private consultant for high risk pregnancy

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Hi ladies,

It's very early days but due to my history am thinking of going private..... Please can anyone help recommend a private consultant in London or South East who specialises in high risk C-sections? I'm pregnant with DC3 and very nervous due to a very complicated obstetric history ('lost' DS1 at 22 weeks due to bilateral renal agenesis and had 1.7 Litre PPH, had crash C-section with DD1 and had 3.5 litre PPH).

I was told in my debrief that I need a C-section in future pregnancies as I had a 'J-cut' with DD1 and the risk of uterine rupture for vaginal delivery too high. That coupled with my propensity to bleed (was referred to top haematologist at St Thomas but nothing showed up) is making me nervous.

Am thinking of breaking the bank in order to put myself in the care of a specialist consultant. The NHS have been fab but my consultant who dealt with my previous pregnancies is now on long term sick leave. I'm putting a Plan B in place in case the new consultant I am referred to doesn't inspire me with confidence.

Thanks for reading this far......

[ZakuroFujiwara]

Eugene Oteng-Ntim at St Thomas' is wonderful. I had my second under his care at the private suite at St Thomas' in 2009. Very experienced, kind and calm - I transferred to him for similar (although not as serious) concerns as you have. Couldn't recommend him highly enough.

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Zakuro - thanks so much for the speedy reply. I'd feel reassured being at St Thomas as that's where one of the top UK bleeding centres is. If you don't mind me asking can I ask how much I should expect to pay?

Apparently my BUPA covers medically essential c-sections but I'm sure they'll be some small print to get them out of paying.

Thanks in advance

[ZakuroFujiwara]

I think it cost about 11k all in - I had a c-section. We self-funded so I should know in more detail but I can't remember exactly!

It was a really wonderful experience and Mr Oteng-Ntim was fabulous.

Definitely worth a consultation with him to see if the c-section could be considered essential by BUPA - he would be very straight up with you I'm sure.

[ZakuroFujiwara]

Just googled - here's the up to date costs:

www.guysandstthomasprivatehealthcare.co.uk/units/the-private-maternity-suite/pricing/

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Zakuro - thank you so much. I'm going to have a proper read through the link and give his secretary a call.

If anyone else has any other recommendations please let me know? Would like to keep my options as open as possible at this stage.

Thank you

[mumster79]

Nick Wales Chelsea and Westminster-brilliant!

[Ohfourfoxache]

TG Teoh at the Lindo Wing - he's fabulous!

[TakingTheStairs]

Clare Mellon at the Portland. She was amazing

[WanttogotoDisney]

I had a private consultant. He was shit. I would have been far safer in the hands of the NHS. You can probably still get the care you want / need without going private but if you do go private then, I agree, Mr Taeo at the Lindo Wing (St Marys) is a good choice.

Given your history you need to deliver in a hospital that can cope with complex emergencies and is not a glorified hotel eg the Portland.

[Rebs277]

I just had high risk pregnancy under NHS at St Mary's Paddington. The doctors were fantastic. I was under TG Teoh's team. He was good as were his team Chrissie Wu and Jayne Terry. I had lots of scans with the Mary's fetal medical unit and the specialist there, Lorin Lakasing, did my c section and safely delivered our DS at just under 30 weeks. Amazing doctors and neonatal team mean that despite loads of problems we had a very good outcome. If I get pregnant again I would go private with Miss Lakasing.

[eurochick]

I used Con Kelleher at St Thomas'. He was recommended by two friends. I wasn't high risk as such but the baby was as my placenta was failing. I transferred my care to him about 2 weeks before the birth (when things got complicated) so didn't pay for him to do all my antenatal care. I think we paid about 9k all in for him, hospital, anaesthetist and foetal monitoring over the last two weeks. It was less than we expected.

The care at the Westminster suite was good and I was happy that I was in a hospital with a top level nicu for the baby.

[eurochick]

I used Con Kelleher at St Thomas'. He was recommended by two friends. I wasn't high risk as such but the baby was as my placenta was failing. I transferred my care to him about 2 weeks before the birth (when things got complicated) so didn't pay for him to do all my antenatal care. I think we paid about 9k all in for him, hospital, anaesthetist and foetal monitoring over the last two weeks. It was less than we expected.

The care at the Westminster suite was good and I was happy that I was in a hospital with a top level nicu for the baby.

[TakingTheStairs]

Just FYI WantToGoToDisney, the Portland is a level 2 hospital, so it offers the same level of care and facilities as St Mary's/the Lindo Wing.
And yes you're right, it is a very comfortable hospital but that doesn't mean it can't cope. As with all hospitals, NHS or private; if they don't have the facilities for a certain speciality then you will be transferred. But if you need to be transferred from the Portland for a specific reason, you would also need to be transferred if you were in somewhere like the Lindo Wing.

Lots of people think it's NHS v Private. It's not, it's about making sure the hospital you want is specific to your particular needs (such as a bleeding centre)

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Hi ladies

Thanks so much for all the replies.

I totally agree with it's not nhs v private but facilities. Unfortunately I just don't have faith in my local hospital (when I has my DD there, they had to helicopter in fresh frozen plasma from at George's). I want to make sure that wherever I go is equipped for that scenario.

