Post-Natal care on the Lansdell Suite

[redllamayellowllama]

I was wondering if anyone has experience of private post-natal care at St. Thomas'? I had DS there as an EMCS and found the care during labour to be great, but found the care on the post-natal ward awful.

I'm hoping to have this baby by ELCS, which has pretty much been ok-ed by my obstetrician and cannot afford to go privately for all of my care. Can anyone give me an indication of cost and whether they think it was worthwhile?

TIA

i had my dd2 privately at St. Thomas' by ELCS 8 month ago and it was a really lovely experience. i had my dd1 at Chase Farm hospital and I was shocked by the poor care I received on the post natal ward that I decided that i would never have a child on the nhs again. The Lansdell suite is really nice and comfortable, the rooms are spacious and clean, you can have your partner to spend the first night with you, which I found really lovely especially after a cs. The nurses were all really helpful and caring and the food was rreally good! From memory I think they charge £699 per night, but i could be wrong, if you like I could check. I spent just 2 nights there. I personallly would really reccoment it, it was a reall y positive experience and it was definately money well spent.

If cost is an issue, why don't you consider having the baby on the NHS and then pay for a private room on the Lansdell post-natally?

I looked into private care throughout and for a normal birth, I wasn't doing to get much change from £12000 (assuming that I was going to have an epidural etc!!). Instead, I have now got an independent midwife to handhold through the antenatal period (all appointments at home, which is brilliant - especially with a toddler in tow). She will be with me throughout the labour (although can not medically intervene) and then hopefully get me discharged that day and tucked into bed at home for recovery (they then visit at home for the next 6 weeks). If I need to stay postnatally, I will consider getting a room on the Landsell which is approx £800 for the night. All in all, a lot cheaper than just private care.

To date all the NHS scans and bloods have been on time and I have been very well looked after - so seems crazy to pay for it if you don't need to!

Good luck with what you decide

yup - same as you, had ds by CS and then went on to the nhs post natal ward at st
thomas..... never again...

so with dd i had CS again (on the nhs) and we then booked into the lansdell suite for 3 nights post natal care - about £700 a night but money well spent. clean and comfy room with private bathroom, nice food and helpful staff.

one word of warning though - patients who go private for the whole thing do take precedence, so as your due date gets nearer, pop and see what they have scheduled. we were advised to phone when we were on our way into the hospital, and dh popped up when dd was about 2 hours old - it was only at that point that we were 100% sure we had a room.

I had my DS at St Thomas' in 2007 and went to the Lansdell suite post natally. Second time around i went to the post natal ward and found it to be a distressing, awful experience. Such a contrast to the world class antenatal service!

I booked in to the suite once my son was born and stayed for 2 nights. It was about £800 per night. I would recommend it as it was quiet, the staff were available when you needed them, and my DH slept in the room for the first night. Importantly, the staff were available to help me establish breastfeeding, taking the time to express and feed my DS by syringe. I left the hospital feeling confident that I could feed him. They also took him from me overnight- no, not as bad as it sounds- bringing him back when he needed to feed. I was able to get some rest after the birth, which was needed when he 'woke up' in the first week. Oh, and the food on the Lansdell suite is much better and you will have your own bathroom.

Haven't checked this thread for a while - thank you for all of your replies and wisdom.

It sounds like you all had wonderful experiences there. I think I'll go and have a look round when next in for a midwife's appt.