Would you have a c section in a private hospital?

[Lelophants]

I've seen a few threads about private hospitals on the childbirth thread and it's really got me thinking! I've never really considered this!

I remember when I was younger a Doctor friend said private healthcare could be great "but not for childbirth " (as they dont have nhs specialists or facilities if things go wrong). Is this true? Wouldnt there be a consultant if cs had been already arranged?

There's a chance I may have an elective cs next time due to previous cs and issues. If I did and I

could afford the 10-15k (gulp) would it be worth it? Would it be safe? Would it actually be a nice experience? Life on the ward after my nhs emergency csection was pretty awful. A snapshot involves me being unable to move post section with baby screaming and no one coming to help. Also constantly being forgotten and having to pretty much beg for anything. They kept forgetting to empty catheter dispite me constantly asking. I wasnt given underwear or pads after the op :( At one point I was in tears and one of the midwives laughed at me until she realised how upset I was. Anyway, you get my drift. And no I'm not saying nhs staff are all terrible - they were clearly overworked (with a few cows among them).

I've had some private procedures and appointments previously and they have been lovely on comparison, although sometimes felt a but all over the place. I'm torn. So I guess I'm not sure how it would be for csection! I suppose depends on the hospital and consultant?

Would love to hear any other experiences or views!

I think it depends where you live, eg London then its much more possible, out in the sticks or even outside London generally probably not.

Some private maternity care is provided in a wing of NHS hospitals, so if anything went awfully wrong you have back up with all the usual departments I think.

I'd consider it but it is a lot of money...

No, I would want to ensure that there was an ICU and PICU on site.

Most private maternity hospitals (at least in London bar portland) are attached to NHS hospitals and have access to their icus and nicu

Eg. Westminster suite is attached to St Thomas
Queen Charlotte is attached to Chelsea and Westminster
Lindo Wing is attached to St Mary's

Portland also has a private nicu or you can choose to have the baby transferred to the nearby uch.

That’s interesting @Bells3032

I had my baby in at the Portland, although not by c section, although I certainly would have had a section there if I had wanted/ needed one. I felt far safer at the Portland compared to the nhs choices on offer at the time.

Not a chance.

I would only at a nhs hospital with a private wing. If anything goes badly wrong for a private patient they end up in nhs intensive care and I reckon survival chances are significantly better if it’s in the same building.
The NHS is good a life saving the care bit is often shit though.

you can get (couldn't) care-less nurses anywhere.many work both in nhs and private, do extra shifts. so even in private, you might run into the exact same ones, sorry.
i think nhs is safer.
there is no private A&E. think about why.

i witnessed a regular staff nurse in a hosp specialist elderly care unit laugh out loud and mock a patient with dementia who said something muddled, in front of other patients and visitors. she sounded like a schoolgirl, stupid, immature. was a fully trained qualified nurse in 30s.
i think some of them enter it for the status, secure job, not any real interest in patients as people.
some are quite the opposite of course. and some of the kindest, most empathetic are the unqualified ones, in my experience.

I think perhaps just try a different hospital, rather than going private.

Some (like mine) are really good with sections and postnatal care is amazing. Others are like you've experienced. It's worth checking up how other people have found hospitals and taking it from there.

But no, I'd not really want to have surgery anywhere which didn't have an ICU just in case.

I’ve done it, I will be doing it again for the second. However, your estimate is low- it cost me around 17k and that was 3 years ago for private consultant lead antenatal care, ELCS and 3 night hospital stay. I chose the private wing of an NHS hospital so had all the usual back ups of emergency care, thankfully none of them were needed.

My first birth was dreadful in an NHS hospital. I was there for a week after.

My second was Private wing of an NHS hospital. A much better experience

Not a cat in hell's chance unless it was a private wing of an NHS hospital.

DH went for a hernia repair at a Winfield hospital earlier this year, but the anaesthetist wouldn't put him under as he had an abnormal heart rhythm. Apparently they'd have had to dial 999 to take him to the main hospital 2 miles up the road if he'd had complications during the operation. There is a reason why there is no private A & E in these places.

The whole private thing is a con in the UK (& I say this as someone who has private healthcare due to work). Private healthcare is not a panacea in the UK so only do it if it's part of an NHS hospital and you have access to NHS emergency resources. Otherwise it's just NHS workers earning extra money as a sideline when they're already over worked and not in the best frame of mind.