Lorin Lakasing or Tom Setchell as consultant obstetrician?

[happybunny3]

Hello. I'm currently trying to appoint a private consultant obstetrician for my first baby due in August. Most of the recommended doctors are away then. Just wondering if anyone has heard of Tom Setchell? I know he is the son of Marcus Setchell but just looking to get an idea of peoples experience of ante-natal care and delivery with him.

I've read good things about Lorin Lakasing but a couple of not so nice things too. Need to make a quick decision and would be grateful for any guidance or other recommendations!

Thanks

Hi there
Have the exact same issue. I went to see him this week and was not impressed - he did not ask me once how I feel, he does not give out his mobile phone number for emergencies and does not do any scans himself but rather sends externally for £200 each....
Hope it helps. Did you see Lorin?

I must say that I am surprised by the above comment about Tom Setchell. He was was my doctor midway through my pregnancy through birth and I can't rave enough about him! He was the most genuinely nice doctor who gave so much care and concern to his patients. He went out of his way to help me and I have never received such great care from any doctor I have ever had. He was not only thorough and up to date on medical practices, but he was also caring and just a genuinely nice person. It is rare nowadays to find a doctor that possesses both those qualities. I'm lucky I 'stumbled' upon him and will, without a doubt, use him for any future pregnancies. As far as the concerns that he does not give out his personal number...please realise that he, too, is a person with a life and family and I would never expect anyone in a professional field to give out their mobile number!! If there were any big emergencies whilst pregnant, the first thing I would do is rush to a hospital or call 999. I had no issue with getting scans at a different place that was right around the corner from his office, so it was not going out of your way at all. I expect to pay a little more when going private so they price of the scans was no issue. The service I received from Mr. Setchell was beyond exemplary and cannot recommend anyone better. I only wish he was a doctor in all fields so I could use him for every aspect of my medical care!!

I am in the same position,
Due date is 23rd August but elective C section planned for 8th or 11th August however everyone's on holiday.
Doc Theo comes back on 11th, but is on holiday for 2 weeks prior which doesnt make me feel comfortable.
So Doc Setchell is another possibility. I havent met him yet, but he is not as well known as Theo. Will meet him this week. Who else have you tried?

Lorin Lakasing was amazing for me - I had total faith in her, and I also really liked her, ie someone I would want to meet and talk to in "real" life. I had totally natural birth and would recommend her to everyone.

(However had a horrible experience with the midwife care at the Portland and not at all sure I would go back there!)

Should you really be naming people like this and discussing them on here? This seems quite unprofessional!

Private ob/gyns advertise and have their own glossy websites - they rely on word of mouth and reviews!
You ask for them by name when you enquire, they are private businesses.
They expect and want women to say "s/he is great, hire her/him!"

Totally different to the NHS where of course a Dr could be juggling many cases, and restricted by rules/regulations. Then of course if there were issues or praise it would only be right to go through official and confidential routes to management.

Surely you only need an obstetrician if things go wrong. Most deliveries are midwife led and my friend, an experienced obs, only gets called in difficult cases. Why would you pay to see someone when we have the NHS. Also, I have not heard great things about the level of care in some of the private hospitals if there are complications. So, if complications you will be in the wrong place. If no complications you will have paid for someone you don't need. Medical care is not like a car or a necklace, you don't get what you pay for.

If things go wrong - or if you have a pretty existing medical condition. In which case of course the NHS provides one! But it doesn't mean something has gone wrong.
In fact most private Drs also do NHS work (my consultant does both and I am NHS... But I googled him and he also has a private practice).

If I could afford a private one and wasn't happy with NHS in my area, I must say I would also be wary of someone with no NHS/teaching role ... They can be out of date or (knowing from the recurrent miscarriage community) peddling expensive but needless tests etc for pure profit.

I had Tom Setchell as my obstetrician and could not recommend him more highly. He is caring, down to earth, he LISTENS, his office is run efficiently and his theatre skills (I had a c-section) are excellent. He made my high risk pregnancy lot calmer than it might have been and the delivery itself a wonderful experience.

I realise in this country that the NHS will provide a consultant if and when things go wrong… but after multiple miscarriages and very little advice from that quarter, I went private and never regretted it. The advice we received from the consultants we met (we saw 3 of the “big names” for initial consultations when deciding who to choose) was 10 times more valuable than any received from the NHS during my previous failed pregnancies. I so wish I had gone down this route earlier.

I am currently 13 weeks and going through quite a scary wait to hear on potentially devastating results from my CVS.
I knew as soon as I fell pregnant I would be seeing Tom Setchell.
3 years ago, pure luck, he operated on me following discovery of a teratoma cyst in my left ovary. It was through NHS and I was just lucky he was my surgeon.
Since that op I have been seeing him 1-2 a year for regular check ups and now with my pregnancy.
I feel incredibly lucky that myself and my husband have private care.
Tom is one of the most calming, kind, intelligent and wonderful consultants I have ever met. I too am not surprised he does not hand out his number as he works around the clock both privately and for the NHS. Can you imagine the amount of messages/calls he would receive?!
When we had our first set of results last week (albeit they were inconclusive) he called me direct at 10pm to discuss this with me and to calm my anxiety.
One of the most genuine and talented doctors there is, I wouldn't have it any other way I can't speak highly enough of him!

I just had my baby a week ago under the care of Tom. He was my doctor from week 13 onwards. In a very high risk pregnancy where I was at risk of eclampsia and suffered extremely severe hyperemesis every single day I just don’t have words for how wonderful he has been. He has seen me every week. He called me from holidays to check I was ok, I cried on him regularly, he was gentle, kind, so informed, so so reassuring. He delivered my baby via c section and was calm and reassuring the entire time, I will genuinely miss seeing him! He is one of the nicest people I’ve come across and clearly an absolutely fantastic doctor. I just can’t recommend him highly enough. If I ever had another baby I have not one shred of doubt that I’d be going to Tom for my antenatal care.