The Kensington Wing or The Portland

[Newbie1066]

Hello,

First timers here.

Having viewed most of the private hospitals in London, my DH and I have whittled our options down to either the Kensington Wing at C&W or The Portland. Location per se is not an issue for us as we will be travelling to London to have our baby.

We will be choosing a consultant led package through choice rather than being “high risk”

When we viewed KW we instantly had a good connection and feeling about the place; all the staff from the receptionist to the consultant we overheard working were all lovely, as well as the other patients we spoke to.

When we viewed The Portland whilst the other patient we spoke to was delightful, we definitely didn’t get the same relaxed and “nothing was too much trouble” feeling we had at KW.

However, the dilemma begins because The Portland’s facilities appear to be somewhat superior. For example, We were told (and we were shown) that the Portland uses the “K2’ telematory monitoring system which means during labour, I and the baby can be monitored whilst I am walking around, it also works underwater.

In addition the `Portland has a 24/7 nursery, whereas the KW has one only between the hours of 11pm and 8am.

At the Portland you can request a room with a bath instead of a shower, whereas KW only has shower facilities.

At KW the bed for my husband seems better as it is a fixed feature, rather than a temporary bed that is brought in.

All in all, I guess I am wondering whether it is better to go with “your gut” (in our case this would be KW) or whether to go with the hospital with what I would consider to be better facilities.

I have read almost every post on the comparisons of these hospitals (!) but it would be great to hear anyone’s recent experiences which might assist with our dilemma.

Many Thanks in advance

I can't help with direct experience, but it might help others who possibly can help to know if you are planning a c-section, and how long you would intend to stay for.

I would always always go for a private unit that is attached to a large NHS hospital-in case of things going wrong you will be in better hands I promise

Wouldn't go near the Portland

Thanks for your speedy responses...

@LineRunner - the plan is a vaginal birth. Not entirely sure if you mean staying in London (probably 6 weeks - 3 before DD and 3 after) or do you mean in the hospital itself (we haven’t decided)

@Slatternsdelight - We were informed that the Portland now has it’s own adult ICU, in addition to it’s own NICU and SCBU. Would this still put you off?

Thanks again

Personally, yes it would

Why do you need monitoring? Sounds like you ar trying to make yourself high risk when your not. Unnecessary interventions will have an impact on your labour.

Either sounds like an absurd waste of money to me but hey if EMF want to literally burn money no reason why you shouldn’t too.

Hi @Dreamingofkfc - apologies if my post sounded ill informed, I am just very new to this and after speaking with one of the consultants they mentioned that foetal monitoring can give early indication of low oxygen levels. Any information on the subject is very welcome.

@DieAntword - thank you for input.

I was very happy with the Kensington wing. I recall some rooms have baths so this is not always right. I felt very reassured by being in a leading teaching hospital.

You are missing the point a bit worrying about which bed is better - totally normal when it's your first time. But don't make your choice based on minor things that won't matter when it comes to labour and birth!

What you need to do is find a doctor that you like and feel Comfortable with and find out where he/she delivers. Either hospital is entirely capable to deliver your baby safely. If you choose an obstetrician it is inevitable you will have more Monitoring as they are more cautious and also they are not always there throughout labour and this information is useful to them to see how the labour is going.

Happy to provide recommendation if you would like more.

I wouldn't have a baby in a hospital that didn't have an A&E unit attached.

I wouldn't touch the Portland with a bargepole. C&W is great.

Which hospital provides better care for your child?

Why would you do this? If something goes wrong private hospitals are very poorly equipped to look after you or your baby.

Read Adam Kay's view on this in his book This Is Going To Hurt - as an ex doctor specialising in babies and birth and gynae he says avoid.

Also he recommends googling the name of the hospital and 'settlement agreement'

There is nothing wrong with the NHS

I had my DD in the Kensington Wing, and would highly recommend. I chose it over the Portland because of the NICU and ICU facilities, but I also really liked th consultant. I would definitely go for KW, but make sure you find the right consultant for you.

I had my second baby at Portland. Midwife led as first one normal birth. I would strongly recommend. Forget the bedroom facilities, what you want is a MIDWIFE that stays with you 24 hours a day. Even with ML package you have access to a consultant if there are any issues. I can't recommend my midwife led birth there enough. I had amazing small team of midwifes felt totally cared for and no one left my side for more than minutes at a time. She knew exactly the moment my baby would come. And she was right. I had a walking epidural when I wanted one. It was brilliant. Up and around 20 minutes later. Then had a good sleep before going home the next day. Focus on facilities sure but it's the midwives that I would think about not necessarily the consultant.

