Quick qstn - CUH Maternity, private patient bot told to go public?

Plek Trum

Hi all,
my sister has just announced she is pregnant, we are all thrilled as is she and her boyfriend (first grandchild in our family!)

She has been a member of VHI for years and her policy covers her for maternity. She rang CUH but was told that it was not possible for them to take her as a private patient, that she has to go public. This isn't a huge deal but she is rather disappointed as one of the reasons she took out her policy was for this!

Can anyone shed any light as to why this is? Her pregnancy is still in the early stages, she isn't due until March 2011 and she was informed of this when she was referred by our family GP for her first scan in a few weeks.

ANy thoughts / opinons? Is there really ANY difference between the two (bar a large fee in addition to her policy for going private?) Has anybody any experience of either and what would you recommend? Is it worth it?
Many thanks, all advice appreciated...

Moonbeam

Vhi only cover a small portion of the fee and she would have to pay the balance. Sis they not give her a reason why the would not accept her privately?too booked up maybe?
She wil have to talk to the hospital and ask.

Plek Trum

Yes, it seems that they are booked in advance and the consultants can only see a limited number of patients. Makes sense really, we just (in our naievity) didnt realise that you would have to 'book in advance' :rolleyes: It seems in advance of actually conceiving!

No to worry, have heard great things about the new maternity centre in Cork.

Any body know what the different benefits actually ARE there between private and public patients?

Moonbeam

That is crazy,though I booked at 4 weeks this time and found it hard to get a consultant.

lonestargirl

New consultants contracts specify the ratio of public to private that someone can do, they can get in trouble if they go over their number of private patients.

Karmella

when i went to my gp first thing she said was if want to go private you need to book a consultant now. I was about 4 weeks. I decided to go public anyway as she said that its the same level of care and you won't get slapped with a 4000 bill at the end.

I'd say its quite busy tbh. I was up there for an appt recently and there must have been at least 200 women there and the midwife said its like that every day!! They seem to have the staff do deal with it all though. I was waiting 40 mins to be seen by midwife and they squeezed me in to meet the consultant to ask a couple questions when i wasn't supposed to see him at all which i was impressed with. I even got a mini scan

the main diff between pub and private seems to be that if private you will always be seen by your consultant and (s)he will deliver your baby and you will get a private room (if available!) public on the other hand, you might not be seen by the same consultant (although my chart says i've been assigned one - maybe i only see him if he is there when i get an appt? Not sure yet) and a midwife will deliver the baby - unless there are complications at which pt they'll bring in the dr who happens to be there.

Anyway, i've only been there a couple times but the set up seems pretty good so far.

LucyLouLou

I went private there last year but never booked it thru the hospital, booked directly thru my consultant, did she try ringing the consultants clinincs? There's one on the grounds of the hospital and one accross the road, the Cork Womens Clinic. The only thing I had to book at the hospital was my 12week dating scan. Now I'm due in feb but going public this time as I can't afford private.

Plek Trum

Many thanks for your replies. Yes, it does seem that the consultants are limited to the number of private patients they can see, I suppose that is fair enough in order to keep the system and standards of care and attention even for all patients across the board.

Regards the benefits of private - I was talking with a friend who was private patient, saw the same consultant etc but when it came to actually giving birth, her consultant was on holidays and she had his replacement (!) Also, there weren't any private rooms available at her time.

As far as I can see, the bill at the end may be better spent on the nursery and baby things my sister needs to get, espeically if there are no concrete guarantee's that what you are paying for will actually happen.

Its a while down the line yet, next March. I'm sure I'll be popping in here from time to time though. Thanks for all your replies, appreciated.

gowayouttadat

I went public in cumh last year. I didn't go private for a few reasons but the main one was it doesn't seem to be value for money. I have private health insurance too but still would have ended up paying maybe 3k for the car. The public care was absolutely fine. I have a problem with my back which had to be explained to a consultant. My GP wrote a note on my file that I had to see a consultant. The one I was allocated by the hospital was away at my appointment. I showed my file to a midwife and she put me in a queue for another consultant. I explained everything to her and she told me I was to go to her for every appointment so that I wouldn't have to re-explain things. She was very nice and any time I went back I saw her. So my experience of public was absolutely fine.
I ended up being induced early and in the induction ward there was 4 public and 1 private patient who didn't seem to get any better or worse care than the rest of us.

LegacyUser

My partner is expecting . can I ask for female midwives all d way true delivery?