Private or NHS?

[buntybanana]

I wonder if anyone has any recent experiences of going private (especially at the Lindo Wing)?

We're considering going private for a variety of reasons & want to make the decision early (currently TTC). I know that NHS emergency care is always the best quality, but since Covid and the recent state of the NHS I've become concerned. I have two friends that are midwives at the NHS hospital I would be at if we decided not to go private. They've shared harrowing experiences with me and confided that it's becoming dangerous for patients because they're so overworked, tired & understaffed. There have been several extremely worrying situations regarding women and their babies health. Additionally, I know I want an epidural and apparently it's just luck of the draw at this point and there might not be anyone available to provide this.

I'm late 20s with no health problems & currently it wouldn't be impossible for us financially to go private, but it wouldn't be easy. This might change as my husband's company are currently sorting out private health insurance for both is us, but not sure what it would cover. I wonder if anyone could share any recent experiences with me?

i am currently 29 weeks and going private. I've had good experiences of the NHS so far (bar waiting times for appts) but i want the control of knowing whose in charge of my life, my own room and a bit of extra protection during jan when its gonna be peak covid season. We are delivering at Queen Charlotte as the nicu is phenomonal and the parking is much better than at the lindo

If you are getting english private insurance then none of them will pay for anything to do with pregnancy so i was told to transfer a bit later to private as if you have major complication like pre-eclampsia then you can be hospitalised for weeks and the insurance won't cover it so can cost you a fortune. so better to transfer later in pregnancy when if there is a complication they will just deliver. you can't go back and forth between private and nhs. If you are private you can transfer back to nhs for care but then can't go back to private care.

For the record the prices are about as follows for the lindo:
Doctors fees: between £8-10k depending on when you have care from.
Normal delivery hospital fees: £6100
C-section hospital fees: £8k
Aenthatist (if needed): around £2k
If you need a c-section then budget for 4 nights in hospital so that's an extra £3600.

We have put aside around £25k in case of any complications.

Hope that helps

I’ve done both
Lovely
Nhs I did have a private room with en-suite (but it wasn’t private. It’s a ward less hospital)
Private was more luxurious and felt like a mini break!

All things being equal - private.
But nhs was great otherwise

I would be speechless if your insurance picks up the tab

I transferred at 28 weeks and was cheaper

Private maternity hospitals will not deal with complications or emergencies so you do need to be prepared to be transferred (the cost of this is included in your contract). One way to mitigate this slightly is by going in for an elective c-section a little before your due date. But if you want to give birth vaginally I would probably choose NHS treatment.

@Ozanj

Private maternity hospitals will not deal with complications or emergencies so you do need to be prepared to be transferred (the cost of this is included in your contract). One way to mitigate this slightly is by going in for an elective c-section a little before your due date. But if you want to give birth vaginally I would probably choose NHS treatment.

Mine did

I had mine at the Kensington Wing at Chelsea & Westminster. It was the best of both worlds, with dedicated private midwife, senior Consultant who did my scans at every appt and then delivery, with the back up of NHS NICU etc, which thankfully wasn't needed.

Just to caution that my straightforward ELCS was £22k all-in, so I wouldn't rely too much on the estimates in the brochure, as there are a lot of extras. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, as the care was phenomenal.

NHS care will do the job but won't be glamorous.

It's often the same people delivering either way, so same skill level. My private gyn consultant happened to deliver my second on the NHS as he was on call that day.

In your financial situation I would go NHS nearly all the way then transfer for delivery, or, go NHS for delivery and then pay for a private room and care afterwards (£900 a night in my hospital). I lucked out with a private room first time round, and was on the ward second time. Ward was hideous, and £900 would have been very well spent if I needed another night.

I agree, the current midwife situation is extremely alarming and not getting much press. It's an absolute scandal and putting mothers and babies lives at risk every day.

I bet if men's health were being risked to the same degree it would be front page news until resolved.

@Ozanj

Private maternity hospitals will not deal with complications or emergencies so you do need to be prepared to be transferred (the cost of this is included in your contract). One way to mitigate this slightly is by going in for an elective c-section a little before your due date. But if you want to give birth vaginally I would probably choose NHS treatment.

depends what you mean by complications or emergencies. some they will and others they won't. e.g if you need intensive care you'll be transferred to the NHS but if its a more common complication then yes they can deal with it

Whether they handle complications probably depends on what the complication is. I had a rare issue that my private consultant hadn’t seen in 35 years of practice and couldn’t have been treated in a private setting. In a large public hospital I saw a consultant who saw only cases like mine.

I’ve done both
One on the NHS at Chelsea and Westminster and the other at the Kensington wing at c&w

Firstly ignore nonsense from posters like @Ozanj
If you’re booked as a private patient but have complications, you can be seen as a private patient or transfer back to the NHS. It’s the same consultants in the same building, but the private ward is obviously nicer surroundings

In the event of anything being wrong with your baby, you’ve got the same access to NICU etc
In fact, at C&W, the private wing is closer to NICU than the NHS maternity ward…

You should set aside £20-25k to cover everything, but you probably can do ‘shared care’ and get the booking bloods and scans done on the NHS if you want to save a bit of money

Midwife-led is a bit cheaper than consultant led by a couple of grand but it’s nice to see the same consultant throughout, and they guarantee they’ll do your delivery also

@BigPyjamas

It's often the same people delivering either way, so same skill level. My private gyn consultant happened to deliver my second on the NHS as he was on call that day.

