NHS CS & private postnatal? Insurance?

[EastEndPreggers]

I'm a newbie pregnant and have no clue about any of it so asking a lot of question at the moment! I have got to choose a hospital for antenatal GP referral. I am going to request an ELCS (have medical reasons) and would like to books a private room for postnatal. I have seen a few posters mentioning 'insurance' covering some of the cost of private rooms? Does anyone know what this means?

Current hospitals are looking like Homerton or St Thomas's. Does anyone have any experienceof this? i.e. having ELCS on NHS and then private room for after?

DP has various healthcare add-ons through his work in a city firm but I've never paid close attention to what the benefits are so no idea if there is anything useful there.

Hi, I'm afraid I don't have a direct answer for you but I saw an ad in the loo of Queen Charlotte's Hospital the other day for private postnatal rooms going at £650 / night (!) which stated "Your care will still be NHS". So I assume that's exactly what you want, right?

Not sure about the insurance, hope someone else can help - I think you'd have to call your partner's healthcare to find out what's included there

It's worth checking your DP's health insurance - it might, as an outside chance, cover post natal accommodation. You will have to be listed on his insurance - and if you're not, there may be a qualifying period for post natal cover.

There's a big distance between Homerton & Tommy's - please factor in going into labour at 8am on a Monday morning! Many NHS hospitals do offer 'amenity' rooms for post natal care, but you can't book them as single rooms are few in number and priority is given for clinical need, however a ELCC is usually counted as a medical need. Check with the hospitals about their policy and the costs.

In the UK uncomplicated pregnancy tends to be excluded from health insurance policies and usually if you have the slightest complication you will be transferred to a NHS hospital / service (even if you booked Portland St).

You can sometimes get health cash plans that over the cost of overnight stays but again pregnancy is usually excluded.

Thanks for his, very interesting. DH healthcare stuff is part of a package of bits they get at his workplace so I'm not quite sure what is included, but I do remember seeing some things that said 'for you and you family'. need to check this.

Re distance, we equidistant from Homerton and St Thomas really, not as the crow flies but in terms of travel - 20 minutes to each. Does this sound okay? Obvs hoping for ELCS anyway but definitely aware of distance in case of emergency.

Checked St Thomas and their private rooms are £900! And you can't book in advance. Homerton has nothing listed about private rooms at all. If you could book in advance I would probably be prepared to shel out £900 just for the peace of mind, but it feels like an added stress not being able to book - though of course I completely understand why you can't. Very anxious here so trying to take all the steps I can to mitigate.

Not all NHS hospitals let you have a private room the first night after a c sec annoyingly

Yes I was going to say that too. Many hospitals have a priority system for private post-natal rooms and c-sections are often excluded.

Really @Skiaddicted @GrumpyHoonMain even if you pay?

All the reviews say the hospitals' postnatal wards are an absolute nightmare- this applies to all the hospitals I've searched, even where they get outstanding feedback for the rest of the care.

Yes, we were happy to pay should a room be ready but policy stated that i had to stay on the ward for the first night after my c section.....apparently to keep an eye on you?! Although the curtains were around us so i have no idea how that is different

My consultant and midwife agreed that I needed a private room after my ELCS (at St Mary's in Paddington). It meant having to wait in recovery a little longer but they were very accommodating- if one of the private rooms on the postnatal ward wasn't available, they would have found me one somewhere else. It's worth a discussion for sure.

@mynameiscalypso how did you manage that? I'd love to be able to argue the case for my dc2

Take and pay if required for a private room. Honestly all these people saying keep to the NHS. Have they ever been in an NHS Ward with men wandering in and out, screaming babies etc. I did one child NHS and one at the Portland. There is just no comparsion.

If you can get a private room in an NHS that would be ideal.

Yep even if you are willing to pay and you may even be refunded and asked to move to the ward if someone else has a greater need. A lot of Hospitals tend to reserve them for when things go wrong or for parents with babies in NICU.

I'd actually consider going entirely private and paying for it to avoid the hell that is postnatal wards in this country.

@Skiaddicted I discussed it wit my midwife early on - I was under a high risk team because I have PTSD from a sexual assault. The circumstances of that meant that I was very anxious about being on a ward with other people and knew that I wouldn't sleep at all so my birth plan was all geared round having a private room and getting me out as quickly as possible. I appreciate (and hope!) that they are quite specific circumstances to me but the medics were definitely concerned about me not getting any sleep. As it was, I didn't get any but that's mainly because I spent all night staring at DS.

Different reasons here but I was given one after planned section for a week because of my job. Court solicitor locally. I was in a week. Four clients were also in. I was very vulnerable and grateful. There was also a point where two midwifes and two assistants were clients. That was fine though, and they were family clients not criminal ones.

@mynameiscalypso I'm glad your medical team were so fantasically supportive!

Op the £900 per night at St Thomas’s is the Westminster suite which is fully private. They may separately have individual rooms on the NHS post natal wards- I know they have them on the ante natal ward

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had my baby (NHS) at st Thomas and then went up to the private ward when I had to stay on for post natal monitoring. It was the best decision ever and I would spend the money again. The midwives were so caring and helped to establish breastfeeding. My DH was able to stay with us. They brought us amazing food and it was just so much nicer to be looked after with privacy and dignity after the stress of the post natal ward. No criticism to any of the staff. It is just too busy. The NHS doctor came up to see me there so I didn’t have to pay privately for a consultant. Highly recommended.

I had a private amenity room after my emergency caesar, so it is possible.

Oh @ScottishDiblet that sounds ideal! But my worry is that you can't book the private room or guarantee it. I am willing to pay for the room but not sure whether to opt for St Thomas's as my chosen hospital in case it doesn't work out. I do have various circumstances surrounding therapy / anxiety / my history and I'm "older", which are why I'll be asking for ELCS. I've no idea if those circumstances would also go towards me being able to access a room. I think it's the security of knowing I'll have a room afterwards that's important to me if possible- otherwise the postnatal Ward is just another thing to worry about on top of my high anxiety about the antenatal treatment and birth, if that makes sense.

I don't know if there are other hospitals with private rooms in my locality but so far Tommy's and Homerton look the best hospitals overall, however I don't think Homerton have any private rooms at all, hence Tommy's being top choice I think.

It's so hard to know if I am making the right decisions at this early stage!

@mynameiscalypso @moobar @DPotter can I ask were your experiences at either of these hospitals?

You need to read the insurance policy that your partner has. I have private health insurance through work and it specifically excludes any treatment or services relating to maternity care. Its possible to pay for a private room in a NHS hospital, though I believe if another patient has a greater need for it you could be asked to move. Likewise if you're really unwell after the ELCS they might not want you in a private room so they can keep a closer eye on you.

I'd buy for a private ward even out of my own pocket, otherwise, you cannot guarantee you'll get a private room.

Yeah @dontalltalkatonce I agree- I am pretty much convinced now that's its worth paying. It's just that, even then, you still can't guarantee a room it seems. St Thomas's private area says you have to call up in the day of your ELCS to see if there is space!