Chelsea Westminster Hospital - private wing

[heron22]

Hi,
has anyone given birth at Chelsea Westminster hospital and stayed at their private wing?
Just wondering how the service was? were you happy with the postnatal care? how about the food? etc?

Many thanks

Hi mears - I saw my consultant last week to discuss birth plan and that is what he said to me - he will be present for active labour. Although I was very quick last time so will be interesting to see if borne out!
He does live 5 minutes away though thankfully.
I don't know if different consultants have different policies but those were his exact words.

What does he mean by active labour? He might mean when you are pushing - worth clarifying.

Also present means - in the building. Does not mean in the room with you.

mears,
my consultant has assured me he'll be with me throughout my labor since i'm a high risk case...it's the only reason i stuck with him despite him warning me about having to have a c section. (his name is Hazem el Raefy)

when i was having my awful bh this week the consultant who was covering for my consultant spent a good hour monitoring me with midwives to make sure i wasn't going into early labor.

another consultant i was seeing usually gets to the hospital or starts attending a patient when she's been in labor for at least 7 hours. (his name is Demetrios Economides).

so there are some consultants who are generally interested in their patients, but probably have several patients who go into labor at a time anyway.

hanaflower,
do you like him? he seems decent to me but i've never met/heard of anyone else who has used him.

oh ok. he's nice, really he is and competent but he gets mad at me for skipping appointments and getting there late. i'm a terrible patient to have.

i guess all his patients must be late to their appointments

No - my consultant will be present in the later stages of labour, not pushing, ideally from 5cm but obviously cannot be entirely precise. And he clearly meant with me, not in the building, he wasn't using weasel words. He knows that I was only pushing for 10 mins with my daughter and am expecting rather more than that!

slinkimalinki- I'm going to C&W with this pregnancy but on the NHS. I have to see Keith Duncan in a couple of weeks as DD1 was a bit early. Is he nice when you ask him lots of questions etc. He is the lead consultant for the NHS side but I never had to see him last time. Just wondering what he was like?
Thanks

Hi quicker - I have been really pleased, he is very approachable which is part of the reason why I booked him - he is younger than many and not a stern grey hair who sits behind a desk in Harley Street! I must admit I am quite straightforward (so far... famous last words!) so have never bombarded him with too much at once but any questions I have had he has been very helpful.

PS really hope it goes well.

i met keith duncan the other day, he was covering hazem... he's really nice and very meticulous.

Thanks!

Hi Slinkie - thanks for your answers to my questions! That's great to hear that you weren't pushed to have a C-section just to fit into schedules. I'd been warned that it can happen, but so far everything I've heard about C&W and the assoicated consultants is really great. Definitely better than the Royal Free, which is my closest hospital.

I had DS at Portland, DD at C&W private wing (7 mths ago).

Was MUCH happier with consultant care at C&W as used midwives at Portland and ended up with the one I felt least confident about (mainly due to her own lack of confidence, sadly).

But in terms of aftercare and nurses, the ones at Portland were more scrupulous about cleanliness and feeding the babies and there is actually a propery "nursery".

at the C&W the babies are kept with the night staff behind reception, its not officially a nursery.

6 of one half a dozen of another in my experience

but of course the C&W is better equipped in terms of any emergencies as its a fully functioning hospital.

Good luck!

hi mrstiddles, thank you for posting! your comments has helped me come to a decision.
i will stay with portland. i had my DS there with a lovely consultant. i will go with her again. i was very happy with the portland nursery and also the rooms, food etc.

my pleasure. I hope it goes extremely well.

Another QCG bod here...

I was "under" Mr Al-Rafaee and have to say I didn't take to him at all BUT I was there as an NHS patient so maybe it is a very different experience if you go private? I was actually relieved when I found out it wouldn't be him doing the actual delivery (c-sect).

** just for reference sake the kensington wing has just been re done and does have a nursery for newborns.

I personally think being happy with your consultant is far more important too... but eandz is right - the K wing has been totally redone and expanded from 6 beds to 16 - so bears no resemblance to the old place.

hi, that is slinkie, being happy and having confidence in the consultant is really important.

good luck to you all with your babies