Consultant choice - do I have one?

[PeasPlease]

I have been given an appointment with a consultant (twin pregnancy, previous CS) but now having looked at the info about consultants at my local hospital I would really prefer a different one.

The one I have been given I have met before at a scan and is nice but his specialisation is obstetric surgery and mentrual disorders. The one I would prefer specialises in normalistion of birth and active birth (and she is a woman which I would feel far more comfortable with).

I have no idea how to go about asking to change or even if I can. Do I contact my GP or the hospital? Does anyone know how you navigate the NHS?

I am in Wales btw.

Thanks in advance for any help.

The easiest way to change would likely to be to say you can't make appts on X day of the week - that'll likely take you out of his clinic.

However, you don't have to feel you have to do it through the backdoor, just ring the number on the letter and ask to be under Dr X's clinic instead. However, I am consultant care under a Dr Chapatte yet despite weekly/fortnightly appts since 12 weeks (MCDA twins, other complications - now 28) have only met Dr Chapatte once and seen a different registrar every week bar one (where I saw one I had seen before). So you won't necessarily be seen by the consultant anyway.

go and see your allocated one first and see what he's really like - you may find that depsite the 'research interests' on the website he is a fan of natural birth. And at least you know he's nice - the woman, whatever her speciality, may turn out to be a shouty evil witch more confrontational type.

Better the devil you know and all that.

And besides, how often do you really get to see a consultant? Even when I was mega-high-risk I only saw one, once, for about 10min and the rest was SpRs and mws anyway.