Lindo or Portland? Anyone have and opinion?

[p555nat]

I recently went for a tour at the Lindo Wing of St Marys and was a little dissapointed for £3500!! I am now thinking of changing to The Portland, has anyone else looked into both? Any other opinions? Also is the Portland more expensive?

Portland cost me over £10,000 (had to have an emergency CS and stayed for 3 nights afterward). My consultant was great but I was not impressed with some of the midwifes.

Somebody recommended a hospital in St Johns Wood, don't know the name but I am sure somebody else on here does.

Wow, they are pretty large amounts of money .

No advice, I'm having mine at my local NHS Hospital

St John and Elizabeth in St.Johns Wood-better than both apparently from friends who have been.
Portland has a dreadful record of "mishaps" although I know some people who have been extremely happy (if a lot poorer) there.

That would be John & Lizzies

Supposed to be brilliant

The Portland hasn't got a SCBU or ITU or anything, I think. If it goes wrong (and it can, they have a very high CS rate), then you have to get in an ambulance and go elsewhere. A private wing is a lot more sensible, imo.

Other options:

• home birth and a private midwife
• there's a private birth centre somewhere in South London. The same lot will send two midwives to your birth at home if you like.

10K, thats what we have been quoted including consultant fees, scans, etc. The £3500 was just for 2 nights at the lindo wing! Im planning to have a natural birth. I only have 3 options chelsea & westminster (c-section only), lindo or portland.

I wouldn't touch a private hospital with a bargepole

My dh is a clinical negligence lawyer, you should hear the horror stories.

Also they don't have to have any well qualified staff overnight only an RMO (responsible medical officer) who could be just qualified or just arrived from overseas and not au fait with the way of doing things here.

There is no crash team, if something goes wrong you are toast

If you want a natural birth, I think the Birthing Centre in south London (run by Caroline Flint) or a private midwife, would be your best bet. Certainly the Portland has a very high rate of Cesarians.

Why do C&W do c-section only?

Hmm less keen on the major horror stories, I?m 30wks into my private care and don't intend on changing this far along my pregnancy(have been throughally happy with every aspect). Besides Im sure the 'horror stories' are far worse in the NHS hospitals just just less air time!! I was just interested if anyone else has had to choose between the 2 hospitals???

I would probably have died in a private hospital

I agree for the ante and post natal stuff it is great but for the delivery I don't

(I was planning a nice natural birth too)

Well my sister nearly died giving birth in a NHS hospital (chelsea and westminster) because of under-qualied staff putting needles in the wrong place! Then she got salmonela from a dirtly ward. So sorry if I disagree with sweeping statements about ALL Private healthcare....

oh sorry posts crossed
I will keep quiet with my horror stories then (it is true though!)

no no it's not private healthcare it's private hospitals.

No issues with going private in an nhs hospital as they then have additional resource to call on ie crash team, vascular surgeons, intensive care.

Yes this is intially why I went for the Lindo wing because they were attached to NHS Hospital. To some extent if I had had a complicated pregnancy and had risk of having a complicated birth I would go Lindo but I haven't so am tempted by Portland as it just felt alot less like a hospital (hate hospitals)!! Surely you could say the same thing about home births?? If something goes wrong you have to be shipped to hospital???

info about rmos here

NOTE: Outside of office hours, the RMO is only doctor on site and must be confident in dealing with clinical emergencies on behalf of admitting consultants.

A friend of mine was an RMO at the Portland after a 12 year break from medicine, immediately!

Oh yes of course that is true

I wouldn't risk that either unless it was for eg my 4th child and I had had no complications previously!

I personally would go for the Lindo -even if it is more like a hospital.
It's all down to personal choice but I would prefer to know there was a first class hsopital only a few steps away it there was a problem with me or the baby.

If the hotel style enviroment is your deciding factor then definitely go for the Portland-but choose your room carefully -some are definitely not as nice as others.

I would also go for the Lindo. Having said that, a few of our friends have had babies in the Portland and said they had great care etc. but as cd says, I'd hate to have a birth there that started going horribly wrong.

(incidentally cd, I spotted a mac with a removable lining in Uniqlo in you pass one)

Yes, if something goes wrong at home you have to be shipped to hospital ... but of course at home you have a midwife dedicated to you, not wandering off to see other people. Oh, and you can't have a csection at home!

Lindo - 4, Portland - 0.

Has anyone been happy with the Portland?

There are people who are happy with Portland, though I don't have direct experience with it. I think it's been well -said - the Portland is clearly a "nicer" atmosphere and they have good consultants, but Lindo has the back-up of the hospital. We've personally gone for the security of the hospital.

You haven't mentioned anything about consultants. I assume you have a consultant who has slots at both Lindo and Portland (lots do). If you don't have a consultant yet, you should get right onto both places and ask which of their consultants still have slots available (they get filled up) and then optimise from there. You will probably find that the best known names (for Lindo, for instance, Murphy and Teoh) are filled up. Don't know how Portland works. Good luck in any event.

Actually, the Portland DOES have special care baby units and intensive care for the mothers - I think the "shipping to another hospital" thing is a myth supplied by someone at some point who may have been feeling a little anti-Portland.

The midwives vary. Some are excellent, others are a bit dippy / unfocused. All say entirely different things to you from one session to the next - but I think that happens everywhere and ultimately, doesn't really matter...

The full cost for midwife led care is £6,800 - BUT that is if you go from the very start. If you sign up later on in your pregnancy, say 10 wks or 20 wks then they knock the price down proportionately. They took £1700 off the price for me at 22 wks.

If you have consultant led care - it is a lot more expensive.

BUT you will also have a consultant on call should you require them during the birth - which is reassuring.

You automatically get 48 hrs in the hospital - and they gave me 1 extra night free (normally costing another £1000). It means you have the reassurance of turning up in labour and NOT being sent home...

I don't know about the Lindo...at all, but would definitely recommend the Portland.

Ok, just enquired to the cost difference between the 2 hospitals and lets just say the Portland just lost the race!!!

Lindo all the way!!!

My consultant from day one has been Guy Thorpe Beaston! He has been wonderful, my options were Lindo, Portland or C&W. I am having consultant lead birth so yes, Mr Beaston will be there! Lindo is £3500 for 2 nights (cons fees not inc)then £700 per night there after. Portland is £3300 for 24hrs the £995 for each additional night! I plan for a natural birth so hopefully will only be in for 2 - 3 nights (touch wood). But if things don't go that way at least the Lindo isn't nearly £1000 a night!!! May go and have the bay in the Ritz instead!!!!!