Expecting father - semi private or private?

Insaneirish

Hi all,

Just needed to see if there any blokes with some insight on this stuff. my girlfriend is currently pregnant with our first child (quite excited) but i just wanted to see if anyone had any info on the difference between private and semi private care in the Coombe?

I wan the best care for both of them but i just want to see if my money will be well spent... or wasted?

Thanks to all

lostinnappies

Insaneirish wrote: »

Hi all,

Just needed to see if there any blokes with some insight on this stuff. my girlfriend is currently pregnant with our first child (quite excited) but i just wanted to see if anyone had any info on the difference between private and semi private care in the Coombe?

I wan the best care for both of them but i just want to see if my money will be well spent... or wasted?

Thanks to all

congrats insaneirish,
I dont know about Coombe, but when I had my kids in galway you cant get a private/semiprivate room after giving birth unless you are a private patient ... and even then only if they are available. Having seen the difference between public and private care (in my area) i would always recommend going private if you can. Just one example of the difference, waiting to do the normal checks of blood test, bp check, scan and seeing a doctor took 2/3 hours every time in UCHG. Going private it took 20 min.
Then again I had to go for a scan every two weeks with both my kids. But this is just one example of many. Plus if you want to have some privacy (especially if your gf is going to breastfeed) a private/semi private is the way to go. If you are on an eight bed ward you will not only have no privacey, but most would find it very hard to sleep because of mums and babies up all night making noise (to be expected) but after giving birth I think its important for mum to get as much sleep as poss.

Good luck with everything

And congrats to GF.

ps, why ask for just a blokes input?

Nevyn

Where you are having the baby will effect what the services are like and if it will make a difference and how much of a difference.

Sleepy

My partner gave birth to my daughter in the Rotunda about 4 weeks ago. We went semi-private as the only real advantage we could see in going private was the potential (not guarantee) of a private room for her to recover in.

Most of the differences between private and semi-private seem to be along the lines of "We'll try to provide but cannot guarantee..." which imho, does not make it worth the extra two grand or so...

It might have been worth the extra cash had my partner needed to stay in the hospital for an extended period after having baby but we took our daughter home about 28 hours after she was born (once we had the all clear) as my partner preferred to rest in our own bed/home.

LolaDub

I went private in the coombe and i couldn't fault it. I felt extremely confident in my doctor and the team of people in the delivery room with me. I would say that i had to wait a bit longer some days than what is described above tbh but the waiting rooms in the private area were very comfy

Lizzykins

Private made a big difference to me in relation to ante natal visits. I used to be in and out in no time. Same with scans and bloods. I had my 4 in Mount Carmel and would do it all again if I could go there.

stovelid

Semi-private in the Coombe. No complaints. Things nearly went pear-shaped during the delivery and we couldn't fault them at all. Only drawback is that you are in a four-bed ward, which my wife found noisy enough, but as Sleepy said, would you even be guaranteed the private room if you went full whack?

Re: Galway, a relative (who works in the HSE) told me before that semi-private is only an option in Dublin, and that you have to go public or fully private elsewhere?

LolaDub

I had no trouble with a private room in the coombe. I think the not guaranteed thing is more of a disclaimer. I had a private en suite delivery room and private room for the next four days with a shared bathroom with one other person. The only drawback was the other person was far messier in the bathroom than i would be comfortable with but no fault with the coombe there.

leex

Wife went private for both of our babies in Galway. C-Section both times so an extended stay and the private room was great.

Ante natal visits was a quick in/out of doctors rooms also. We did notice that private patients seem to get more intensive checks from paediatrician after the birth also - good piece of mind.

Up to financial year 2008 you could claim the fees on your Med1 at the higher rate of tax. As far as I know from 2009 onwards this will be at lower rate.

lostinnappies

stovelid wrote: »

Re: Galway, a relative (who works in the HSE) told me before that semi-private is only an option in Dublin, and that you have to go public or fully private elsewhere?

That is true, you have to pay the full whack. But they do have two bed rooms which isnt really private, its more semi-private imo.

zoemax

Based on our and friends experiences the main difference ante natal is that private patients generally don't queue for hours to be seen, semi private patients can do. Post natal semi private patients get a bed in a semi private room / ward if one is available or if not then they get a bed in a public ward; private patients may get a private room; if none is available then you get a semi private room, and if its really busy you will end up in a public ward. As for the standard of care I don't think it differs, the same doctors for the most part are providing the same care to patients in public maternity hospitals regardless of whether or not they are private or public patients.

We had our 3 in Holless Street; baby 1 was a CS and we got a private room in the Merrion Wing for 10 days (very nice); baby 2 was normal delivery and we got a semi-private room in a semi private ward (i.e. a private room with a shared toilet); baby 3 was a normal delivery and we got one night in a semi private ward (6 beds) and were pushed out the door after less than 24hrs:D

Alice1

Congratulations!

