Private wing at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital

[Whittaker1]

Hello!

I am currently choosing my consultant at the Chelsea and Westminster private wing.

Any recommendations?

Would be so helpful if anyone has had a c-section there

My previous 2 births were at the Portland.

Thank you

I was with nick wales. Lovely, warm, no nonsense. Great c section, super neat and healed scar, v reassuring.

Perhaps some people would find him a bit blunt but all my family are doctors. I loved his approach and in fact I had asked for it. He also helped me keep my head straight after c section was found to be necessary and get over some of the NCT talk. (My prenatal yoga teacher wished us a happy home birth. DH commented that meant she wished DD and perhaps me dead)

DH found his red cheeked farmer physique fitted well with the effort involved in a c section. Just wish he (DH and not Nick) wouldnt keep referent to calving

The anaesthetist was a sweet South African who even gave me some painkiller gel before fitting IV catheter.

NICU is just through the door from the private ward but hopefully you won't need it. I was happy to know it was there, just in case.
Recovery ward. Shared with nhs. I can't fault it. The midwives were fantastic.

Post natal ward. Nice and airy. The food was good.
The midwives - there were the good, the bad and the ....

If you have issues with breastfeeding don't settle on the assistant who turns up after the first buzz, tell her to call the midwife. I had one who brought me a giant pump for the colostrum and then lied telling me the pediatrician recommended formula for DD. Neither the midwives nor the notes said anything about that.

Some of the others were brilliant. One sat with me for an hour until DD latched on well.

Last thing, the private wing forgot to pass our details to the community midwives team so that no one turned up until we called to ask. Same thing happened to a friend. Double check before you leave.

I wish I was going there again. Sadly wrong country

Good luck

I am seeing Keith Duncan for #2, I also saw him for #1 but was actually delivered (natural birth, gas and air) by Vasso Terzidou as Keith was on hols and baby was two weeks early. Keith is very straightforward which might not suit some - limited small talk! - but very professional and I trust him. He saw me immediately (and I mean within 30 mins of my calling his PA) when I started vomiting constantly around 15 weeks.

Good experience, midwives were nice (apart from one useless one who kept trying to shove the baby very forcefully onto my boob, had to tell her to back off). The midwife who delivered me particularly lovely, tho as consultant led she was more assisting. He was slow to feed and was anti biotics for 48 hrs (tests never found any trace of infection but administered them to be safe - started to latch well about an hour after first anti biotics but who knows if that was just chance / him waking up). Midwives were sweet but we were in for four nights because of that, and the paed check also found a slight murmur the day after he was born. It was very traumatic - I was incredibly anxious - but we were whipped downstairs for ECG almost immediately (all fine). The good thing about post natal care privately is you press a button and someone comes, straight away. Especially nice for BF and, I would imagine C section or if you are not very mobile post birth. Cup of tea whenever you fancy it :-)

Rooms were nice, food v average (tho probs good for a hospital). Now they apparently have proper fold down beds in rooms for partners as opposed to inflatable mattresses which was what they had when I was there, and some other perks but tbh that stuff was bottom of my priority list.

PS my friend is under Nick Wales, she had an EMCS for #1 (which was not her plan but went well all considered) and is having a scheduled section for #2. Nothing but good reports. Nick and Keith cover each other when away.

I had Roshni Patel for a C-section. She's great, very friendly, kind and caring. Highly recommend the Kensington Wing, I had a great experience there (I gave birth this month!) and felt very well cared for. 95% of the midwives are great, only bad experience was with night staff on my first night, and apparently the midwife in question was 'agency' staff. Still should never have happened though, bad BF advice, bad attitude and nipples red raw after, couldn't BF for 3 days until they recovered. Everyone else brilliant though, and you can ask to not see a particular midwife if you don't like them, it certainly wouldn't put me off going back to the KW. When the midwife came to visit me for my home check she commented on how well my scar looked (5 days after) and how amazed she was that I had no bruising, commenting that they must have been very gentle with me. I've heard great things about Keith Duncan and Mark Johnson is always a favourite - personally I preferred to have a woman, and found him too charming, I didn't want to be charmed, I wanted a straight talker who could empathise! I found this in Roshni. TBH from what I've heard all of the consultants at the KW are brilliant and vastly experienced so you can't really go wrong.

I forgot to say! The rooms are great, but some rooms are better than others. If you're having a planned cs you can request a certain room the day before or the morning of the section. The rooms facing out are better, they're larger and you have a nice view! They also have baths and showers, and drop down beds - I think some of the internal facing ones only have showers and no drop down beds. Some rooms have wooden floors some are just vinyl...not too important but the wood effect ones look nicer! The internal rooms can be a bit noisy during the day, particularly at lunchtime, because of people walking and talking down below, and there are lunchtime concerts down in the hall. This could be great or not depending on how much music bothers you! The outside rooms get some traffic noise during the day but the wing is on the 3rd floor so this really didn't bother me at all.

Thank you so much for all the feedback from all of you.
Very helpful and lots to consider. Thank you for taking the time to write.
I saw miss Patel yesterday and hazem el refaey. both were great but yet to meet nick Wales and gubby next Tuesday. Gubby is the only one who charges for a meet and greet £250 but if you choose her she will take it off her fee. Still a bit punchy, is she amazing?

Also very helpful to hear about the midwifes and the better rooms. It was very much worth me writing and asking. I'll let you know once I've met the other 2 consultants. X

had keith duncan last year
he is straightforward a man of few words but masters the skill of c section...amazing scar
the care was nice at the hospital
i was there for 4 nights
having another one this year october

I can also recommend Keith Duncan and the Kensington wing. I had my first in feb 2011 by emcs and went back for number 2 (elective) last September. The team in the room for the surgery were unbelievable. The midwives were great and if I hadn't been in for 4 nights with my first getting help I am not sure I would have managed breastfeeding. They were incredibly helpful. The second time around I felt a little less cared for. Not sure if it is because they assume you are more self sufficient the second time or because they are more resource constrained but I found I had to buzz to remind them to give me painkillers which was a little annoying but not the end of the world. Either way it wouldn't stop me recommending them.