Private Room - do all hospitals have them? How do I get one?

[fatandiknowit]

This is a kind of stupid question - but I've never really been to hospital before - no broken bones, operations or anything in 31 years.

So giving birth will be my first NHS Hospital experience. It's likely I'll have to stay in as baby's presenting breech so will probably be C-Section for me....

I've read the "what to bring thread" with great interest and am very interested in these private rooms! Can anyone tell me how I would go about getting one for recovery??? The main reason is our nearest hospital is about 40 minutes drive and I'd really like for DH to be there as much as possible (as would he). I can't find any info about private rooms on my hospital's website (Salisbury).

Any comments/thoughts/information gratefully received!

You have to ask when you arrive if one is available. If you are having a CS that will probably help your cause as they give priority to those "in need". I spent 2 weeks on the ante-natal ward, but finally got a private room prior to being induced.

Have looked at the website and it's not very helpful - I would give them a call. A lot of hospitals have a bookable private room, at our hospital you had three options

1. Stomp your feet and repeatedly beg for a private room anf pay £70 for it (what we did)
2. Pre book a room and pay about £70, but is not guarunteed in case of an emergency
3. Pay £400 and get a guarunteed private room (what we'll do if there's a next time)

HTH

sorry, can't spell today

Thank you!

I shall definitely talk to them soon - we are visiting the ward in a few weeks so i'll look at the prebooking option!

Thank you for replying to my stupid question

it's not a stupid question! i wanted to check private healthcare for when I was pregnant (too much medical knowledge of horrible things) and rang up Bupa to ask - they told me pregnancy wasn't covered because it's not an illness. I was

Not stupid at all

I gave birth to DS at Salisbury 3 years ago.
Remember them mentioning about private rooms but got the impression they were mainly used for babies in SCBU etc.
Post natal ward wasn't that big tho (I ended up in far corner) and didn't think it was too bad, but then I only stayed one night (DS born at 2050, left 1400 next day).

Can recommend using the birth pool, HUGE room with en suite so had a shower etc in there after birth before moving to post natal (at about midnight) which was literally across the corridor from labour ward.

That said, things could have changed since, it was in the old part of the hospital back then..

Infact, pictures on this page www.maternity.salisbury.nhs.uk/pg3labour%20ward.htm are of the room I gave birth in!

OMG I feel a bit teary about that, daft muppet. LOL

I've had babies in two hospitals.

I asked if a room was available, the first time it was and I had to pay something like 50 quid a night. the second time the rooms were already being used but I got one for the second night. I then got turfed out when someone else needed it more (fair enough).

The visiting hours for the private rooms were exactly the same as on the wards, ie DP got kicked out at 8pm.

I hated being on the ward with all the noise and crying babies and was relieved to get some privacy and quiet.

This is an interesting thread. I'm due to have a CS in Salisbury in 3 weeks. When I looked around and asked about private rooms they said they didn't have any. But at that time I was due for a normal vaginal birth. (I looked round last Fri as my baby and I have just been found to have diabetus and they wouldn't let me have the homebirth I'd had planned). But now I'm due for a CS and will be giving birth to a baby who'll most likely need lots of care (with problems greater than diabetus), maybe I'm in with a chance. If they refuse I'll arrange to give birth at Southampton as that's where Tom (my darling baby boy) will need most of his care later on.

YOur reply Cazzr has made my day

I was born in what was then Odstock, now Salisbury hospital, and gave birth there twice (and will again in October). Didn't have a private room, but do have experience of both straightforward and section birth there, and I would recommend it. (Poole on the other hand was awful.)

i gave birth in glasgow with ds1 and plymouth with ds2. on ward with both . enjoyed my time and became friendly with the other mums. great when visitors are not with you.

sleepysox - i'm sure you'll be able to have a private room
Hope it all goes well for you x x

I hope so EE. I just need to have my darling Tom and hibernate

was looking for your other thread but couldn't find it. Hope you're alright x x

I was advised to delete it, as I found out on Wed that Tom wasn't going to die straight away as the thread title stated. (I'd been told initially he'd die straight after birth). Myself and a few others were worried that people wouldn't read the whole thread with my updates and wouldn't know the new version of events (that Tom's prognosis is still poor, but he's unlikely to die straight away and could live for a while, but be profoundly disabled).

Thanks for asking, I appreciate your kindness

I was put in a private room after both my births. I included a request for a private room on my birth plan. I'm not sure if that's why I got a room, but I'm not aware of a medical reason why I needed one.

The first time round the room also had a private shower - shared with the room next door. Fantastic .

~hugs to sleepysox~

our hospital has a private wing and if there is one available (rare) then you will have to pay £850 per night for the privledge, as for the side rooms those are reserved for special cases such as mums whose babies are in nicu/disabled parents. Mothers with HIV etc..

I had a private room, it was fab because DH could be with me and DS 7am to 11pm. We couldn't pre-book, it was on a first come first served basis, so as soon as I got into recovery DH asked the midwives and I was moved about 2/3 hours later once a lot of the drugs had worn off (had a section)

You can only ask. All hospitals are different, but be prepared not to be able to pre book.

There tends to be three main kinds of private room, and your hospital may have all, some, or none of the following.

1. A side room on a ward - usually reserved for those in medical need. You can ask, but it tends to be a clinical decision. Standard NHS care.

1. Private rooms, which are on a first come first served basis, and that you pay for, anything from £50 - £250 per night. Again with standard NHS care.

1. Then there is the private healthcare rooms which can cost £700 per night upwards, which have NHS care but also extra private cover.

I would stress again though, that the majority of the time you will not be guaranteed any kind of private room, unless you are mega rich and book into the likes of the Portland

Thank you for all your replies - sadly NOT mega rich at all - but it's really been good to read the positive experiences at Salisbury.

We really wanted a home birth so that DH could be involved ALL the way through so my main reason for wanting the room was so he coudl be involved- but the car eon the ward sounds good and like he would not be too restricted with visiting.

Thank you for telling me about my options very much apprecaited

you should also check the visiting hours - when I had my dc (admittedly not in Salisbury), the visiting hours restrictions did not apply to dh and he was allowed on the ward whenever, and for as long as, we wanted. i think this was discretion on the part of the midwives rather than official policy so if he had been a nuisance they could have asked him to leave but you might find they have a similar policy at your hospital. Visiting hours were enforced for other visitors so the ward didn't get too noisy and overrun.

As you're potentially looking at a c-section I thought I'd mention that in our hospital (NOT Salisbury, I should say) it's policy not to let caesarean patients have a private room. I believe they like to have you on the main ward because they need to keep a closer eye on you after surgery. I have heard of this elsewhere too.