Portland & a consultant - how much?!

[WaitingForLittleR]

Hi mums,

This is our first pregnancy and we have little to no idea what we're doing - but have found Mumsnet hugely useful already so have signed up and I'm really hoping you can help me out here! My expensive work insurance will cover 10k for a normal pregnancy, incl any doctor or hospital we want. Which sounded fabulous, and we were planning to go to the Portland as I know other people at work go there.

However, the Portland say we need to go consultant led as it is our first. We've just got a quote back from one consultant for £7500 - not including scans, blood tests, hospital fees or anaesthetist fees. Another didn't sound much better. The Portland seems to start at £5400, not including induced labour, emergency c sections etc... and now we're wondering how feasible it is to have a consultant led pregnancy in a private hospital for

I think it greatly depends. If I had a chance to get to UCH or St. Thomas' or any other really good hospitals, I would go on NHS as well.
Where I live, my choice is only 1 hospital, which is rated badly for maternity services, and the care I got so far has been substandard.
Having spent years trying to concieve through IVF, I am not going to leave anything to chance, and will go private, although at considerable expense.

Merinda - I can understand that - but won't you get treated by the same local staff as run the NHS hospital anyway - at least at consultant level?

Unreasonably, a lot of Consultants only undertake Private work and always have a covering colleague if they are on leave. The OP did not post for a Private v NHS debate which always seems to happen with these threads. She simply wanted costs and recommendations. For all of you who had great NHS experiences then fabulous but it is personal choice!

Actually part of the deal is that your consultant can't be on holiday at that time. These also don't do NHS so won't be on their NHS shift. And it's one birth pool per room so no chance of someone else having it as for 6 rooms they only ever plan for 4 being there max at once. I could go on.... You get the idea!

My best friend is a paediatric consultant who has had three kids of her own and went nhs for all. When she saw my NHS options she told me to go private. So yes, it does all depend on your local hospital. And what's right for you and will put your mind at ease. I'd never discourage anyone from going NHS. It's just not right for me this time.

Yes, precisely - with private you have guaranteed consultant care. If yours is away for some reason, he always has 1 or 2 back-up colleagues that can take care of you.
But I agree with many in terms of intensive care etc., that is why I am going with Lansdell at St. Thomas', because they have all the facilities and there will be no need for transfer.

Interesting. By guaranteed consultant care do you mean you're guaranteed to have one at delivery?

LondonLady - not quite sure I understand how they can be sure your consultant won't be on holiday when the baby comes. What if you're a month early. Do you get a refund . And presumably they still have shifts - so you might not get the person who has assessed you up to then anyway.

None of this would be relevant for me - The People's Republic of Scotland don't have private maternity hospitals anyway.

Best of luck all....

I decided to spend my bonus on going private after one of my friends had an awful experience at our local hospital. Another was turned away in labour from 2 hospitals (2nd one they had driven 15 miles to). To be honest I just felt it lessened the risk of likelihood of having a nightmare birth as the NHS is completely overstretched. In a crisis there is no doubt that you see the NHS at it's best, but I certainly felt vulnerable when pregnant and was nice to have people with time to reassure.

I have to say I am a total supporter of the NHS and have worked for the NHS in the past.

Yes unreasonably, you are guaranteed a consultant at delivery. As has been said for the last few threads, your chosen consultant ALWAYS has another covering so if you go into labour early when they are away no problem. A lot of Private Consultants work in partnerships. They dont do shift work as such but do have clinics and restrict the number of clients they take on. When I went into labour with DS1 mine had to cancel her outpatient clinic to deliver me. i

On what you've said threeisamagicnumber, about the NHS being overstretched, you've made me think (and I know this is going to go down like a led balloon with some on here) but many (in London certainly) believe that if a good percentage of gals didn't go private, the NHS just wouldn't be able to cope with all of us. If this is true, perhaps the private-doubters on here shouldn't be so discouraging as our keeping away might well be ensuring your quality of care, where you have experienced it. Controversial I know! But if this is true then arguably we are both paying for the NHS then allowing it some space to breathe by not using its maternity services. Hooray for us!? ;)

Oh God Londonlady you have started something now (grin).
You are right though and ultimately a poster should be able to come on for advice about private care without the anti-private brigade jumping down their throats.

