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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Was told today that NHS now only pay for 2 days aftercare for someonw who has had a section

39 replies

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:30

My mum works on a maternity ward and we were discussing sections and I was saying that IMO going home 3 days after a section is too soon ( i have had 3). I was saying I thought it should be 4 minimum, and my mum said that the NHS actually now only pay for 2 days worth of care for someone who has had a section. Obviously they don't kick you out after 2 days if you still need to be there but I was shocked, that is disgusting. It is major surgery afterall.

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Mud · 01/11/2006 17:31

that cant be right

Original poster

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:31

Apparently so. I assume if someone stays in for longer then they have to pay more but i think she meant that they only budget for 2 days.

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SpookySpoon · 01/11/2006 17:37

I had an emergency section a couple of years ago on a Friday morning, and was home by Sunday evening, because there was a power-cut on the maternity ward. I was glad to be out of there to be honest, I hardly slept at all. I hated the fact that my DH was sent home at 8pm, and I was left to fend for myself. Was very glad to get back home!

Having said that, I think women should have the option of staying longer, and better care while they are actually there. I suppose this two-day rule has been brought in because of chronic under-staffing in post-natal wards.

Bibliophile · 01/11/2006 17:38

I simply do not believe there is any such rule. However, it has been found to be perfectly OK for women to go home after two days if they want to.

NotQuiteCockney · 01/11/2006 17:39

Oh god, I've had two sections. First happened around noon, I was home just over 48 hours later. Second happened around 6am, I was home around 36 hours later.

But of course, both mine went quite well, and I had good support at home ...

NotQuiteCockney · 01/11/2006 17:40

Well, they're going to have to make some sort of budget guess, to work out how much money they need for maternity. Much as they'll have to guess what percentage of women have sections.

lulumama · 01/11/2006 17:40

i don;t see how if someone needs medical care they can be slung out or asked to pay...

eg if have complications or require intensive care..they are hardly going to drag you off the bed and send you home......

but if straightforward and complication free.... 48 hours is probably enough......

i had emergency c.s on a friday night...ready for home on monday...but stayed until tuesday mid morning as they said i could!!!!

and i imagine, yes, it is due to chronic shor staffing,.....

WhoooooshICouldGiveUpWork · 01/11/2006 17:40

I had mine on a Tuesday morning and was home by Thursday morning.....I don't reckon hospital is the best place for a healthy newborn or indeed me so was delighted when I was granted permission to leave....

southeastastra · 01/11/2006 17:40

i couldn't wait to get home after my c section. i think i begged the dr to let me out!! i went home after 2 days.

Original poster

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:41

It was the midwife in charge of the ward that told my mum this, can't see why she would lie.

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Original poster

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:42

I didn't mean that people will be slung out or asked to pay, just that apparently the budget is only for each woman to stay 2 nights, regardless of type of delivery.

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Original poster

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:43

Oh if people want to leave after 2 days then obviously it's their choice. Personally I wouldn't have wanted to leave that soon.

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WaitingForGodKnows · 01/11/2006 17:44

It's true that most 'well' women who've had a section will go home after 48 hours. As you said, nutty, if there is a problem then they don't kick you out, but ime women don't stay longer.

It is crazy, really. It is abdominal surgery, no different to any other. Granted the vast majority aren't performed under general anaesthetic but that shouldn't make too much difference. I believe women need more time to recuperate properly and be nursed for a bit. But it's not going to happen - they're 'well', the hospital needs the beds, ship 'em in, ship 'em out.

An awful lot of women do ask to go home even earlier - but that's because postnatal wards are generally pretty hellish places to be, aren't they?

southeastastra · 01/11/2006 17:45

i had a private room it was quite nice, on-suite and everything but still wanted to get out!

Original poster

nutcracker · 01/11/2006 17:46

Oh very true. I stayed for 4 days the first time, stayed for 5 with dd2 as she was in scbu, but felt like i had no choice to go home and leave her there after that.
Stayed in for 7 days with Ds as he wasn't allowed home and was climbing the walls.