In an ideal world I would be referred on nhs to st Thomas. However my haematologist discharged me as they can't find any evidence of an underlying bleeding disorder (despite my mum having one) and therefore the likelihood is I would end up having my c-section at my local hospital (east surrey).

I think I'm going to push the consultants at east surrey to refer me to st Thomas- if not then I want to have a private back up.

Con Keheller keeps popping up so I'm going to give his secretary a call this morning. Thanks for all the other recommendations too. I feel I need to be at a private wing attached to an nhs bleeding center so am going to use that as my starting point.

Goodness I'm starting to think was this such a good idea but I guess I've got to have faith that all will be ok....

[Gingerandcocoa]

OP just so you know, I self referred to St Thomas when I got pregnant with DS. I wasn't high risk, but initially the GP said they were always full and didn't take referrals outside of their catchment area for years. Amazingly, last year they were taking referrals! Maybe you will be able to self refer too.

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Ginger - thank you so so much. Please can I ask if there was a particular number you called?

[Gingerandcocoa]

Sorry, I meant I asked the GP to refer me! But I think their website will have a number! If you ask your GP, maybe they would do it for you?

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Thanks ginger. I will speak to my GP and go from there.

[Rebs277]

Hi OP - I think you can choose your hospital but you have to book with them early enough. I booked early with St Mary's before 8 weeks (contacted them directly using details on their website) so I could go there rather than my local hospital and then at my booking appointment they got me moved to the maternal medicine team.

[Mutley77]

I'm sure you know this but you can choose to be referred to whichever hospital and whichever consultant you like on the NHS - why pay?!!!! I am now in a country where the public system really is "second best" and I really realise what I have lost!! I had great care on the NHS - just asked around and got recommendations for a great consultant then got referred to her and it was all free :) - not particularly your area of the country though so probably not relevant. I am pretty sure in the UK all doctors have to work a certain amount publicly in order to be registered (and therefore be allowed to work privately) so use the system to your advantage!!!

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Thank you all for your advice. I saw my lovely GP today and she has agreed I need to be referred to St Thomas (coincidentally she used to work in the obstetrics dept there). I'm now hoping that I won't get refused as I understand they often don't take out of area referrals- but with my high risk background hoping this won't be an issue.

[handcream]

I had one child NHS and the other at the Portland. The view that you can pick and choose under the NHS and see who you want is rubbish. It will depend if they are around, weekends highly unlikely etc, the top consultants aren't at our beck and call under the NHS. You get who you get....

[iwantkhaleesiseyebrows]

Thanks for that handcream.

Appreciate that there is a massive difference between private and nhs . At the end of the day the key thing for me is being at a hospital where I have access to the top medical emergency facilities and bleeding centre attached rather than just seeing same consultant. I think st thomas nhs should fit the bill even if in an ideal world where I had unlimited money I would go private there instead.

[CoffeeMary]

Hi there! I really appreciate the predicament you find yourself in. When I was pregnant (I have some serious health issues) I searched endlessly for meaningful information about private vs NHS and didn't find much good info to address serious health concerns particularly people speaking from experience.

I had 3.8L blood loss as well on delivery so I understand the fear you are facing. The most important thing for bleeding is to be at a large centre like a St Thomas' or a St Mary's. Not a small local hospital. And then to make sure that everyone is on the page that blood and products are waiting in the fridge for you. That they do the cross matching in advance and have everything they may need there anticipating a big bleed. (platelets, clotting agents, blood etc) As long as you have agreement with your medical team that this is the plan then NHS is probably your better option. I went for 2 private consults (iSt Thomas and St Marys) and because I had high bleeding risk due to major placenta previa they both advised that NHS is best design for that. I had mixed feelings when I heard this as I was hoping to buy my peace of mind :-) and the lack of control the NHS can offer is daunting. But in the end my care was excellent I think I saw consultants more than if I'd been private and while the delivery was complex (as expected) they were ready and my baby is healthy!

The tradeoff with NHS is the continuity of care. However if you go to St Thomas NHS you will have pretty good continuity of care assuming they put you in the high risk medical team. I wouldn't worry about out of area they take complex cases from anywhere.

If you are set up to see someone privately at St Thomas to start I think that is a great starting point and they can take the time to advise you of the best way forward. I am guessing you are going to get the steer I was given on NHS but it is worth the money to pay for a consult and have someone review your particular case and give you tailored advice. You are still early enough that you have time to evaluate both options. It is a really good hospital and team and I hope you have a positive experience. Good luck!

[Tear1ngMyHa1rOut]

Dr Dharmintra Pasupathy delivered my beautiful baby daughter by C-section at St Thomas' a couple of months ago. I cannot praise him highly enough. The level of attention he provided during my pregnancy was beyond my expectations - he was informative, was extremely kind and truly went out of his way to give us the best possible level of care. He specialises in fetal medicine and is clearly very highly thought of by all his colleagues in the Westminster Suite. During the operation, he was so calm and efficient, and this clearly led the tone of the other medical staff in the operating theatre, which made the delivery such a positive experience. His focus always seemed to be about the well-being and wishes of his patient, and is happy to deliver both natural and C-section babies. If we had the money (and stamina!) for a third child, would we go to him again? Without a moment's hesitation ... I'd probably be on the phone to his PA the second I know I'm pregnant!