Private vs NHS: Kings/St. Thomas/Queen Charlotte

[Alwayslovinglife]

Hi Ladies,

I'm 42 and a small miracle has occurred that I have naturally fallen pregnant after almost 5 years of trying and 5 rounds of ivf. Without wanting to bore you with my medical history, I know I will need a ELCS due to an injury, also due to miscarriage history I will be considered high risk, especially at my age. I am six weeks along.

I am relatively new to the UK (never even bothered to register for a GP!) so am having to learn to navigate the NHS and my options. As an expat, this is the first country I have lived in where my private healthcare doesn't cover maternity, so I will need to self-fund. I am a very private person and the thought of sharing a room or a bathroom in a hospital is my worst nightmare. I won't even share a bathroom with my husband!

First decision:

1. Go private all the way through my pregnancy (but at a pretty high cost).

1. Start out on the NHS and then go private for the delivery.

Second decision:

I seem to be taking the approach that I need to choose my hospital and then find a consultant with privileges there. I live in the Marylebone area, so I am not sure if I opt for #2 (starting on NHS then going private) that I will have freedom as to which consultant I will see (but have no idea how the system works).

1. Kings - Dulwich suite

Not ideally located for me, but they have a small private practice that only accepts nhs eligible patients. The costs are the most reasonable, £8000 for two nights (all in) and £2500 for nine antenatal appts and 2 scans. Includes all fees/anaesthetic/etc.. Will take me better part of an hour to get there though....and all appts are in the hospital. I work fairly long hours so time is important to me.

1. St. Thomas- Westminster

Priced at around £6000, but doesn't include consultant or anesthesia fees. Around 40 min to get to it but assume the consultant's office won't be in the hospital. Assume the additional costs will be around £5-6000?

1. Queen Charlotte - Sir Stanley Clayton

Priced around £6500 for two nights, also without consultant or anesthesia. Is 15 min journey and on my route to work, a plus if the consultant is close to the hospital for regular check-ups. Assume the additional costs will also be around £5-6000 for a consultant?

From your experience any advice at what point to go private?

Any insight on the three hospitals? I can find virtually no info on Kings/Dulwich and would be keen to hear feedback. Also curious to know if my cost estimates are correct after everything is said and done.

I should be hopefully registered tomorrow with a GP surgery so that I can get my first appt. My hubby suspects that on the NHS as I am so high risk that my care would be quite good. Thoughts?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Hi @alwayslovinglife!

I am also considering private care options. If at all useful to you, I know 2 women (one of which had a high risk pregnancy) who were under Dr Kelleher at St Thomas's. He is very very good and the private wing there is very nice.

I have a good friend who had her baby at Queen Charlotte and she said they were excellent - I'm just not sure they have a NICU or ICU should you need it so I would check that out just to be on the super safe side.

I am considering the Kensington Wing at Chelsea & Westminster and looking for recommendations on the best consultant there if anyone has any experience.

Good luck!

I went to C&W. I recommend highly. I had Nick Wales but I'm sure they're all good. Keith Duncan is brilliant at scans.

You want to go asap as they get booked up. I'm not sure you can just pitch up at the end.

Thank you @coffeeaddict! I am arranging an appointment with Nick Wales now who is available on my EDD (phew!) so glad to hear good things! Thank you

Is your main requirement not wanting to share a postnatal bay?

If so, why not opt for NHS all the way but pay for your own en-suite room (usually £100-200 or so per night) after the birth?

I'm 13+4 and am currently under NHS care at Kings. We are still debating going private for the birth (like you would be an elective c section) and have picked up details for the Dulwich Suite.

On the NHS side, I had my first scan at Kings yesterday and was blown away by the facilities. The new fetal medicine unit is first class (and actually just as nice if not nicer than the early scan I had at the Portland as part of my Harmony test!).

I haven't visited the Dulwich Suite yet but agree the cost seems pretty reasonable. I expect it is in the main hospital rather than the shiny new building but we plan to visit soon.

The location may not be right for you. But just wanted to say that my NHS experience at Kings has been very positive so far.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I had 2 babies at kings. Kings is the major trauma centre for london (they deal with gunshots, terror attacks etc) and one of the best hospitals in the country. Last week when my son was born i had major complications and almost died - i am certain i would have died in another hospital without the same facilities.

Kings is also one of the top centres for neonatal research in the word. It means as an nhs patient with them you get extra scans and tests other nhs patients in other hospitals don't get as standard.

Both times we were nhs and just paid for a private room afterwards. It's not particularly glamorous - husband had to sleep on inflatable mattress etc, but i hear you that 3 nights on a ward would be hell. We ordered in nice food from deiveroo and got as comfy with our babies as we could.

If you are not familiar with nhs / private in the uk, most hospitals like kings which have private facilities the operation will be done in the same operating theatre as nhs patients, and using mostly the same doctors (earning extra cash from private work on top of their nhs salaries). So there will be no clinical difference in terms of safety. Just as you say, the extra comfort of knowing you can get a private room.

Thanks ladies for your insight. All become moot as I miscarried last night.

FWIW, I went to the Queen Charlotte/Hammersmith urgent care/EPU yesterday and they were all very kind to me and I was having a scan within a hour of arriving. But alas nothing could be done.

Good luck to you all, for those of you fortunate enough to have children I hope you know what a gift it is.

So sorry to hear about your loss @alwayslovinglife x

So sorry to hear that @Alwayslovinglife.

Very sorry x