5 * Babies Inside The Portland Hospital BBC 2 9pm (wed)

[seasidesally]

Really looking forward to this,anybody else ??

i'd have had a baby a year for a night there

Food looks nice but is it 30k nice?

I am not seeing the plus sides to this so far.

The Portland have a children's intensive care so no they don't dump you on the NHS. Or the mum's go to the other private hospital if they need more intensive care then the high dependency ward can provide.

Ah, I sympathised with Anna when she said that. It implies a lack of confidence; she's scared that she won't be able to do the best job feeding and knows that there's another feeding option available, so has plumped for that. I felt relieved that I was able to supplement DS1 with formula as my milk supply was so shit, so I get it.

I wonder how much the midwives get paid and if they have any job vacancies

I can't believe I skipped Masterchef for this nonsense.

I thought the lady from the Portland on GMB this morning said they went to the NHS for intensive care.

The only reason the staff took DD1 away at night was because she stopped breathing. I got her back the next day by which time my epidural had worn off and I was able to actually look after her.

I'm very envious of Julian and Anna's kitchen. It's lush.

Full make up and lippy for the c section 😕

It's all so....contrived and soulless

Agree that this is a whole new world. The luxury makes it all a bit clinical - the rough and ready NHS seems cosier, somehow. Maybe this is just the jealousy talking.

Yes I had to be in a private room for both mine on the NHS because they were in for a week. It was quite nice so I don't have experience of being on a ward with 4 others. I didn't realise they had an emergency unit. I thought a woman died there because they couldn't get her to emergency on time. Maybe they've done it since then. I'd still go Lindo Wing at Paddington rather than a standalone hospital if I had ££££

My room in the natural birth suite at Lewisham Hospital was waaaaay nicer than these rooms!! It had a double bed, sofa, nice non-hospital decor and gorgeous wooden crib! Will try to find a picture. ..

You get send to NHS if you can't afford to stay there.

I have insider knowledge. 😉

Am also . Thing is, as criticism of the NHS it fails because of course you can have things how you want them if you throw enough money at the problem. And I bet they're not concerned by bad PR as their prospective clientele will only be attracted by this.

Looks like they're moving to the emergency care facilities now

I had a consultancy with a Consultant from the Portland, an Irish Surgeon
He was a pompous twat And I decided that I wouldn't go there and went with some private midwives instead
He had told me that I would bleed to death if I tried to have a home birth
Twat
A week later a poor woman died at the Portaland when she wasn't Monitored properly after her birth
Her husband sued, it was in the press for ages afterwards, heartbreaking :(

And several women died at the queens in Romford.

This programme is not all that interesting is it?

You do realise that many of the surgeons who work there work in the NHS.

I think if there are serious issues with a child's health The Portland will transfer a baby to a specialist NHS unit anyway so what's the point?
Making sure you have a neat C section scar?
That's about all the value I think they offer

I don't think it looks that nice given that you're talking 30k... Yes you have more space and privacy than an NHS ward but the room I actually gave birth in wasn't that different. I would also have hated them taking my baby overnight.

That nurse Pat is certainly 'old fashioned'!

All this has done is given me the idea to smuggle lush food into a NHS hospital

Everything just seems very detached.

is anyone else struck by the lack of hand gel using when going in and out of the hospital and the rooms?

I know handwashing is better but the number of people who aren't using the handgel/foam stuff is surprising me

Babies would get transferred to GOSH if need be as they have private wards.