I had my first two as a public patient in the Coombe and had my last as a semi patient also in the Coombe. The only difference I noticed was that I didn't have to wait quite so long for Ante natal visits.

After the baby was born I shared a room with one other patient. She was lovely and I really did get on well with her but she snored. Oh god, she snored! I know she couldn't help it but I swear I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

I left the following day in order to get sleep that night.
Found absolutely no difference in the care I got - exactly the same in both cases.

When is your baby arriving?

priscilladeegan

Lizzykins wrote: »

Private made a big difference to me in relation to ante natal visits. I used to be in and out in no time. Same with scans and bloods. I had my 4 in Mount Carmel and would do it all again if I could go there.

I went to Mount Carmel on my first and I will on my second too. I would definately recommend it. It is expensive but you get what you pay for. I was concerned about how busy the public hospitals are and if something crucial would get missed if there was a high patient to staff ratio.

SerialComplaint

priscilladeegan wrote: »

I went to Mount Carmel on my first and I will on my second too. I would definately recommend it. It is expensive but you get what you pay for. I was concerned about how busy the public hospitals are and if something crucial would get missed if there was a high patient to staff ratio.

When my missus was in Holles St prior to the birth of our little girl, she met quite a few 'difficult case' mums (mostly expecting twins) that had been shipped out of Mount Carmel to Holles St, as MC couldn't provide the required care.

priscilladeegan

SerialComplaint wrote: »

When my missus was in Holles St prior to the birth of our little girl, she met quite a few 'difficult case' mums (mostly expecting twins) that had been shipped out of Mount Carmel to Holles St, as MC couldn't provide the required care.

Yeah, I guess there's always a risk with some complications. Fingers crossed everything will be ok for us.

Das Kitty

Alice1 wrote: »

After the baby was born I shared a room with one other patient. She was lovely and I really did get on well with her but she snored. Oh god, she snored! I know she couldn't help it but I swear I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

*adds a pair of earplugs to the hospital bag list*

We went with public, have only experienced the ante-natal stuff so far, it's been grand, you don't mind waiting really if you're not going too often and when it's for something pleasant.
Decided to go with it, no point in paying 3K for the chance of a private room in our opinion.

Moonbeam

The private room and your own bathroom is brilliant:)
I never thought of the bathroom issue until I was there but when your so sore and you have a new baby it is lovely to be able to sit and relax in the bath and not have to worry about baby,I dunno if I could have slept in a ward full of strangers but I doubht it.

SerialComplaint

priscilladeegan wrote: »

Yeah, I guess there's always a risk with some complications. Fingers crossed everything will be ok for us.

Indeed, I do hope all will go well for you, as it does for most people.

However, the question is, looking ahead at the possibility that things can go wrong for a small number of people - do you want to be in a hospital that can deal with just about every possible emergency on site, or do you want to be in a hospital with lovely bathrooms? Do you want to risk having your baby moved out to a NICU unit in a different hospital? Your call.

Alice1

Das Kitty wrote: »

*adds a pair of earplugs to the hospital bag list*

We went with public, have only experienced the ante-natal stuff so far, it's been grand, you don't mind waiting really if you're not going too often and when it's for something pleasant.
Decided to go with it, no point in paying 3K for the chance of a private room in our opinion.

Smart girl Kitty. Earplugs are essential! I had my first two public and it was fine. I sure got more sleep in the public ward!

MrPudding

priscilladeegan wrote: »

I went to Mount Carmel on my first and I will on my second too. I would definately recommend it. It is expensive but you get what you pay for. I was concerned about how busy the public hospitals are and if something crucial would get missed if there was a high patient to staff ratio.

We had two born in Dublin, the first was semi-private in the Coombe and the second was in Mount Carmel. According to the GF Mount Carmel was fantastic.

MrP

gzoladz

We went Public in the Rotunda. Very pleased with everything. The waiting times are not too bad, max 1 hour.
My wife actually felt more comfortable being with other mothers in the room to have company in the night. Mothers actually look after each other, and you dont get that going Private.
I am not suggesting one is better than the other, its very much down to personal preferences and expriences.

eviltwin

I've only ever gone public and I have to say the care was wonderful. I'm pregnant now and despite the vast increase in numbers compared to when I was having my first I can't say I have seen any decrease in standards

You have to remember this is maternity so its somewhat different to a normal hospital..generally the care is much better across the board than if you had to take a visit to A&E say

Its up to you but its a lot of money and even then there are no guarantees that you will get the private room or anything like that. Its a baby and it will come when it wants to not when you are pencilled in because a private bed is available.

Why not use the money for when the child is here? I can imagine if you ever need to use the childrens hospitals its then you'll be glad you went private