20 Week Scan - NHS or Private?

[NicLondon1]

Perhaps I am being over-cautious, but I am genuinely scared of catching the virus from going into a hospital. I'm considering paying for a private 20 Week/Anomaly Scan... they seem to be widely available in the London area. It would also take the pressure off the NHS.

Is anyone else thinking the same? Has anybody had one before and was it as professional an experience?
Or has anyone been to their normal hospital this week and was it OK, did you feel safe?

I was thinking the same, however I’m not from London, just a small town so I’d have to travel out which is also risky. I ended up going for the NHS scan. They made everybody in the waiting room sit 2 seats apart, to be honest it was still very crowded as the seats in front of you don’t have much space. Partners weren’t allowed in the scan so lots of males were just sitting around waiting. One of them next to me was coughing every few seconds without putting his hand there I felt quite uncomfortable but there was no where to move.
If you can afford it and it’s easy for you to get one might be worth going private. Make sure it’s a proper one like the nhs would do and they are checking the heart, kidneys, brain etc not just one where they show you baby’s heart beat is normal and that’s it. That’s all I could find around here but don’t think you’ll have a problem in London xx

I think the NHS still make you go for the scan even if you've had one private as they want it on their records.

I had a growth scan last week at 31 weeks and the hospital couldn't have been any better if they tried. All were gloved, gowned & masked. The hospital wasnt busy at all, I was made to wash my hands in every room I entered, seats were 2m's apart etc.

There's no way I'd trust most private scans to do a proper job and be checking for everything they need to check for.

I had one at 8 weeks with DC1 just for reassurance there was a heartbeat after a miscarriage with first pregnancy and I can see why people pay for sex scans if they want to know that (I didn't) but for checking all the organs and measurements and everything else I would only trust proper NHS scans. Unless you were thinking of going really high-end.

As pp have said there's the likes of baby bond for finding out the sex and then there are proper clinics. I have used proper clinics and couldn't fault them - they are able provide proper print outs for your maternity notes, often including more detail than the NHS if I'm honest.

The 20 week NHS scan is a health scan. Private scans don't do a check in as much depth.

I think unfortunately you are just at risk in a private scan, are they even taking precautions?! The maternity section of the hospital will not be close to positive patients and they will be doing everything possible for safety. The 20 week scan is important.

A lot of the sonographers who work in the private sector also work in the nhs so you won't be reducing your risk much. Plus the nhs usually have better governance structure which is important to me. I'd rather have a scan at a nhs hospital than at a private one, particularly for something so important.

I had a private anomaly scan in my last pregnancy. Much, much longer and in much more detail than the NHS one. Looked at the heart in more detail. The NHS have far less time to look for the things they are looking for. I had the private one before my NHS one as my DH wasn't able to come to the NHS one. The scaremongering that goes on on MN about private scans is not founded and unnecessary.

@hedwigismyowl good point thank you

@onlyreadingneverposting8 Thank you, that's really interesting... can I ask where you had it? Would much rather a recommendation than some place I've found online. Where you required to have the NHS one swell, or would they have accepted copies of the private notes?

Thanks everybody, will keep mulling it over and see what the situation is next week... I still have 2 weeks to go to decide

You could catch it just as easily at a private scan.

I has my 20 week nhs scan 9 days ago and it was absolutely fine.
The hospital was actually really quiet and there were no partners allowed so all the women in the waiting room were able to sit quite far apart and there was plenty of hand sanitizer.
Appointments were running on time so it also felt really chilled and I was in and out the hospital a lot quicker than anticipated.

@NicLondon1 we are South Essex. It was Ultrababy but was 4 years ago now. For the NHS to recognise the the results they will require you to have an NHS scan too. That said you could ask given the circumstances we are in and also I did have an early private scan result recognised by the EPU when I had an mmc - they scanned again but I wasn't required to wait a week for another NHS scan to confirm loss.

I have to have growth scans every 3-4 weeks - I went to the maternity unit for the first time Wednesday gone and it was very very safe.

I had to go on my own, was stopped at the entrance to confirm my name, what my appointment was for and what time. I was asked to anti-bac my hands and only then was I allowed into the building. At the ultrasound unit I was instructed to stand two meters away from the reception window and confirm my details. All ladies were seated apart adhering to the social distancing guidelines. The sonographer was wearing a mask, gown and gloves. She asked me to anti-bac my hands before getting onto the bed and asked again afterwards. On exit, I was ask to anti-bac again.

If anything the cautiousness of the situation just caused a flare up of dermatitis! Private scan facilities are not stopping partners/parents/friends going to scans so the infection risk could potentially be higher as they're putting not limitations in place unlike NHS hospitals.

Thanks everybody!

I went to the hospital for my dating scan Wednesday. They really are putting in a lot of effort to keep everyone safe.
Staff in aprons, gloves and masks. Everyone checked as they went in - temperature taken and asked if they had been ill. Then all made to stand 2m apart, use hand gel. Sit apart.
Everything cleaned between scans. Chairs cleaned regularly.

My local window to the womb has a notice on their website to say it doesn’t replace the NHS 12/20 week scan.