Kensington Wing or Lindo? Consultant?

[Confused16]

Hi everyone,
I am currently 7 weeks pregnant with twins (following years of IVF). Clinic has asked me to inform my GP. I am lucky enough to be able to go privately but cannot find any recent recommendations, most posts go back years. I have narrowed it down to either Chelwest or St Mary's private wings but can't really find any recent recommendations on consultants?
Any suggestions on which one would be better i.e. Kensington Wing or Lindo? And which consultant to go for?
Thanks!

No experience of Lindo but I was very happy with my experience of C&W last year. My consultant was Roshni Patel and I would highly recommend her. For me, she had the right mix of matter of fact and and personable. She was with me every step of my labour and I was very glad to have her there when I ended up with an EMCS. Right through a difficult labour she explained everything clearly, I always understod what was going on and what my options were.
I think most consultants do a free meet and greet, Roshni does, so I would recommend you meet with a few consultants and see what you think. I knew right away I would feel very comfortable with her.

TG Teoh at Lindo - he's absolutely fantastic

Oh- and huge congratulations!

Meant to say, Teoh is really good with complex pregnancies so, being pg with twins, if I were in your position he would be the one I'd see. He's also the top obstetric bod at Mary's/Imperial and what he doesn't know would fit on the back of a stamp.

Thank you both! Very useful to know some consultants do a free meet and greet! Will arrange meetings with both. I can't see Teoh on the St Mary's online consultants list, so not sure if he's still around.

Congratulations! I second Lenny1980's recommendation - absolutely and completely brilliant.

I had my first at the Kensington Wing. I didn't have the best experience at there as the weekend I was there it was at max capacity. The anethestist was so busy that I didn't get the pain relief I requested for what felt like a million times. We stayed 3 nights and it was so busy that our sheets never got changed even though they were stained (breastmilk, food, blood...urgh). Even requesting for something basic like a jug of water never arrived. I had to walk outside to the unrestricted area to refill my drinking water the entire time (which was not pleasant, having just given birth).

@Confused16 where did you end up going? I know this thread is a bit older but I’m struggling to find recent reviews of the Kensington wing vs the Lindo Wing. Would appreciate any advice you have here.

Hi, I ended up going to the Kensington Wing. People had good things to say about both. I chose Chelwest because location wise it was closer to me and easier for me to get to. Roshni Patel was my consultant, Shane Duffy delivered my twins and Keith Duncan did most of my scans! I felt taken care of by all of them. My experience of the Kensington Wing was very good too. Helpful friendly staff and great atmosphere. Depends on how particular you are. Sometimes my partner got a different meal to the one he ordered, small things like that. I asked for anything I needed. Asked for cleaning time to be changed if not convenient for me and mealtimes to be early or late depending on what suited me best, staff were always obliging and did their best to accommodate me. Nursery staff also great. I was there for ten days so by the second week I knew the staff and who did what etc, which helped. The most important thing was that all the consultants (Roshni, Keith and Shane) were very thorough. The experience in the wing i suspect to some extent depends on luck depending on how busy it is etc. I didn’t think prior to the experience that I would be ok with three different consultants either, I thought I would have liked my obstetrician to take care of me throughout i.e during the pregnancy, scans, birth etc but I didn’t mind seeing all three. I also chose Chelwest because of their neonatal unit as I had twins so was worried they might have to go. On the day they mentioned the neonatal was at full capacity! I was very lucky my twins didn’t need to go otherwise my experience might have been very different. Too many variables influence the overall experience but I suspect both wings are equally good in their own ways with good experienced consultants. Have you visited both? Or met with any consultants as yet?

Tariq Miskry at The Lindo was amazing. I had a high risk pregnancy and emcs due to PE and I can’t recommend him enough. Lovely calming consultant!

@confused16 thank you so much for your response. I have read lots of good reviews about Roshni Patel. I am only 5 weeks so haven’t visited any but I keep reading that many of these consultants are booked up 8 months before due dates so I want to get a move on. Did you choose C&W first and then pick your consultant or the other way around?

@gohenceforth thank you for that recommendation. I will look him up. I’m so pleased to hear a good review about the Lindo as so many older reviews are very mixed. I’m less concerned about the environment (although I want privacy) and more concerned about the one to one care. Did you feel the nurses and midwives were attentive and responsive after delivery too? Also can I ask what your total cost ended up being? Old estimates seem to vary massively. Judging by the standard consultant packages online I’m expecting £7k for consultants fees plus around £6k for a vaginal birth. Would love to know your experience.

Thank you both! This is our first baby so feeling very overwhelmed by all the decisions that need to be made in what feels like a very short space of time!

@dasha85

The whole experience from start to finish was amazing. Dedicated midwives so I knew my team well before delivery and then cared for by same staff afterwards. I stayed in 5 nights as DD was prem and jaundice.
She went to the nursery every night from10.30 pm to 7.30 am which meant I got 5 full nights recovery from my section. Mobile Epi for 5 days post op too so completely painless experience from start to finish. Absolute breeze!

I was shopping in Bluewater when she was 8 days old and driving 11 days post section.

Total hospital bill was £9k, anaesthetic bill was £2k and Tariq’s fee was £5k - this was 2004! I looked at their price list today and now my bill would have been in excess of £20k! Axa covered some of it but we still paid a lot ourselves.

Hi, I met Roshni first and then chose C&W because I liked her, I didn’t go to see the consultant at Lindo Wing. I went to see her when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Yes the first time is very overwhelming. Cost was around £35k but probably not representative of a normal pregnancy. Mine was a high risk pregnancy, very frequent scans, lots of tests, emergency CS and a long two week stay post op. Once you meet a consultant and see the wing I think you will feel less overwhelmed, I certainly did. You’ll know you’re in good hands and they take care of everything. I did not really know the midwives as my care was consultant led. Hope this helps!