How do you organise to change hospitals for labour (ie to one not so local)?

[MrsFogi]

Can anyone tell me how I can go about organising to give birth in an NHS hospital that is outside my GP's area? I have no idea where to start.

I would ring the hospital direct and ask if you can speak to the head of Midwifery.

I just asked my gp to refer me to the different hospital, which he did and it was great!

Agree with Lulu - just ask your GP to refer you. You might need a reasonable excuse for not using the hospitals in your catchment area tho.

My midwife (based out of my local GPs) phoned the hospital I wanted to give birth in (not local, but nearer to where dh worked) and booked me in for my first dating scan at approx 12 weeks, and that was it. Simple. Once on their 'books', I then went back for the 20 week scan, and maternity ward visit at about 30 weeks (all booked by my midwife, although she didn't work out of my chosen hospital, and I knew I wouldn't see her there at the birth). Hope you get it sorted.

Yes, ask GP, but even if s/he is sympathetic be warned you could come up against the PCT's commissioning rules. PCTs commission care from different hospitals/units (usually about 3-4 hospitals for maternity services but if you're unlucky it might just be 1 hospital), and normally the GP has to refer to you to one of those pre-selected hospitals, unless there is a clinical reason to refer elsewhere. But I think PCTs' attitudes vary a lot hence women have hugely different experiences of 'choice' across the UK. Theoretically if you pitch up in labour at any hospital they can't turn you away, but you might not fancy that (and I know somebody who had to fight to get admitted to the hospital she was actually booked into!).

I didn't have any choice for the birth of my first child but gave up the fight as it just got too stressful. I'm expecting again and might be moving up north before this one arrives, so no idea how it's going to work out this time!

Try \link{http://www.birthchoiceuk.com} for advice. Good luck!

As Spiker says, hospitals can't turn you away if you just turn up in labour (unless they're completely full, which could happen if you were booked in there anyway).

My friend was in your position. She hated her local hospital and wanted to use one an hour and a half's drive away, and when she asked the midwives on an unofficial tour of the "nice" hospital, they said "Just turn up and say you were in the area when labour started". She just made sure they left in plenty of time because of the long drive!

TuttiFrutti - yes, that's what happened to my friend, they were full up. I wasn't surprised that this could happen (particularly in London), but I was so shocked that the hospital washed their hands of her - it was her problem to find another hospital, not theirs, even though she was in established labour. I'd have expected them to at least have called round other hospitals nearby to book her in and hopefully send her off in an ambulance to it.

Sorry to rant but it makes me so cross when I think of it.