Going Private

xzanti

Just wondering if anyone here opted to go private if so.. How much did it cost.. was it worth it and what are the differences between public and private??

Cheers

Moonbeam

I can highly recommend semi private ,but you really can not beat having your own room after the birth which you need to pay for privately or have the health insurance to cover it.
Last year semi private was 360(vhi) euro incl scan and you get tax relief on that.I think a private room is 950 euro a night.
It is near impossible to get a private room if you are not a private patient.
Personally I would not even entertain going public but the majority of people here are the complete opposite and wouldn't "waste" their money.
I see semi private as the perfect balance,same consultant each visit,smaller wards after.Shorter queues and it is pretty cheap.
Meant to add,the above only goes if you are in Dublin.

fiona stephanie

i too went semi private with all of my pregnancies! you get to see the same consultant every time and the queues arent half as big as they wud be in public! i personally would hate a private room after delivery as i really enjoy the chat with the other women when there is no visitors around!

the cost in holles street is 500 euro on your first appointment and 120 euro for your scan at 20 weeks!

hope this helps!

mccartj5

fiona stephanie wrote: »

i too went semi private with all of my pregnancies! you get to see the same consultant every time and the queues arent half as big as they wud be in public! i personally would hate a private room after delivery as i really enjoy the chat with the other women when there is no visitors around!

the cost in holles street is 500 euro on your first appointment and 120 euro for your scan at 20 weeks!

hope this helps!

Hi fiona I have a question for you if you don't mind. In the 'first scan thread' you mentioned that you went for your first scan in chartermedical in Smithfield and you say here that you went semi-private.

Myself and my fiancee are going for her first scan on Monday in Smithfield because the Rotunda could not give her a scan in semi-private until September which is too late. However when she rand the Rotunda again they said she cannot go semi-private now because she did not have her first scan there and it is hospital policy. This does not seem right to me.

So basically my questions are, did you go semi-private in the Rotunda? and if so did you have any issues like we are having above? Thanks

fiona stephanie

mccartj5 wrote: »

Hi fiona I have a question for you if you don't mind. In the 'first scan thread' you mentioned that you went for your first scan in chartermedical in Smithfield and you say here that you went semi-private.

Myself and my fiancee are going for her first scan on Monday in Smithfield because the Rotunda could not give her a scan in semi-private until September which is too late. However when she rand the Rotunda again they said she cannot go semi-private now because she did not have her first scan there and it is hospital policy. This does not seem right to me.

So basically my questions are, did you go semi-private in the Rotunda? and if so did you have any issues like we are having above? Thanks

hiya,

no i went to holles street with all my pregnancies! i had no issues what so ever with going for a private scan infact, when i mentioned to them that the wait was very long for the first scan they recommended going for a private scan if just for some reassurance!.. the scan in smithfield is generally only an early dating scan and to make sure baby is there and has a heartbeat etc! the first scan in the hospital is an annomaly scan and goes into great detail checking kidneys and all other organs and looking for any defects!

i dont understand why rotunda are saying you cannot go semi private now, what was their reasoning behind that?

lalalulu

Moonbeam wrote: »

Personally I would not even entertain going public but the majority of people here are the complete opposite and wouldn't "waste" their monry

Hi i presume you have gone public if you say you wouldn't entertain going public? I'm curious as to why you seem strongly against going public?
Do all women not get the same care no matter if they go private/semi or public by this i mean we all give birth and the staff do everything to keep you and baby comfortable and safe. I think this is the most important thing.

fiona stephanie

Hiya Lalalu,

yeah i agree with you, every woman gets the same care, and the staff are great regarless of if your public , semi or private! i went public with my first daughter and it was just i was in a position last time and now again this time to be able to go semi! really the only difference i found was the wait times on appointments! they were shorter with semi! and really even when you pay massive amounts of money to go private there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get a private room after delivery! so i wouldnt be bothered going private, plus i love the craic with the other women in a shared room after you have your baby! but that is just my opinion!

but defo you and baby get same care regardless!

mccartj5

fiona stephanie wrote: »

hiya,

no i went to holles street with all my pregnancies! i had no issues what so ever with going for a private scan infact, when i mentioned to them that the wait was very long for the first scan they recommended going for a private scan if just for some reassurance!.. the scan in smithfield is generally only an early dating scan and to make sure baby is there and has a heartbeat etc! the first scan in the hospital is an annomaly scan and goes into great detail checking kidneys and all other organs and looking for any defects!

i dont understand why rotunda are saying you cannot go semi private now, what was their reasoning behind that?

