Private patient Queen Charlotte Hospital

[Heron23]

Hi Has anyone given birth at QUeen Charlotte as private patient? i am considering it because it is closer to home. I had my first baby at portland hospital and the nurse attention was great and there was a nursery that would look after my baby 24/7 while i got some rest. Is the post natal service the same at Queen Charlotte? Many thanks!

I only have experience of the NHs side of QC, which I would highly recommend. Although postnatal care was not great -- but then it wouldn't be anywhere on the NHS.

I had my babies at Queen Charlotte's. Had Mr. Kumar as my consultant who was excellent, if a little humourless. Not the most exciting of gentlemen but he got my babies delivered safely and I have the tiniest c-section scar (I had to have a caesar). I had a very complicated pregnancy and not the best delivery due to epidural complications but I don't think that was anything to do with Queen Charlottes. The level of care I received was excellent.

The hospital is excellent - very clean and well equipped and I always got an excellent level of care. This MAY have been because I was having twins and the pregnancy was complicated and I've never been pregnant before or since so I can't compare. But there always seemed to be plenty of midwives and doctors around when you needed them.

The private ward is very good. I spent some time on the antenatal ward (in a private room) and labour ward too and they were good - very clean and a good size. The private ward (Sir Stanley Clayton ward) was very nice. Large rooms with fridges and televisions and very clean en suite bathrooms. They changed sheets and cleaned the rooms every day and there was a good level of midwife support, which was the most important thing. They also had a very nice nursery for the babies so if you wanted a night's sleep after birth they would take them in there (this was a huge help after my shocker caesarean as I was quite ill).

They ARE busy at Queen Charlotte's and the NHS side does have staffing issues. The midwives on the private ward would sometimes go and help out as they were so understaffed but I never felt it impacted on my care. The only thing they weren't so hot on was breastfeeding, which is odd as it was something they were very keen on and there were posters everywhere. But again, that may have been because I was quite ill post caesarean and my babies were tube fed for the first week. I had to nag for a day or so to get someone to show me how to express and, had I not done so, I don't think anyone would have bothered to show me.

I think the level of care is very, very good and the private ward is very nice. The only issue for me was that it is in the middle of nowhere so not easy for people to nip out and pick you up nice food, etc. But if you don't mind a cracking view of Wormwood Scrubs then it's an excellent place. I got a brilliant level of care.

Hope this helps.

I gave birth at Queen Charlotte's this September. Had three different midwives during 8 hour labour. After the birth of my daughter I was told to toughen up and then ignored for two hours - with my naked baby in my arms. Had to call my husband to come along and dress the baby (as I couldn't do it myself). The whole postnatal ward was understaffed. Am so glad then I will have my next baby in Bristol.

Lenki that's awful. Am so sorry you had such a grim time - awful that you were treated so badly. Did you make a complaint about the midwife? I only ask because I think you should have - no one should be told to "toughen up" after painful childbirth, however understaffed and stretched the midwives are.

I think like all hospitals they have major staffing issues and I think, again like all hospitals, the private side doesn't really experience this. I know when I had my babies the NHS ward was totally packed as there were four sets of twins born that day as well as singletons. The nurses were struggling. It's totally wrong that it's so hit and miss.

I think some people get lucky with hospitals - sometimes you turn up and it isn't busy at all and then you get the level of care you SHOULD have and are entitled to.

Hope your next birth is much better.
kx

Kitstwins, i am happy you had a good experience as private patient at queen charlotte. What was the food like?

Lenki i hope you are recovered from your horrible ordeal!

Many thanks to all your answers

Hi Heron,

The food really wasn't bad. Not Gordon Ramsey but not Wormwood Scrubs either. You got a menu every day that you could chose things from and it was cooked through a separate kitchen/caterers from the rest of the hospital. there was lots of fresh fruit, etc. on offer. I spent my birthday in there (joy) and recall my birthday dinner was poached cod and vegetables and fruit salad! It wasn't restaurant standard by any means but it really wasn't bad, although I suspect the Portland would have the edge.