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LIZS · 01/11/2006 17:52

"I didn't mean that people will be slung out or asked to pay, just that apparently the budget is only for each woman to stay 2 nights, regardless of type of delivery" Er, that's slightly different to what the thread title implies !

Presumably they base their bed turnover, staffing etc on an average stay of 48 hours per birth.

WaitingForGodKnows · 01/11/2006 17:53

Especially if the section is for, say failure to progress - imagine you've had hours and hours of labour, maybe with a 'niggly' day beforehand, so not much sleep for maybe the last 48 hours anyway, then a section, then a baby that won't feed, so up all the next night... Then you go home and back to your toddler and a husband who can't cook his own dinner Bloody knackering!

nogoes · 01/11/2006 18:13

I was desperate to get out and I left within 48 hours of having a section they had wanted me to stay an extra day. I think it depends on how well the individual is really. Once they had removed my cathetar and drip noone checked on me once or asked how I was so I did not feel that I was better off by staying in hospital anyway.

TuttiFrutti · 01/11/2006 18:22

Am I the only person who actually liked being in hospital??! I stayed for 6 days after my last cs, even though I was told I could leave after 5 (it was quite bad so I needed extra medical care). I was in a private room so had total privacy and could sleep at night, and I loved having meals brought to me and nothing to think about except looking after my baby and getting better.

Elibean · 01/11/2006 18:34

I think thats pretty shocking. Although its equally shocking when people get sent home two days after other major surgery - unless they really feel ready and want to go.

And, no, you're not the only one TuttiFrutti - with dd, my first child, I was shellshocked by so many things (rising bp, becoming a mother, very painful bf-ing, burst stitches, dd needing lights for 24 hours) that a week felt right and I quite enjoyed a lot of it.

This time though, I do'nt want to be in too long...I'd miss dd1 too much

MumtoBen · 01/11/2006 20:51

The NHS has implemented a new method of payment called Payment by Results, where there is a standard national tariff or fixed price for each patient treated, according to what treatment they have had. I've had a look on the dept of health website and a c-section and it doesn't state 2 days as a length of stay, but has a trim point of 5 days for a straightforward c-section.

However my granddad was recently turfed out of hospital after a hernia repair under general anaesthetic 1 hour after the operation. He is 82. There wasn't even a porter available to wheel him out in a wheelchair. They expected my 83 grandmother who has restricted movement in her arm due to cancer to wheel him out instead. So he had to walk. UNBELIEVABLE.

Nothing surprises me now about treatment on the NHS.

Daisymoo · 01/11/2006 21:16

NICE guidelines actually state that women who are recovering well from c-sections should be discharged after 24 hours!!

carrotcake · 02/11/2006 08:08

I had failure to progress during a home birth, had a section, and was so desparate to get out of hospital that after 24 hours I kept sashaying past the nurses station, baby in one arm, drip in the other, saying, 'anything to do round here?' Mainly this was because every other woman in my ward was scheduled for a section the next day and presumably wanted a good nights sleep, one kept huffing loudly as my baby cried! Which was most of the night.... however, although I was allowed home after 2 days, it was a bit soon, if I have another section I will stay as long as possible, once you're home you can't help 'doing' stuff. One friend stayed a week after her fifth, baby was a bit poorly but she loved it in there, I think her husband asked if she could come home in the end

BexieID · 02/11/2006 10:09

I didn't have a section, I had a 3rd degree tear and was in hospital 3 days/2 nights. I had a catheter in the first night, problems trying to get Thomas to feed, no sleep.....! I couldn't wait to get home!

oliveoil · 02/11/2006 10:13

I had a section and got a private room and this was free for 2 days

after that I had to pay, think it was £25 a night or something, WELL worth it for your own bathroom

maybe that is what your mum means nutcracker?, that the room is free, after that you either pay or get moved to a normal ward

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