Private hospital for c-section near Middlesex / London

[whatisit12345]

I am currently 24 weeks and am looking at private hospital for a Caesarean delivery. Anyone has any personal recommendations for hospital in and around Middlesex or London. I don't mind travelling outside London as well for the right hospital. Any idea on this and also the package cost? Thank!

The private wing at Chelsea and Westminster is lovely.

Here's an idea of prices - these guys have a wing at st Mary's in Paddington and also one in Hammersmith, which is quite near you:

imperialprivatehealthcare.co.uk/patients/prices/

You don’t need to travel outside of London - in fact almost all private maternity hospitals are in London. For a section with a three night hospital stay I’d say budget for about £16-20k, and hope to spend less than that. You will have to look at each consultant for their charges and each hospital for their charges.
In addition to the above suggestion, try the Lindo wing at st marys,Westminster suite at st Thomas and the Portland.

I’m booked into the Kensington Wing at Chelsea & Westminster. The rooms are pretty basic and don’t seem particularly comfortable/homely (unlike the amazing maternity hospital I used last time whilst abroad). The place seems clean and the staff seem nice. The location is fairly convenient with nearby restaurants/amenities and the Kensington Wing is next to NICU for emergencies.

Book quickly though, as they only have 16 rooms. I think most of the consultants get booked up very early. Estimated costs for csection are £16-18k (roughly split half between consultant and hospital)

Genuinely, why do you need to have this on private healthcare and pay£16-20K?

From what Kitty just said above the rooms are ok nothing special and the staff seem nice.

Surely that's what you get on the NHS?

I think the benefit of going private is having choices over the whole pregnancy and delivery...about who to see, when to see them, having privacy throughout and a dedicated midwife caring for you 1-to-1 afterwards. And I can eat what I want when I want and stay as many nights as I want to.

I can tell the consultant when I want to see him and at what time so it is convenient for both me and DH. I can choose when and how I give birth without someone questioning or challenging my decisions. It isn’t part of the NHS service where you’re part of a bigger bureaucratic process and beholden to policies and someone else’s calendar. Definitely a value judgement though and a considerable sum of money.

The private rooms are pretty basic, but for £1.1k a night, I’m comparing to a lovely hotel lol. For a hospital, it is nice enough.

Photos attached for the OP. Private maternity care in London seems to be pretty much the same standard regardless of hospital, so I think base the decision on convenience of location and rapport with consultant/staff.

Thanks all. Very useful information! I will look out for these hospital online and then start making some calls.

As for why private care - My NHS hospital doesn't allow for maternal choices i.e., elective c-sec. Having the horrendous experience of trying for vaginal birth the first time, then getting an emergency c - sec and then developing infection after operation, etc. etc. I am determined I will / can not go through vaginal delivery again.
After talking to my NHS consultant, the hospital is not happy to treat this as elective c -sec and is pushing for vbac. It is insane and I wont be pressurised. Hence looking at private options.

whatisthis I’m genuinely shocked that your hospital won’t allow you a section after a previous EMCS. This isn’t the normal response. I would ask to see a second consultant or the consultant midwife (if your hospital has one) to speak about your options. I’d be very surprised if no one in your NHS hospital will agree to this.

Completely your choice if you want to go private obviously but I would 100% ask for a second opinion on the NHS front if you'd be happy with NHS care provided you could have a section.

If you had a section first time you should be given a choice about subsequent births. I would ask for a second opinion, speak to the supervisor for midwives and PALS. It infuriates me that this happens and people feel bullied into a vbac. Can you switch hospitals?

Good luck whatever you decide OP.

Email the head of midwifery and get a referral to a different consulatant. There is no reason that you shouldn’t be given the option of ELCS given a previous section. You could even just transfer to another local trust. Obviously if you want to go private, that’s totally your call but you could almost definitely get your elective and save a small fortune.

Thanks for your messages. I will pursue this for sure. The thought of even trying for a vbac is giving me panic attacks. Thankfully the GP did say that they will refer me to another hospital and by no means I will have a vbac if I don't want it. Will post again once things have moved forward.