LondonLady30, I had my baby on the Lansdell Suite in 2009, and I dont think it is exactly how you picture it, unless things have changed...You dont have immediate access to an anesthetist. You unfortunately have to join the queue like everyone else. So, if it is the middle of the night and there are other obstetric emergencies, you have to wait like everyone else (I had to wait an hr and and a half). Also, you labour in the same rooms as those in the NHS. You do however get your own private room postnatally and they are perfectly nice. Also, the birth pools are just the ones that everyone on the NHS use - they arent kept just for the people on the Lansdell Suite. Im not saying it isnt worth going private - I would certainly recommend it. But a lot of the facilities are shared with the NHS. What you are really paying for is having a 1 to 1 obs, consistent care throughout pregnancy and peace and quiet postnatally rather than a demand system for the facilities.

We delivered in UCLH yesterday and you would not of got a better service in a private hospital. The MW care was phenomenal and the Consultant who delivered our baby was amazing !I think you guys who spend >£10,000 are crazy. The only thing better you would have is a private room after the birth, Which actually costs £250 a night in UCLH if you want one.

I am reading this post with interest, especially the comments re the Landsell which have made me glad that I opted for the Portland...Slightly different to some of the other posters on this thread, I have gone for a completely private ante-natal 'package' with scans, tests etc and the consultant's delivery fee all billed as one (and then the hospital's fees completely separate to that). I would extend LondonLady's point to this aspect too...from what I understand, queues for scans at NHS hospitals can be excessive and meetings with midwives shambolic. Those of us having private ante-natal care must relieve the system in no insignificant measure. Personally, the peace of mind that I have received from having such high level dedicated ante-natal care and knowing that the hospital is dedicated to the same level is worth every penny. If I was due to give birth on the NHS having heard the horror stories re being turned away/turfed out with indecent haste post-birth, slopping around in blood-stained showers, relying on sporadic midwifery services, I would be a nervous wreck. The fact that I know who is delivering my baby, what the room looks like, how long I will stay in for after, that I can have 24 hour visitors, my partner can stay overnight and that things are in my control (rather than that of an over-stretched NHS trust) is worth every penny. Yes it is hugely expensive but so are lots of things in life and how we choose to spend our money is such a subjective concept.

"Guaranteed", eh? "In my control"? Tell that to the woman who was delivered by the registrar at the Portland in a black cab parked outside the front door because they didn't have time to get her in (no, she didn't get a refund, I asked...) Or the woman who delivered in an emergency ambulance on a transfer to a hospital in Essex because they didn't have the right facilities available at the Portland for whatever was happening to her... Babies are unpredictable NHS or private!

Why are some people so against private? If someone is totally fine with the NHS then all good - that's the right choice for you. But there are good and very individual reasons why someone might go down the private route and if people have the funds or access to insurance cover and want to opt for this then they should be allowed to choose.

Granted - there's a separate argument that we could have about how the private option is largely tied to having access to funds/insurance so it's not a choice that everyone has but if you are happy with and back the NHS then what's the problem if other people choose to do something different?

I know this is an old thread but I am so glad I had my baby at the Portland. Expensive but so worth it.

To anyone who is interested some obstetricians at NHS hospitals have a private practice and will attend your birth at the NHS hospital for a fee so if you want one to one consultant led care this is a cheaper option than going somewhere like the Portland if you can't afford it and its not close by. You can have all your scans on the NHS and just pay for the doctor at your birth, an anethetist fee around 500 quid if you need an epidural and 850 for a private room. The consultant splits their fees with the hospital. Know this is an old thread but there are lots of options.

I paid £80 for a private room at my nhs hospital! Irrelevant to the thread, I know.

I saw the cleanest toilet I have ever seen in my life during my antenatal care at UCLH! :)

Also delivered there and was very happy overall.