need to find obstetrician in Bournemouth area

[KitsKat]

I'm moving from the States to the Bournemouth/Christchurch in a few weeks and need to find an obstetrician. well I presume I do! in the States I have an obstetrician - I know nothing about the system in the UK. also I'm termed 'high risk' here so I see my obgyn weekly - do they have high risk obgyns in the UK? any advice would be really appreciated. thanks.

Hi there,

What you need to do is find a General Practioner (GP) in the area you are moving to and register with them, they should have Midwife support attached to the surgery and will refer you to the local NHS hospital. You may find this website useful www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/ for finding out the system and services local to the area you are moving too. GoodLuck

hi. it depends on whether you will be using the NHS (state) system or have private medical cover. for the former, kitskat is spot on. for the latter, you will need to contact your medical insurer for their advice on how to proceed - you will probably be given a list of the "approved" (by the insurer) consultant (term used in the UK for senior, specialised doctor) obs/gynae's in the bournemouth area and then contact them direct saying you are a private patient.

most "private" consultants also have jobs with the NHS - and you may well be seen at a NHS hospital - the main difference being that for any inpatient stays you will have a private room. there are also private hospitals however, it depends on what is available in the Bournemouth area.

hope this helps. good luck.

oops - sorry, i mean that kmcomie was spot on with the NHS/GP advice!

Thanks kmcomie and expatmama - that's really useful. I will have private medical cover in the UK so I'll contact the insurere. I'm a bit nervous as I see my consultant here every week unitl 12 weeks (then every 2 weeks)and he wants me to see someone as soon as I get to the UK - I'm not sure I'll find consultants so accessible there.