NHS v private

[eurochick]

If you were in the position of being able to chose, how did you decide which to opt for? We had fertility treatment to achieve this pregnancy and money set aside for more, which means that we could, if we wanted to, afford private care.

When I began ttc I always thought that I would opt for an independent midwife, but it has taken so long that the option has effectively been removed! So I think that leaves me with the option of NHS care (hopefully midwife-led, all being well) or private care, most of which seems to be consultant led (although I think the Portland does a midwife-led option). Are there options I don't know about?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Op I found the switch from private Ivf to nhs pregnancy care quite difficult but there are no private hospitals doing childbirth where I live. If in London I would have stayed private

Went NHS with the first (and didnt get a good experience) and then went private for the second. However I think we need to be very careful about assuming that if you use the NHS the Intensive care etc will be all there waiting for you.

There are big issues in the NHS at present. What if they are full?

I've used FMC in both pregnancies, and can't say enough good things. I honestly would ask them for their recommendations off the record, in your scan, as they will be familiar with the reputations of all the private options in London. My FMC doc was Magdalena Klosowska and she was so, so lovely - genuinely interested in the pregnancy and baby, not just doing her job. I had an ectopic a year ago so was a bit anxious this time around, and my nuchal results weren't great, and she was so careful and precise with the scans as well as gentle and reassuring all through. She was very understanding and plenty of common sense as well as expertise. If you can ask for anyone specific at the FMC I'd ask for her - the other one I saw last pregnancy was expert and excellent but I got the sense he was a bit bored (in fairness it was a very straightforward pregnancy; my trust just didn't offer nuchals at the time, so maybe he too would have been stellar if there was any sign things might not be perfect).

Having just had a baby at the Chelsea & Westminster on the NHS ward I'd say private every time. Particularly at Chelsea as the Kensington Wing is right next to the NHS wards so in case of any dramas you are there with all the doctors / surgeons / operating rooms etc.

I would say the NHS did a good job of the acute element of my care - in other words they were very good during the labour BUT if you are 'average' in your pregnancy you are largely ignored pre-natally and I have to say the post natal care was very poor.

We paid to transfer up to the Kensington Wing after one night on the NHS post natal ward - mostly because we saw one midwife for 5 mins and were then largely ignored, we waited >8hrs for a paeditrician to see our son who had a suspected heart problem. Nobody came to check we were OK at all. We transferred up to the private ward - my husband had a bed in the room with me and we had TWO midwifes helping us all the time. They checked I was OK which no one had done on the other ward - they checked my stitches and gave me lots of info on how to look after the area and on physio etc. in the next few weeks (I had a big episiotomy due to forceps and ventuse delivery). They also taught us how to feed and burp our son (we are first time parents and were totally clueless!) and to look after him which again, the poor staff on the NHS ward just did not have the time to do. I think the NHS staff are excellent, they are just woefully short on time due to a chronic lack of staff on the ward.

If I couldn't afford to be private for the whole pregnancy I would recommend you transfer to the private ward after delivery - MUCH cheaper option AND i have to say the NHS delivery was very good, it was just the post natal care that was lacking (and antenatal is OK if you make yourself a pain, ask lots of questions and are generally demanding!). For me, I will be private the whole pregnancy if we have another.

emmac3616 - Heh, funny you should say that! I have delivered at three London hospitals, and the postnatal ward at C&W was by far the best. Which is pretty damning for the other two - Queen Elizabeth and Kings College. Perhaps I was just so accustomed to how awful the other ones were that I tolerated a lot more crap at C&W than a person should do!!

We haven't exactly got the money to spare but I told DH it's Watford's Knutsford suite (we now live in Hertfordshire) or my sanity. End of story!

I wish Watford had the option of paying for private rooms post natally that wasn't the Knutsford Suite, which is prohibitively expensive (for me). I've heard reasonable figures for other hospitals, but Knutsford Suite starts from £400 :(

We're in London and we're going for a private wing of a large teaching hospital. There are only really three in contention in town and all three (including the Portland) have ICU in case you need it. We wanted to ensure that we'd have enough staff around (heard too many horror stories from friends of NHS staff being overstretched and tragic results of this). Also, I didn't want to be on a ward but I wanted my own suite to be guaranteed and I wanted DH to have a bed in the room with me. It doesn't really help that the couple of times I've visited friends with new babies in NHS wards, I've been appalled by the standards of staffing and hygiene. It's a stressful time of your life and so we think it's worth making sure we're comfortable. It will also mean that we'll get lactation consultants whenever we want them which has to be positive. No contest in my mind.

