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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Did you have to pay for your 20 week scan (NHS) photos?

100 replies

Sandra2011 · 16/10/2011 16:28

Great Western Hospital in Swindon is charging £10 for 4 scan photos.

I think price is way too expensive but it must be a good business for hospital as who wouldn't want to have that memory.

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LoveInAColdGrave · 17/10/2011 08:48

But, for the avoidance of doubt, don't mind paying.

trixymalixy · 17/10/2011 08:48

It's a medical scan not an opportunity for you to see your baby. I think they should charge.

I didn't even get a 20 week scan on the NHS it's a postcode lottery, count yourself lucky.

LoveInAColdGrave · 17/10/2011 09:07

Really, Trixy? That's awful. So no anomally scans at all? Yikes.

LittleWhiteWereWolf · 17/10/2011 09:31

Gosh, Trixy, really? Thats dreadful!

Ours were £5 for one or £10 for three, so we paid out fiver for the 12 week scan but will take a tenner with us in November for the 20 week scan. Am happy to pay--it goes straight back to fund the NHS which give us so many free services.

Am very bemused at the poster who claimed it was "cheeky, but what you gonna do?" [hconfused]

notcitrus · 17/10/2011 09:42

£3 per pic, up to 3 pics, at St George's in south London.
It goes towards new printers and the hospital charity which does lots of good stuff, so I'm happy to pay.
Even though at 21 weeks young Squirmlet is still crap at posing for photos!

MillyStar · 17/10/2011 09:45

They're 3.50 each at my hospital, i had my dating scan a couple of weeks ago and i asked for 3 pics and had my £10.50 ready, i know it's naughty but no-one asked me for the money so i didn't offer it and got them for nothing, the ultrasound lady told me it's an administration fee!!

Original poster

Sandra2011 · 17/10/2011 10:31

I would like to say that I DO NOT expect to get them for free.

2 years ago charge was 50% less, £5.

So I was a bit surprised by the sudden increase in the cost.

OP posts:

Original poster

Sandra2011 · 17/10/2011 10:35

trixymalixy

20 week scan on NHS is not postcode lottery it's for every pregnant woman in this country.

NHS has to offer you at least one scan during your pregnancy. Either 20 week or some other time.

OP posts:

NoobyNoob · 17/10/2011 10:40

We were lucky and didn't have to pay for our, but that was only because our local hospital had moved sites so I assume they hadn't got round to the payment side of things.

PetiteRaleuse · 17/10/2011 10:41

Pictures are a luxury, not a necessity.

If they use the money towards improving care I can see their point. For some reason though the cynic in me says most of the money won't go towards improvement of care.

SeveredHeadsDragonTheFloor · 17/10/2011 10:44

"You are having a medical screening test, not a bloody photo shoot. why the actual bloody hell do you think you shouldn't get charged?"

This.

It's not a money making scheme, it's not cheeky, it's not unreasonable... To use just a few phrases from posters.

I think for all three of mine at both 12 and 20 week scans it was a suggested donation and the donations were used to buy stuff like gel warmers etc.

Once your baby is born, the photos are kind of irrelevant anyway. I've stuck them in the relative baby book but I can actually no longer tell what is what even though they were clear at the time.

SeveredHeadsDragonTheFloor · 17/10/2011 10:45

What do you think the money goes on? The staff Christmas party? even if it's swallowed up by the vast expenses incurred on a daily basis by the hospital, it still benefits patients somehow.

Sossiges · 17/10/2011 10:46

Ours suggest a donation (optional) - I gave a fiver plus spare change, very reasonable of them to ask I think

DrMunkenstein · 17/10/2011 10:50

I must have been really lucky, the sonographer just kept printing them off and ended up giving us eleven photos, and then a further ten or so a week later when we went back. All for free.

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 17/10/2011 10:50

My local hospitals (Chester/N Wales area) charge £5 per photo at 20 wk scan but give 12 wk dating scan photos for free.
I had to have two '20 wk' scans due to position of baby and at the second one she gave me a quick print off for free as the baby still had not moved (they couldn't see the spine properly) and she felt sorry for me! (All was fine).

I'm happy to pay as it covers costs etc.

edwardcullensotherwerewolf · 17/10/2011 10:57

I seem to remember there being a token machine in the waiting room at my 12 week scan, think it was £1 per token, up to max of 4. But there was a sign saying they only printed pictures at 20 week scans. This was at my local hospital.
I had all my subsequent care at UHW, lost count of how many scans I had to have, but always came out with pictures. The sonographer said she had to print one or two for the obstetrician to look at with my notes, so I might as well have a couple too. I was extremely lucky though, and very grateful to her.

I don't really see a problem with charging, but £10 for 4 is a bit much! Or £4.50 per photo as someone else said!

trixymalixy · 17/10/2011 12:08

I got a 12 week dating scan. I asked if I could have an anomaly scan at 20 weeks instead but was told no, all that was offered was a dating scan.

DD is now 2 and I think they were bringing in 20 week scans the month after she was born, but I was told that when my DS was born nearly 5 years ago now and it still wasn't in place by the time I was pregnant with DD.

Had I lived one mile to the west I would have got a 12 week dating scan and a 20 week anomaly scan so total postcode lottery.

Peachy · 17/10/2011 12:16

A fiver pushing 4 years ago.

not with the older ones though.

4madboys · 17/10/2011 12:19

yep think its £2 per photo here, but most sonsographers give you a couple of extra for free, depends on the sonographer i think and you dont pay the sonographer, we have a machine and have to put money in that and get tokens to give to reception?

LoveInAColdGrave · 17/10/2011 12:21

Am that some authorities aren't doing anomaly scans. I wonder if it affects their neonatal death figures as presumably things like heart and kidney defects which would be managed in part by making sure the baby was delivered in a hospital geared up to cope aren't picked up, so babies must sometimes be born in a place (home or midwife centre away from hospital, for example) that isn't set up for a very sick baby in need of urgent care .

smellimelli · 17/10/2011 13:29

We were charged £6.50 at 12 and 20 weeks in my last pregnancy.

It was the same at our 12 week scan this time and it the procedure (buying a stamp) was clearly explained in the letter.

I didn't mind anyway but the (lovely) sonographer explained that the money from the photos actually paid 1 sonographer's salary. I think this is a good way of raising money to improve the NHS (which when you think about it is AMAZING) but I know others won't agree! Really £2-6 isn't that much to each individual but can mean a big difference overall.

Don't pay if you don't like it!

mildertduck · 17/10/2011 13:40

I've got my dating scan next week at the John Radcliffe Hospital and according to the letter it's £10 for 3 photos.

Georgimama · 17/10/2011 13:41

It was £4.50 at Southmead Hospital in Bristol I think, got loads though not just one. This was explained in the letter and again when I arrived - gave the desk clerk the money and the midwife just printed off reams of them.

BartletForAmerica · 17/10/2011 13:59

£2 per photo here.

People seem to forget that this scan is to detect problems with your baby, not just to say hello to him or her!

I think the photo charge is reasonable. It means that the cost of photos doesn't take away from money needed for patient care.

LittleWhiteWereWolf · 17/10/2011 20:14

mildertduck (took me a while to write that properly!) I'm the same as you, at the Horton in Banbury. However at our 12 week scan they only printed off one pic which was £5 (I think, am having doubts since I wrote that and the scan was only 5 weeks ago!). I think the 3 for a tenner only really comes into effect for the 20 week scan when they take more pictures.

That being said just before Xmas 2008 when we had our dating scan for DD they didn't charge for the 12 week scan photo as she was asleep and had her back to us. She looked like a little peanut.

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