Thay said its hospital policy that if you do not have your first scan at semi-private there you cannot go semi-private after, sounds like a load of rubbish to me.

It wasnt me who was talking to them it was the better half but maybe if I ring up and explain that we are going for a private scan for peace of mind and want to book an annomaly scan with them it will be alright.

Think maybe I need to be a bit forcefull

d22ontour

Whether you go public,semi-private or private the care you receive whilst delivering is the same.All you are paying is for a room with 8 or 4 or 1 person in the ward.If lying in a bed in a ward for 1,4,8 people makes you fell less **** after delivering a baby then please enlighten me ? In a private room you will still receive the same aftercare as a semi private, public patient will receive.All you are paying for is a room with a set amount of people in it.You will still receive the same treatment and attention as the others but might allegedly get faster appointments/scans ?

Holles St has delivered all my kids and the professionalism shown was top notch.They don't look at how much you pay regarding your treatment you know ...

fiona stephanie

mccartj5 wrote: »

Thay said its hospital policy that if you do not have your first scan at semi-private there you cannot go semi-private after, sounds like a load of rubbish to me.

It wasnt me who was talking to them it was the better half but maybe if I ring up and explain that we are going for a private scan for peace of mind and want to book an annomaly scan with them it will be alright.

Think maybe I need to be a bit forcefull

that sounds like a load of rubbish to me aswell! sure if you hadnt have told them you were going for your own private scan they wud never had known!!
i would defo ring them back and see whats going on, maybe your other half just got someone cranky the that she rang up! haha! good luck with that and the rest of the pregnancy! and remember if rotunda dont want to accept your money over something so silly as getting an early dating scan elsewhere there is many other hospitals that will!

Wifey

Hi OP,

In relation to your original question, the cost for a private consultant depends, but up to €5,000, which can be paid in stages. I am private ( Not paying €5K, as am doing combined care and have been with consultant for a number of years, so not charging full whack). What I am paying is worth every penny, as all scans, bloods etc are included, plus I know who I am dealing with.

As a private patient, you are not garenteed a private room, 9 times out of 10 you end up in semi private. Personally I hope I have a private room, for the extra privacy and just allowing me to get on with it, without having to deal with strangers around me. In addition you are garenteed that your consultant will be in attendance at some point during the delivery ( the only reason for them not to be there is if they are not in the country).

To be honest my Preg has been text book ( am 39 + 2), with a few issues at the beginning. The issues I did have were dealt with immedidately by ringing the cons sec and being referred on to outpaitents. That visit was awful, the place was manky after the morning clinic, and really put me off going public in future. In addition, only that I was a private paitent I was seen that day.

All in all I would say for security and peace of mind, I would reccommend Private especially if it is your 1st. They say stick with one of the main Maternity Hospitals on your 1st, cause if you went with The likes of MC and anything went wrong with Baby or you, you would be taken straight to HS anyway.

Best of luck with it all, feel free to PM me if you want more info.

fashionista!

I'm going private and so far it's been worth it. I'm scanned on every visit, I'm just visiting my consultant and not doing combined care so I find seeing the same person on every visit very re-assuring. It's my first so wanted to be well looked after.

I've never had to wait longer than 10 mins for appointments and get a scan on every visit.

Ok it costs a lot of money but I feel it's worth it.

csad58c

its a personal choice but we went private on the second due to complications on our first, TG she is fine but it left bad memories and we were not going to take any chances. Unfortunately when you pay in this country for private you get a better service and peace of mind....

gowayouttadat

Wifey wrote: »

Hi OP,

In relation to your original question, the cost for a private consultant depends, but up to €5,000, which can be paid in stages. I am private ( Not paying €5K, as am doing combined care and have been with consultant for a number of years, so not charging full whack). What I am paying is worth every penny, as all scans, bloods etc are included, plus I know who I am dealing with.

As a private patient, you are not garenteed a private room, 9 times out of 10 you end up in semi private. Personally I hope I have a private room, for the extra privacy and just allowing me to get on with it, without having to deal with strangers around me. In addition you are garenteed that your consultant will be in attendance at some point during the delivery ( the only reason for them not to be there is if they are not in the country).

To be honest my Preg has been text book ( am 39 + 2), with a few issues at the beginning. The issues I did have were dealt with immedidately by ringing the cons sec and being referred on to outpaitents. That visit was awful, the place was manky after the morning clinic, and really put me off going public in future. In addition, only that I was a private paitent I was seen that day.

