Going private - advice please!

[mika2]

Hi, I'm 17 wks pregnant with DC2 and despite the eye watering cost we're thinking of going private. It's been very stressful so far as I've had lots of bleeding and there's a risk the bleeding could cause me to go into pre-term labour. First pregnancy was a breeze and had DC1 at local NHS hospital, but lost a lot some confidence with the NHS this time as I had to meet a private consultant to get a diagnosis, despite multiple scans at local EPU and they also forgot to give me Anti-D when I had a heavy bleed at 13 weeks

Anyway here's my rough estimate of costs;
Consultant fees - 5,500
Extra scans with consultant (@120 each) - 600 to 1,200 (as condition needs monitoring)
Hospital fees - 3,930 to 5,090 (extra for caesarean)
Paediatric Consultant newborn check - 250
Private anomoly scans (20 & 32/36 wk) - approx. 400
Possibe extras:

• Extra night stay - 950
• Additional antenatal care - 400
• Anaesthetist - 750

Total approx. 10,685 to 14,540

So budgeting around 12-13k... Is there anything I'm missing?? Worrying about costs escalating out of control and ending up with a bill for 30K!

Also we're meeting a consultant at St Thomas today to discuss. What should we be asking?
So far this is all can think of is;

• Are you around when DC2 is due? i.e. no holiday booked around the time
• How many appointments does this include?
• What % of your private patients have caesareans? I don't want to feel pressured into one, but not sure this is relevant though as presumably he gets more high risk pregnancies..

Clearly I'm not getting very far (baby brain kicking in early) so any thoughts/advice appreciated!
Thanks

I don't know if the 'are you around when dc2 is due' is a reasonable question. It is still quite a way off and people's plans can change or they can have last minute emergencies or you could give birth earlier than expected. Would you be happy with a replacement consultant if yours was unavailable at the last minute?

If there were complications and costs spiralled as a result would you be able to afford the additional costs?

Have you considered a mixed care package? You could have some private antenatal care including scans and pay for a private midwife to accompany you at an NHS birthing centre (if that is allowed).

Would you have a planned section or only in an emergency? I can't think of any other costs but I'm not an expert...good luck!

I would be asking about their facilities / care for if it didn't go according to plan, if the baby is born early, any complications etc and how involved they would be. I know this make me sounds like a doom merchant (sorry!) but lots of private facilities don't have access to NICU, specialist neo natal facilities / staff, resuscitation etc and often people have to be sent to the NHS for more complex care.

In terms of cost, you'll also need to factor in paying privately for tests (routine bloodwork, cvs, etc if you choose to have this) and any medication, and I'd also factor in a worst case scenario for cost - i.e. emergency Caesarean with longer hospital stay, so at least then you get the low and high end of the cost scale.

Someone was on here last week asking for info for her daughter, specifically to the Portland, but there's helpful info on costs and stuff to ask

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/2326314-Help-advice-regarding-the-portland-hospital-please?

Thanks for your replies. If costs escalated we could afford to pay but I would like to feel we had a good understanding of costs from the outset.. I don't want to get a bill twice what were expected at the end and realise it's because I hadn't read the small print. (Although as long as I had a healthy baby at the end it would obviously be worth it!!)

St Thomas's is an NHS hospital with a private wing so if the baby was premature and needed time in SICU(?) we wouldn't need to move hospitals.

I'm not planning a section, but placenta is currently low so will be on the cards if it doesn't move - apparently it does in 95% of cases.

I've looked at the mixed care package and got a quotes of 3.5k to 4.5k for a private midwife depending on whether or not I continued to use my NHS midwife - I was a bit given a consultant lead package is around 5k (although granted you have to pay for the hospital on top). Also I'm going to have a doula at the birth, who I used last time, so I don't need any more emotional support and given a private midwife can't actually do anything in terms of monitoring/delivering the baby at an NHS hospital their role would be a bit redundant.

You are definitely in the right place at St Thomas's if baby or you needs extra/emergency care. It is one of the top teaching hospitals in the UK and renowned as being excellent for babies.

If you are not starting private treatment until after 17 weeks then I would expect a discounted consultant fee. Other women will have been having regular meetings with their consultant from as soon as they have had a positive pregnancy test. If you start after 20 weeks then you can have your scans through the NHS.
I think it is unlikely your consultant would take you on if s/he had a holiday booked at this time. Obviously there is alwAys a chance that for some reason they just cannot get to the hospital in time but I believe the majority of consultants work in pairs covering each other's holidays etc.
At St Thomas's they usually suggest a two night stay after a c section all being well.

St Thomas's has an excellent neonatal unit, paediatric intensive care and emergency facilities so there is no worries there!

That's a good point Elizabeth I must ask about a discount at this stage. And also who would cover if he couldn't make it for whatever reason.

I actually wish I'd gone private earlier as I've had about 6 hellish trips to local EPU, spent hours queuing and praying that there would still be a heartbeat. Hopefully by going private it will be a lot easier to get emergency scans etc.

The other costs you may need to factor in will really depend on whether there is a possibility if this baby being early and what is included in the caesarean cost. For example, does the c-section include the anaesthetist? If so is that just on the day if do you have to see them for a pre-op consultation? If baby is born early, you may need to see other healthcare professional like speech therapists who specialise in neonatal feeding, physiotherapists, dietitian plus nasogastric feed. A NICU or SCBU stay would also seriously ramp up the costs and potentially cost more than the cost for you to stay each night. The only other cost I could think of is whether your DH could stay in the room with you or would he be wanting to stay nearby in a hotel?
Good luck. I think the idea of private but in a nhs hospital is the best option if you want private care.