I went private and would again (although I don't have an nhs experience to compare with). I can very much recommend the knutsford at Watford. The consultant I used worked with his own midwife too (although I had a planned section, my choice). I might even opt for private antenatal care next time round.

I can recommend Queen Charlotte's in Hammersmith/Acton, I transferred to private just for the birth (twins) it was a great experience :)

OP - thank you for starting this thread.

Can someone shed light on what are the costs involved in going private? Antenatal, birth-only, postnatal?

swimming - I have been researching this - and really how long is a piece of string?!

Private Midwife led units (there are two in London) are a minimum £7 - £9k. This is just for straight forward births and is antenatal, delivery and post natal care. If you need an EMCS or if the baby needs special care if its a non NHS option the costs can then spiral. For the NHS option its a bit more managable as your care is a mixture of private / NHS

Consultant lead private is the most (in London) - you pay for the consultant to do the antenatal and delivery - this is usually £7k + and then the cost of the hospital afterwards. Depending on a natural birth or ELCS the costs probably would be at least £7k - maybe more. It will depend on the hospital and any ante or post natal nights you need. for EMCS there maybe more costs if non NHS and the same goes with any special care for bubs. Have a search on Mumsnet - there are a few threads (old) where people have talked about total costs which may give you a better idea.

Private just for birth - not sure about that as I have not looked into it

Post natal only - for NHS hospitals who have private and NHS you can often transfer - costs vary from a few hundred to more depending on how long you need to stay. For NHS hospitals only some have private rooms you can book - this is a much cheaper option. My local NHS in london does this for £90 per night (very basic room!) but some can be a bit more.

There are probably some other cheaper hybrid care options out there but its not something that I have looked into and hopefully someone else can come along and shed some light. Also I am talking about central london prices and care from 12 weeks - outside London or later in pg it maybe cheaper.

Yes, the Knutsford is ridiculously expensive and out of the price range of most people in the area I would guess. I would have been happy with a side room, but the trouble with side rooms is that 90% of the time I've been denied them in other hospitals because they (quite rightly) go to people who need to be away from the ward due to issues with them or their baby. At least with this there's a bit more of a guarantee, although as a self-paying for room-only person I come bottom of the list of priorities if they get full, but that's apparently rare.

I had such horrible experiences on two out of the three postnatal wards we've agreed, even though this one might be perfectly fine, that the money is worth the sanity. I'm hoping to get out after two nights and get a refund of half the deposit. I feel absolutely sick at the thought of how much we're spending and what we could have spent it on, but not half as sick as the thought of spending two nights on a shared NHS ward again.

euro depending on where in London you are, I'd look at Neighbourhood Midwives. They are independent and have insurance. They are not able to deliver babies in the hospital at present (only at home) but they will come to your hospital birth in a supportive capacity, I believe.

bue thanks - that is exactly who I found. When I was pregnant before I had bookmarked South London midwives, and the site now redirects to Neighbourhood Midwives, as I discovered midway through this thread!

mitchell2 are the two private midwife led units at the Kensington Wing and the Portland?

I agree with what you say on costs. Most folks offering a private service set out the prices on the website. From my research, I would say, independent midwife care is around 4-5k. Midwife led delivery in hospital is around 6-7k. Consultant led delivery in hospital seems to end up being around 10-15k, depending on whether or not you have a CS.

Yes they are the only ones that I could find as that was the option that I was wanting to do considering I am under midwife care NHS anyway. There was one apparently at St Thomas's but I believe that they close this down.

Unaware of any other London private hospitals that do it but would be interested to know if I have missed any!

Thank you for the pricing info. It's still early days as we are still TTC but this is playing most on my mind & I'd be happy with an option to go private with some £££ at the back of my head. Thank you.

I had my baby in .London, and UCL was amazing. Really good care at all appointments, one on one midwife during labour in my own room (induced at 41+5), then paid for a private room post-natal. £250 but worth it for a bed for husband. Lots of midwives around, and lots of assistance after the birth.

