Vitality healthcare and sections...

[butunlikely]

Hi there,
Wondering if anyone has had any experience with having a caesarean section for medical necessity through Vitaility healthcare. My last baby was breech and to date this one is too...I'm convinced it'll remain that way! It sounds like I'd therefore be eligible for a private c section - my work pay for healthcare and while I've barely used it I'd be tempted in this case. While I had fantastic care on the NHS first time, I don't think anyone would argue that the postnatal wards are fun, and I'd consider going private for that reason only. Possibly also not having to wait on the day. But, the coverage documents are far from clear - does anyone have any experience and know how likely it is I'd get hit with a load of extra charges e.g. for midwifery, pain relief etc. There's a very ambiguous phrase about only 'direct complications' being covered - I assume this covers a night in the hospital though, and all associated care, including for the baby??
Also a big part of me doesn't want to offend my NHS consultants and carers, they are all wonderful, I'd only be going private because I can (if it's truly free), and for the slightly less stretched and quieter aftercare. But do NHS staff feel strongly that this shouldn't be done? I'm interested in whether it would be frowned upon, as there is a niggle that it doesn't sit quite right. I just want to do the right thing to get second baby off to a good start!
Any advice welcome (please don't give me grief about having the healthcare in the first place, I'm well aware that I am very lucky and in a profession that generally comes with good benefits).

I have no experience so can't really help but why not just give them a call, try to actually pin somebody down if you can? You'll be much more confident if you know exactly what you are or aren't getting. Just badger them until you speak to someone!

Also - I don't think many people would blame you going private. NHS is fantastic but if you can go private why the hell not?

Good luck, hope you get it sorted!

I'm waiting for a call back from them... I've just heard that sometimes you can be hit with extra charges that maybe weren't quite clear from the outset so wondering if anyone had personal experience! Thanks! I bet baby turns round anyway now I'm doing research 😊

Speaking as NHS mw just check that it will pay for what you want! I wouldn't resent it but be cautious and check out what happens in the unlikely event of complications, does it transfer you back to NHS care or does it pay for private treatment or does it leave you paying for private treatment?

Also choose where you're going to deliver carefully. I work in a South East Hospital just outside London and one of our consultants does private lscs. These are slotted into our Theatre diary alongside our regular electives list and may therefore be bumped due to emergencies. The private patients get all the antenatal checks with their consultants, arrive on the day and he carries out their lscs. Then after standard recovery time they are transferred to a private room on the postnatal ward. It is a nice room, mini fridge, bed for partner, etc. The consultant comes to review them the next day. But all their ongoing care is from the same NHS mws who are caring for all the other women on the postnatal ward. So guaranteed privacy but same nursing care, pain relief, feeding support etc, baby checks and same wait for all of the above. I presume in a unit set up for private care the advantages would be greater!

I have a vitality membership and was told that it doesnt include maternity operations!

If you dont mind i'd like to know what they say to you as this might be a good option for me x

Thanks @duskybluebell - I'll definitely ask about what hospitals are covered! Since my main motivation would be the private room and facilities aspects I'd be checking they're better than my local hospital (which is great, just a little dated and BOILING!). But will definitely check that midwifery help after is included, and ask what happens in an emergency if it's a private facility - really good point!!

@user1906 I'll let you know the outcome. My policy documents say that if a certain number of people are covered in the group policy and employers opt in, certain circumstances are covered. My office is quite big so we meet the group criteria and my employer has decided to include some childbirth cover. Which I think is fair given the number of football induced knee and back injuries the blokes have claimed for - football is a lifestyle choice as far as I'm concerned

Certainly 20 years ago I know the policy covered the maternal care but not the baby’s care immediately after it was born - it covered care if the baby was unwell eg first 21 days but didn’t cover the accommodation cost for a healthy baby....in the Portland it was about £1400 for several nights’ care! So yes it was free but actually not really- do some digging with Vitality and good luck!

If anyone was interested in the outcome of this - vitality will cover a medical c section if your policy includes it, but subject to absolute monetary limits on parts of the procedure eg anaesthetists' fees. These aren't particularly high - I'm fairly certain they won't cover any of the London prices - and you'd be risking extra fees for anything out of the ordinary. So not really an option for me. What they do do is give you cashback if you have a section on the nhs when you could have claimed with them. It's on a per night basis. Slightly bizarre but I can therefore claim something if baby is indeed breech (kicks to my cervix would suggest so!!) x

Yep I claimed the cash after having an EMCs and had to spend 4 nights in the hospital. I got £50 a night I think x

I had my DD at the Lindo Wing and had PE so a private ELCS was covered by PPP. There were significant additional charges that were not covered. We chose private care before we knew PPP would pay so it was not an issue for us. Additional charges were circa £5K. This was 2004, dread to think what they would be now!!

Wow @Onthewayout that's a huge amount of extra charges! Out of interest were any of them ridiculous/unreasonable, or is it just a fact of the cost of medical care and insurance limitations? Thanks for the info. Def no Portland experience for me! x