All in all I would say for security and peace of mind, I would reccommend Private especially if it is your 1st. They say stick with one of the main Maternity Hospitals on your 1st, cause if you went with The likes of MC and anything went wrong with Baby or you, you would be taken straight to HS anyway.

Best of luck with it all, feel free to PM me if you want more info.

I don't know what hospital you were with but I don't think this is true. I was public during my pregnancy and any complications I had were seen and dealt with asap by the hospital. I never had to wait to be seen if there was something worrying me.

lalalulu

Wifey.. I don't think it matter's if you are public/private or semi.. If you are having complication's in your pregnancy you will be seen straight away. I had a bleed at 6 weeks and i went to the hospital myself and i was seen straight away! The consultant on call came down to do the scan. How ridiclous (sp) would it be for them to say to me 'oh no sorry you are a public patient you must make an appointment' It's extremely unlikely!
I think there is a lot of snobbery with going private/semi private. We all get the same care and our baby's are the most important thing not wheather we get a private room or if we see the same doctor everytime.

janbaby

Having a baby is so expensive :eek:. Alot of people are in a position to pay for private care but I think what happens on the day is all that counts. If the same staff look after you regardless of if you pay or not then I can't see a huge benefit. I agree that waiting times for appointments are shorter but I am going public and the longest I've had to wait for an appointment has been 40mins. I'm 22 weeks and I've had 2 scans.

I think if you can afford it and its money you want to spend you should go private

CathyMoran

am a very high risk so have to go public, care is excellent

January

I had a couple of bleeds during my pregnancy also and I was seen to straight away... no making appointments or anything of the sort!

mattym

My wife is going private and is 7 months on. And i am seriously questioning the point of it. My wife had contractions all day sunday and we went to the hospital at 1 am that night. She was put on a monitor and thank god it turned out that it was only Braxton Hicks. I cant knock the nurses in the hospital but she was lying in a bed till 5 pm the next day waiting for her private doctor to see her. The way i see it is that if she was a public patient she would have been seen by any doctor a lot earlier and really she was being punished for being private. And also she had a 4 hour wait to she her doctor on her last visit. Is this the normal for a private patient? If it is i would strongly recommend going public. What a waste of money....

dbar

I beg to differ. Yes I agree, some of it is "window dressing", private/public rooms - dont care, waiting in Queues - dont care.
However my wife had a serious complication after delivery, Midwifes were flapping, on-call consultant not available. I was never as happy to see our consultant come through the door. He took complete charge of the situation and did all the necessary with complete confidence.
So when the S**t really hit the fan, he was in our corner. In my experience, (and we have three kids) there is a difference between public and private and that was the defining moment for me.

mattym

Thats fair enough dbar but what if your wifes consultant wasnt available for hours like what happened to my wife. Holidays or dealing with another patient??? All i'm saying is that there is a good chance that your consultant may not even be in the hospital when they are needed, they cant guarantee that so i see no advantage in going private at all. But everyone has their own views on it i suppose...

gzoladz

Morning all, we had our baby yesterday!!! We went public in the Rotunda. I am actually in the ward right now as I brought the pc to show my family the new arrival. No complications during the pregnancy at all and we are now enjoying our lovely little Mia.

Re Public. We have yet 1 or 2 days to leave the hospital but the experience has been absolutely fantastic. The care, excelent. The midwives absolutely brilliant, all and every one of them. From the ones that did the checks to my wife during the pregnancy, the polish lady from the ante natal ward, the german midwife that helped us to deliver the baby (Iuta, a genius), the african nurse that dressed my daughter and the multicultural team in the post natal ward.

As my wife went overdue almost 1 week, the last time we came for a check the midwife got us to see a Dr to ensure everything was fine. Obviously we had no appointment but we wait...20 mins only (the "you will get to see the first Doctor available" worked in our favour). The Doctor was excelent too (really nice guy from the West Indies). Very clear and with the necessary mix to content us and get things moving.

Our main concern at the time of going Public was the ward. There are 7 beds but we all have our privacy and everyone has been very respectful of his own space. There is a strict policy on security also to prevent unsocial behavour. The level of comfort is very good and the midwives are around all the time (as I said, they are brilliant).

My advise based on my experience is: go public and save your money for something else. You will be very well looked after. Set your expectations at the right level (you are going to deliver a baby, not to a 5* resort) and you will be ok.