Also we had a double bedded room and baby went in nursery for a few hours overnight which was BRILLIANT

I had a similar dilemma. Had received treatment for endometriosis at the Portland and loved the care there. But my first DC was an at risk birth so chose to be at a hospital where emergencies were immediately taken care of. The Portland does great care if you have no birth issues. I had loads so am happy I stuck with my local hospital. That said, first birth very NHS and awful. Went back to the private suite for DC2 and was far better.

Thank you for all of the responses, as you no doubt are aware it’s quite daunting the first time round.

@Growingboys - that’s a good point, although The Portland has upped its game in that regard.

@Redfooty - the Kensington Wing is in an NHS hospital.

@Netflixandchilli - nice to hear an alternative perspective on MW lead care, thank you.

I think the temptation is to be very risk averse but I was a straightforward nhs birth for number 1 and because I didn’t have adequate midwife supervision it went awry at the very end, and what should have been a good delivery went tits up and I ended up in surgery. It was fine but it shouldn’t have happened. And once the critical bit was out of the way I literally couldn’t get out. 2 days in HDU and then 4 days on a ward. On the 5th day they lost out notes and I started to lose the plot. It was horrendous. I think the trauma of postnatal care was just as bad to be honest. Having to walk up 4 floors to feed my baby in NCU after a 3rd degree tear? Seriously midwifes are the most important people I’ve come to realise and you need someone with you all the time that can see exactly what’s going on and is experienced enough to not let things escalate. All very well having emergency facilities but in my case it was entirely preventable. The Portland was worth every penny for those women. I couldn’t have cared less about the rest of it.

I've had private and NHS and think a lot can come down to the luck of the draw, particularly with the midwife you get on the day and how stretched they are (unless you are high risk or in trouble, you are unlikely to see a lot of your obstetrician until the end in any case). It's also nice after the birth to have the additional care and luxury.

For me it would 100% be Kensington - you clearly clicked a lot more, and if you feel comfortable thats a very good thing. Most importantly though, in the unlikely event that things go deeply wrong, the C&W has a fantastic neonatal NICU - kids get transferred from all over London for care in this hospital. Yes, some private hospitals have some of these facilities but this is a place where the NHS can outperform the private sector.

@newbie1066 Which hospital did you end up going for? Also would love to know if you toured Lindo at the beginning and what your reasons were for eliminating it? I am a ftm and trying to decide midwife vs consultant led, and then which hospital (leaning towards C&W also after reading Adam Kay’s book this week!)

Hi @Dasha85 - we ended up opting for the KW, and went consultant led, mainly for the continuity, we weren't high risk at all. I cannot sing their praises enough, everyone we dealt with at the C&W were incredibly professional and personable - the midwives were incredible! I had a pulldown bed in the room which meant I didnt have to leave my wife and baby. We will 100% choose to go there again if we are lucky enough to have more children.

It is also worth mentioning that the KW now have the K2 telematory monitoring system, so if you do need monitoring for any reason you are free to roam :)

We tried to view the Lindo but the lady we met was extremely abrupt and put us off completely, that coupled with the horrendous access and parking situation meant it was a "no go".

Please feel free to message me with any questions - believe me I know how daunting it can be!

Hi Guys
I was wondering if you could provide some advice. We are still choosing our hospital and were wondering about Chelsea & Westminster. We were wondering if anyone had any experiences with arriving to the hospital in early labour and where you were accommodated or sent home. We are 30mins drive away.

Could anyone also recommend a good consultant?

Hi @poriordan,

I didn’t see anyone get turned away at the Kensington Wing. We chose to go home once they’d checked that the baby was happy.

We dealt with Shane Duffy and Natasha Singh - both incredible! Any questions please feel free to send me a DM.

@Newbie1066
We had our first DC in The Kensington Wing in 2016 and we live an hour and a half away. We were too early and were turned away (I believe with hindsight with good reason - way too early) but we just went to stay in a local hotel which was fine. We had Dr Keith Duncan throughout pregnancy but he was away the weekend we gave birth so we had Dr Nick Wales who was great.

We are now having DC2 in 8 weeks and have booked in to be induced (hopefully vaginal delivery again) with Dr Wales. We are beginning induced because of the travel time/distance and childcare issues/stress.

@poriordan sorry

To add, we are shared midwife and consultant care.

I did have a look around the Lindo but didn’t get a good feel. To me it felt dark and small.