We're consultant-led. the consultant's fees (for all care from 20 weeks) are £7,500 all in. That doesn't include blood tests or urine tests though, and we've had to pay for all scans and blood tests so far. The hospital fees will be just shy of £7,000, and the anaesthetist will be £550. That includes the first night after the baby is born, but every subsequent night will be extra. Still more than worth it in my opinion as you couldn't pay me enough to go to a NHS ward for anything - maternity related or not. A couple of our friends tried to get a private room in our local hospital (also London) and only managed it for one of their three births as they are only available on a "first come, first served" basis.

Home - do you mind sharing where did you go for your private delivery? Thank you.

Private.

Its all about choice. You can decide when to see the doctor of your choice and deliver where you want etc.
You can always see specialists straight away for example the scans can be performed by a foetal specialist rather than justa sonogragher

Problems get detected earlier. I found out 3 weeks ago that I am pregnant. Went for blood tests and a scan 2 days later. They found out that I have hypothyroidism which is very dangerous for the baby and can cause MC. I am now on medication since last weekend. I am 7 weeks now. I am also registered with the NHS ( USLH) and received their appointment for the blood check up which is Mid Feb. Blood test take a week. So all in all I am 4 weeks earlier on the medication and maybe prevented a MC etc.

I also find it crazy that ONLY a midwife is taking care of the entire pregnancy. Birth maybe if pregnancy was very straight forward, but I don`t think she has the same medical knowledge like a specialist obstetrician and I am not sure if I would put the life of me and my baby only in the hands of midwife without seeing a doctor. I am just European.
In Europe all check ups are done by a senior medical person. Birth sometimes just with a midwife but most of the time also with a consultant present and if its a bit more complicated its always consultant - led.

And the aftercare is simply amazing. I have a nice memory of my birth. I have heard of so many who had traumatic birth experiences in the NHS maybe had to share a room with another lady ore with many! Or just been separated with a curtain... or left alone for hours without help...
I guess it depends on the hospital and the particular circumstances but you have to built on luck to be the lucky one to receive adequate treatment. In private its a but more certain, that you receive top care.

If money is an issue. You can do all antenatal appointments/ bloods/ scans on NHS and then just deliver privately consultant led in an NHS hospital ( for example St Marys). This works out all in all cheaper. And I think if something is wrong with the baby it goes on the NHS and not on your bill like in the Portland...

Whereabouts in London are you? I'm expecting my second baby and have had absolutely outstanding care through Kings College Hospital if you happen to be in SE London? I cannot fault it. I have had two high risk pregnancies (pre eclampsia and kidney infections) and the care I have received through both pregnancies and my labour an delivery of my son has been exceptional. The foetal medicine centre at Kings was founded by Professor Nickolaides of the FMC so is staffed by top people. They offer the Harmony free of charge as part of a trial so I have also had this done on the NHS via Kings. Granted, the surroundings are not the best but it is a world class hospital, not a hotel! Hopefully you will be in and out up deliver your baby anyway. They also have a brand new 'home from home' birthing unit which only opened two weeks ago so that might be a bit nicer :) They also offer private rooms which are spacious and more hotel like. I was lucky enough to have one for free when they took pity on me when I was hospitalised with a kidney infection in my last pregnancy.

If you are not in SE London then I'm sorry for raving on!

Private, deffo.

Our local hospital is very "hospitally" and I'd rather give birth somewhere a bit more comfortable and pleasant looking given the choice.

No NHS birth cnetres round here.

Now that there are some fully insured, private midwifery services such as Neighbourhood Midwives around - as an option it is hard to beat - much cheaper than the private obstetrics route - around £4.5 - £5k and all your care at home including 24/7 on call and 6 weeks postnatal with proper continuity of care. With the best will in the world the NHS maternity service is struggling to cope with demand and the private hospital based options still don't offer continuity of care - which, for me is the key to feeling safe and well cared for... good luck with whatever choice you make

I have has good experience's of nhs maternity hospitals over all overall despite the staffing issues with my 2nd meant a lengthy wait for induction, it was spotless, comfortable and the food was actually nice and I am not easily pleased I promise. I think if the money you had set aside is easily resaved then maybe consider it but if its not money you'd usually be able to save then personally I'd use it towards a fabulous first holiday with the new baby or a nicer nursery place when the time comes etc. I guess when it comes down to what the money means to you and if you think the experience will be made nicer or not in a private hospital? I think you should have a look round at your options and what each has to offer before you decide though.