Well yes, the consultant may be the same, but it's everything else that is usually better, not just the facilities, but also the support staff, administrators, receptionists, etc. When I've been private, I've found all aspects to be better and less stressful, even just being able to phone a receptionist/administrator who knows what they're doing and can actually deal with things rather than just passing the buck to someone else reduces anxiety/stress etc.

I'd go NHS and then transfer. I had an ELCS on nhs. It was delayed a day (after waiting all day with no food and minimal fluids) due to emergencies- I can't really moan about that but to not be told it was cancelled until 6pm pissed me off. And postnatal care is terrible. You'd get more rest at a rave. Huge shortage of midwives made me feel like a hindrance. I stayed 24hrs, but probably needed another night- got better care from my husband at home!
If I have another baby I'd have private ELCS and aftercare.
I had consultant led care up to the birth and that was great though.

I get pretty good health insurance through work, and I’d be staggered if your husband’s company’s insurance covers this.

I wouldn't. These private hospitals don't have the means to deal with unforseen emergencies as well as the NHS does. If you're an ordinary person and not a celeb the room etc is pretty basic.

@Viviennemary

I wouldn't. These private hospitals don't have the means to deal with unforseen emergencies as well as the NHS does. If you're an ordinary person and not a celeb the room etc is pretty basic.

Presumably you haven’t read the OP? She is thinking of going to the Lindo wing. Which is inside an NHS hospital.

And the rooms are the rooms, regardless of celebrity status

I had DD2 at the Lindo Wing last year by elective section. DD1 was born 3 years earlier by emergency section. The whole experience was awful - we were in hospital for a week after and it was traumatising. The noise, lack of privacy, staff so unbelievably overstretched.

My second birth was wonderful. Post op my pain was controlled brilliantly and I was helped with everything. We were in for 2 days and I left feeling well rested and ready to get stuck in! The whole way through the pregnancy i had regular, face to face appointments with my consultant.

The Lindo Wing is part of St Mary's next door, which has a NICU etc.

If you can afford it, I cant recommend it enough. I am passionate about the NHS- am a nurse in an acute hospital myself, but postnatal care on the NHS is often absolutely dire.

I should say though, insurance will not cover it. You will also be unable to just have a section and no prenatal care - the consultant needs to care for you the whole way through. You also need to book in pretty much as soon as you find out you are pregnant.

Private health insurance won't cover maternity care in this country.

Also budget around £20k. Costs will almost always be higher than the base case.

@Viviennemary

I wouldn't. These private hospitals don't have the means to deal with unforseen emergencies as well as the NHS does. If you're an ordinary person and not a celeb the room etc is pretty basic.

You’ve brevet given birth in a private hospital have you?

I’ve done both

You’re wrong

Occupational health insurance won't cover childbirth. Believe me I tried !

@Sipperskipper

I should say though, insurance will not cover it. You will also be unable to just have a section and no prenatal care - the consultant needs to care for you the whole way through. You also need to book in pretty much as soon as you find out you are pregnant.

not true. I am having a C-section with just one or two appts beforehand. You can chose when to transfer over (I am doing so from 36 weeks and planning the C-section for 38 weeks).

but yes you need to book in early

@Sipperskipper

I should say though, insurance will not cover it. You will also be unable to just have a section and no prenatal care - the consultant needs to care for you the whole way through. You also need to book in pretty much as soon as you find out you are pregnant.

This wasn’t my experience

My consultant quoted for options from 12+, 16+, 20+, 28+ and 36+ weeks on her price list

Granted, I don’t know what her availability would be like for someone wanting to transfer at 36 weeks but they definitely offer it as an option

She is one of the very in-demand consultants as well. I’m sure a lesser known one will have more availability

Not me, but a good friend is going private for the exact reasons you’ve mentioned, she’ll be having an ELCS at the Lindo Wing. She is expecting it to cost £25k but budgeted £30k.

I had my baby in august via nhs and honestly her experience sounds so much better than mine, frequency of appointments and continuity of care. Honestly I would say I had a bad experience with mid wives misadvising me on the nhs. I said my preference was a c section from the word go and mentioned it at every appointment, they referred me late so it was a rush job, I was given 4 different dates for the section, a day before the section they forgot I was rhesus negative and called me for a last minute cross match- I ended up calling the Portland to see if they could do the c section for me (at a cost of about £12k including staying in). Anyway they gave me the original date and my nhs c section went ahead and it was a good experience, but had they changed my date again I’d have been at the Portland. I called the Portland at 38 weeks and they accepted me so you leave it late to transfer.

If we have number 2 I’m definitely going privately!

I love these threads where people with no experience of private maternity care are somehow experts on what's available and what the experience is like.

I've done both and there is a world of difference. Not just nicer facilities but time. Time to care.