Private Health Care in UK and Pregnancy

[Ladybird86]

Hi there

I moved from Germany to the UK about 6 months ago, to finally live with my partner of 4 years. I unfortunately was having a few health issues since then and found out first hand how different the NHS works from the German system I was used to. My partner never sees a doctor whatsover, and if he had told me how it all works here in more detail before, I might have thought about it all more thoroughly perhaps.

For example it seems I am having to go to my GP in UK for everything first. Whether I want to see an OB/Gyn or ENT. Its a walk to your GP first, who either refers you or not.
I am for example having a persisting throat and ear pain since months. After 2 unsuccessful treatment ideas at my GP over the last few months, he then finally decided I should see an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist doctor. So my GPs office contacts the ENT, which then will sent out an appointment letter to me. All this procedure, the getting in touch with an ENT via my GP already took about 2-3 weeks... and finally I got that letter and know when my ENT appointment will be: in March 2019!!
Of course I am comparing this procedure to Germany, where I am used to just calling an ENT directly, which could be any ENT I want to be seen by, and often have an appointment right the next day or a few days later. So currently I am wondering if perhaps I was better off going for private Health Insurance here in UK. And whether that actually is so much better and quicker and less hassle?

I am still getting used to how some things work differently here, so I was hoping to perhaps get some info and help of you, to not have to sort this matter out in my head all by myself and get it wrong.

Maybe some of you could even recommend an Insurance, that also covers well for everything related to Pregnancy? As we are thinking about having a baby within the next 1-2 years, I think I would feel a lot less anxious and better cared for and secure, if I didnt have to rely on the NHS for everything and could go have check ups more often. I heard that with the NHS you dont get as many scans or tests and often you can not even find an NHS midwife. I think that must feel very lonely and scary.
I havent had children myself yet, but my sister in Germany just had her second, and seems to have had a wonderful support with the German health Care system there, with regular scans, tests and direct Contact with OB/Gyn and a midwife she could call 24/7. When the due date arrived, she could even chose which hospital she would want to go to, she ended up in one where they had a birth pool, armoatherapy, accupuncture and so on, to help her relax. And that was a normal standard hospital in Germany, nothing private or extra costs at all, and all covered by her Government Health Insurance.

So I wondered if a similar support and service like in Germany could be achieved here in UK if I go private? And if yes, which Insurance would you recommend, as there are so many out there?

Thanks in advance for any help

I'm not sure on the insurance side of things, but private healthcare is very easy to access in the Midlands at least. If you google "private healthcare" and your area, it should let you know where you can go and how much it might cost.

Pregnancy wise, it really depends. You do get a choice of local hospital, I chose to go to Birmingham Women's rather than Heartlands and that was fine, even though Heartlands is technically my closest.

You get 2 scans as standard (Dating scan at 12 weeks and Anomoly scan at 20 weeks) but they will scan you more if they think there is a medical need. I'll be having my 6th NHS scan tomorrow at 26 weeks and will be scanned every 2 weeks until the baby comes out.

Midwives seem to be a bit of a postcode lottery. My Community MW is lovely and I see her every few weeks or so, and can text her anytime. I'm at a different hospital to the trust she works in though, so I also see Midwives and Consultants at the hospital.

I hope that might answer a couple of your questions!

From my experience with private healthcare, it does not cover pregnancy because it is not a medical condition because the NHS provides care for them. However, some conditions that arise during pregnancy may be covered. For example, my insurance covers several conditions including ectopic, miscarriage requiring immediate medical intervention, placenta previa (thus requiring a c-section) and post partum haemorrhage.

You can opt to go privately throughout your antenatal care and delivery but it will cost you several thousand pounds. The cost to you if you go via the NHS is zero aside from the cost of travel and parking.
Going privately I understand you will be essentially under consultant care regardless of whether you are high or low risk. On the NHS you will be seen by a midwife unless you a high risk or referred to consultant care.

Hi @Ladybird86, I don't think you will find comparable medical care in the UK to Germany, even with private insurance . I am Australian and lived in the UK for 5 years, in which time I had private health insurance through my work and also had a baby. My health insurance did not cover maternity, which was an unpleasant surprise (in Australia it does). As a PP said, private insurance doesn't cover maternity in the UK, you can have private maternity care in the UK, but you pay for each £ yourself. You can choose to pay for additional scans (beyond the "dating scan", done far too late at 12 weeks and the 20 week anatomy scan).

My experience with the public system maternity in the UK (yorkshire) was instrumental to moving back to Australia I am now currently pregnant and the care I am receiving is incomparable to what I had in England.

Private healthcare in the UK is not a directly comparable service to the NHS. It doesn't mean you get the same care but faster, for example. Also, pretty much any emergency situation would still fall under NHS care. Private hospitals don't have the facilities to treat emergencies.

It's also worth remembering that (some/ all/ most?) private hospitals do not have on-site blood banks. I know of someone who died during a routine operation at a private hospital for this reason. It's not common but it's a risk.

There is nothing to stop you contacting a private clinic about your ENT problems to see if they will see you straight away. I have friends that have accessed treatment quickly because the NHS waiting lists would have resulted in them taking a lot of time off work.

I have looked into private maternity care as well. It is really only available in in the south of England and you would have to pay for all the pre-natal appointments as well as the actual birth etc and the bill will run into thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds. You don't get pregnancy care with any of the insurance policies I have looked at in the past.

Regarding getting a midwife -- I've not heard of anyone being unable to access one, where did you get this information? It would be routine for you to see a midwife every few weeks, possibly a consultant if high-risk. You could pay for an independent midwife or extra scans if you feel you need them and you can choose any hospital in the country. Many do have birthing pools.

NHS maternity care is not perfect I found that the time on the post-natal ward was pretty awful due to lack of resources however I think you might struggle to get private care without spending an awful lot of money on it.

Private health insurance in the UK doesn’t usually cover pregnancy, the notable exception being policies aimed at expats not entitled to the NHS although these are very expensive and normally paid for by employers.

I didn’t want NHS care when I had my DD in London so chose to go private. I paid for it out of pocket as did everyone else I know that also opted for private care.