I also ate the standard catering when I was on the antenatal ward prior to giving birth and that was okaaaaaay but not brilliant.

Good luck with chosing.K x

Hey Kits, have you eaten at Wormwood Scrubs?

I'd say the food and the posnatal care on the NHS ward were both pretty poor, but I would expect nothing else from the NHS. You could save a lot of money by getting your own food brought in by a friend or relative and getting a private room. I'm assuming priovate maternity/delivery must cost a fortune.

I had a caesarean and much prefer my medical advise to come from real doctors. So I don't really choose a hospital based on the the midwife after care.

Interestingly, at QC, I did experience that there is a real power struggle between doctors and midwives. The doctors would say one thing, and as soon as they stepped out of the room, the midwives would tell me to do something else.

Agree on the powerstruggle. I remember getting entirely different advice from the three midwives and the two paediatricians that visited over the course of one day. And as we were (finally) leaving hospital one midwife told us to keep swaddling the babies and, as soon as she was out of earshot, the paed leant in and told us not to swaddle. Christ!! No wonder we were confused.

The private option wasn't cheap, although I started off as an NHS patient. However, once I knew I was going to be in hospital for a while before birth (five weeks in the end) I moved over to private care. The standard of care from the doctors was exactly the same, but with added 'frills' in terms of amenities. It was expensive, but by then I just couldn't face the long haul with the NHS. I think hospital food is a bit like aeroplane food; you can just about cope with it for one day, but any longer than that and it really starts to bung you up and make you feel lethargic, etc. Plus, getting a private room on the NHS post natal ward (they had a few) wasn't guaranteed if you were on the NHS side as these were very popular and handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. Interestingly, the day my babies were born there were also three other sets of twins born (all by c-section) and I vividly recall one woman on HDU having a fit when she was told that there were no more private rooms available and she'd have to go on the standard ward. She'd been told that she was as good as certain to get one as she'd had twins.

Anyway, happy days. I used to look over at Wormwood Scrubs from my window and feel equally imprisoned!!

Kx

ok, thanks to all your replies. I will stay with portland.

Hi there. Am 13+3 with my first and - having been turned down by Queen Charlotte's as an NHS patient (our GP sent the form to Chelsea and Westminster by acident and QC are now full - joy!) - have decided to go provately at QC. We have to choose a consultant out of a list of five and have no idea about any of them. Am very keen to have as natural a birth as possible so want someone who is not too set in their (old fashioned) ways. Any advice?

Hi - roughly how much does it cost to go private to have your baby at a hospital like QC? (I didn't know this was possible until I read these threads).

I think places like the Portland are very expensive, and I think I would feel happier being at a teaching hospital, but I just have no idea - anyone able to give me an idea?

No cheaper than the Portland - £5-6K for OB fees, hospital charges and extra nightly stays, scans and bloods on top - looking at £10K more or less. Not sure if they do MW led there now but those work out £3-4K cheaper.

I recommend Mr McCarthy at QC. He is a wonderfully supportive, quietly spoken man who couldn't have been more attentive and informative when I had my son there last year. I will definitely be having my next one with him and will happily drive all the way round the north circular from Blackheath to be his patient! I used Mr McCarthy on a recommendation from another friend and I couldn't thank her enough.

I recently had a private delivery with Mr Kumar and private aftercare at QCH. He was excellent - I had a lot of confidence in him and he did an excellent job of my c-section and post-delivery follow-up and the staff and care on the private ward was also fabulous. My first was also at QCH but NHS and although they were excellent at the birth the aftercare wasn't quite so good - you were pretty much left to your own devices which if you've had a tough delivery is very hard. I didn't need help with the breast feeding for my second but they were extremely helpful on the NHS side for my first.

Hi,
Any more recent experiences at Queen Charlotte's private wing? Also recent experiences with or recommendations of consultants there would be much appreciated.
Thank you.