Have many other stories to tell, but Mia needs some cuddling before sleeping

January

That was a lovely post!!! All I'll say about the Rotunda is, the poor midwife assisting me needed my boyfriend to hang the IV bag as she was too short to do so! Poor thing was mortified!

I had a lovely experience!

gogo

The debate is always going to rage on about private vs public, there will be no winners to it.
To answer the op's question, in my opinion, Im going private and as its my first I find it reassuring to get a scan on every visit, plus as im working I have no real waiting times in a hospital which suits me down to the ground. Its costing me €2300 for the privalage, which is roughly what my fridge cost so thats how I justify it, same price as the fridge and all that:). My sister went public and had no complaints either.
Its up to you, if you can afford it, I say go for it,but its really an individual choice, as you see ,most people who go public will swear by it as will the people who go private.
Good Luck either way.

mary byrne

I was hoping for some advice on my situation.

I just found out that I am 6 weeks 2 days pregnant and am totally shocked as due to my history I didn't expect to get pregnant. I had an operation for a twisted fallopian tube a few years back which resulted in me having just one tube so it is a big surprise that i am now pregnant.

However my GP has advised me that I am a high risk pregnancy case and really need to take extra care as this is also my first pregnancy.

I live in Clonee and my GP is in Drumcondra and need to decide now which hospital I want to go to aswell as which option public, semi or private?

My GP has suggested Holles St is the best aswell as another family friend said the same Holles St as it has the best professors in case of any complications.

I have also heard alot of horror stories and about the overcrowding in Holles St.

I would like to hear from some of you as to what is the best hospital and which type of cover? I will also need to get more regular scans.

wexford202

I can't really help anyone oon hosipitals as I am limited yo just one in Wexford.

However with regards to the private of public thing it is really down to personal choice.

I am going public it's my first baby.

I am fortunate enough that I am not short of a few pound and I could go private without a second thought about it but I didn't.

The reason why I chose public was because I actuallt felt that I have been given the best care anyway and that if I had any complications at all I was assured that I would be given the top level or care whether I was public or private.

I am more of the person that will try leave hospital as soon as possible after and even if I have to stay two nighs I am not overly fused. I am somewhat looking forward to seeing how other new mums do things, even the basic things like feeding or changing a nappy. A bit of company and advice when in hospital from a mum of two or three children would do me good to hear and for those reasons that is why I do not want to be in a room on my own.

mary byrne

Thanks for your post.

I think I might go semi-private as need to get early scans and can't afford to wait. Also would be happy to be in a room with a few people as it's my first baby too and haven't got a clue nor any family here to help so I agree the help of other women can be good. As for the delivery I hear you get the same treatment.

I guess in Wexford it may be easier to go public as not as many people going public as there would be in Dublin

angelfalling

I went private the first time around and this time around I'm public (doing the Domino scheme in Waterford). Private was a complete waste of money. Sure, the doctor scanned me unnecessarily every single time I went in. I wasn't happy with getting that many scans (there are many articles out there warning against possible risks included in having too many scans). I always waited at minimum one hour for every appointment.
This time around I've been so pleased. The midwives I see during my appointments are so much more attentive and caring than my doctor was when I was private. I had my first scan and my scan at 20 weeks without any issues.

As far as difference in care? I was private. When I had my daughter, I had the exact same care as a public patient. There were so few private rooms in the hospital that when I had my daughter there were none available for me. I still shared a room with 3 other mothers and their babies. I regularly asked during the time I was there if I could be moved, but alas, no rooms.

If you are in an area (Dublin, Wexford (Mary, go for it! ring them up as soon as possible because they can only take on so many moms) or Waterford) with the Domino scheme, do it! I'm doing a homebirth with the domino midwives, but the regular scheme allows for you to go home as soon as a couple hours after giving birth if you'd like and you have had a complication free pregnancy/labor.

mary byrne

Ok Ladies,

I am still very much confused and thanks again for all your responses but I still need some clarification if any of you can help.

As I explained I am pregnant for the first time and am high risk pregnancy due to my past medical history.

I would like to know what does it cost to go to consultant private and what does it cost to go to consultant semi-private? I understand the hospital stay will be covered up to 3 nights for normal delivery with my health cover.

Also is there a difference in the fees of the consultants between Rotunda and Holles St?

Can anyone recommend the best consultant to see for high risk pregnancy in either the Rotunda or Holles St?

Hope to hear from someone soon!