tour.html

We have to decide really soon...HELP!







12 comments:

  1. 1. Hard to fine parking
    2. No fruit served
    3. Food has room for improvement
    4. 3 nurses serving 12 babies. Under staff
    5. Small room space
    6. Husband can't stay overnight except for premium package

    By the way, not sure if they have highly qualified nurses as mentioned in the post

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anonymous, I have already mentioned in my blog that it is difficult to find parking in my review. With regards to the nurses, once again, when I visited the center, I did ask them specifically if they hired qualified nurses and the answer was affirmative. Maybe you could be a little more specific with your comments? Ie. You asked for their certificates and they couldn't produce it? In any case, do refer to them directly as I believe they would be able to assist you in clarifying any further information that you need.

    Serenity Confinement Centre

    No. 1-2, 1-3, 3-2 Jalan Radin Bagus 3
    Bandar Baru Sri Petaling
    57000 Kuala Lumpur
    Call us at 016-3299133 (Dr. Vivian) / 03-90554033 (Office)
    Email us at enquiry@serenity.my

    ReplyDelete
  3. The nurses not only taking care babies, they have to do other jobs like washing milk bottles, refilling water, opening door for guests. And there is only one cleaner at the centre. Definitely under-staffed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello dear readers of The Mummy Notebook. I am Dr Ooi, one of the co-founders of Serenity Confinement Centre. First and foremost, thank you for the review and feedback regarding our centre! Allow me to clarify some of the points raised:

    1. A multistory carpark is scheduled for completion in early 2016 which will alleviate the parking problem.

    2. Fruits are definitely served regularly as part of our lunch and dinner meals – as can be seen in our Nutrition @ Serenity Facebook Photo Album (linked here): goo.gl/I1VOUQ

    3. We have a review system in place for all aspects of our service including food. Each mother staying with us will give a rating from 1 to 5 (where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent). As the taste of food is subjective, we have received many more scores of 4 and 5 compared to 3 and below in terms of food. But of course, we will always strive to make our nutrition menu better!

    4. The maximum capacity of our Deluxe floor nursery is 12 babies served by 3 nurses at all times. Most of the time however, an average of 6-10 babies will be in our centre. This amounts to a baby to nurse ratio of 3 to 3.5 babies to 1 nurse. This ratio is seen in most specialist hospitals, maternity centres and confinement centres. In fact, some centres have even less nurses with more babies. Also, we have briefed every mother regarding this nurse to baby ratio before they signed up.

    To illustrate the competency of our nurses, we have a named mother’s testimonial that shows her confidence in our nursing service taking care of her twins when she was re-admitted to the hospital (linked here): https://goo.gl/ehJYrJ

    5. All our Deluxe and Premium Suites are spacious and luxurious with some variations in terms of size, shape and furnishings. Do visit us and see for yourself! (linked here): https://goo.gl/Adc1MO

    6. Most confinement centres do not provide an option for husbands to stay overnight. We have decided to give a choice to those couples that prefer not to be separated during the confinement period. Our Premium suites can comfortably accommodate the husband and allow their children to visit.

    7. Our nurses are all qualified and registered with the Malaysian Nursing Association. Thank you for pointing out your concerns regarding this matter. In response, we will be displaying all qualifications and certificates for all our nurses and doctors prominently on a wall in our centre. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on our Facebook page that will feature this wall.

    8. We currently have a full time administrator and cleaner that handles the day-to-day affairs. The nurses are put responsible for the washing of milk bottles (and not the foreign national cleaner), because we strictly ensure the hygiene and preparation of all items (e.g., milk bottles, water used to dilute infant formula, etc.) that come into contact with our babies. Our doctors’ and nurses’ ultimate priority is the health of both mother and baby and we will not delegate these tasks to other general workers.

    I hope I have managed to clear some doubts. Please do continue to give us your honest feedback so that we may improve on our service to provide a serene and rejuvenating confinement experience to all our mothers!

    Warmest Regards,
    Dr Ooi Ben Shyen
    Serenity Confinement Centre

    ReplyDelete
  5. UPDATE: The Multistory Carpark located adjacent to our centre is currently operational! The promotional rate is now RM2 per entry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Dr Ooi for the clarification and explanation. It is great that the carpark is now operational. It will help a lot, not having to fight for carpark or paking illegally.

      Delete
  6. Hi there!
    I'm writing a blog post on confinement care and came across your review posts on confinement centres. Can i please have your permission to share your blog link in my post for reference on confinement center reviews? Would very much appreciate it, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jessica, thank you for dropping by little space. Please do get in touch with me at themummynotebook@gmail.com

      Congratulations on the impending arrival and joyous addition to the family soon! Looking forward to connect with you.

      Delete
  7. PS: Sorry i am messaging you this way as i could not find another way to contact you. My blog is just starting up and can be found at https://crossroadfootprints.blogspot.my/. You may contact me at jess.ksw@gmail.com.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Jessica I checked out your blog and you have some pretty good stuff there. Informative and you are an active blogger! Awesome! Looking forward to more sharing together.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Dr. Ooi,

    Hi, please advice the following as I couldn't found it in your website & facebook page.

    7. Our nurses are all qualified and registered with the Malaysian Nursing Association. Thank you for pointing out your concerns regarding this matter. In response, we will be displaying all qualifications and certificates for all our nurses and doctors prominently on a wall in our centre. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on our Facebook page that will feature this wall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, thank you for dropping by my little space here. As mentioned by Dr Ooi, the qualifications and certificates are displayed on a wall in their center. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to check out the place? I will also forward your question to Dr Ooi to get a response soon hopefully.

      Thank you

      Delete