Private semiprivate or public?

Beanybabog

What's the difference? I'll be going to holles street as its near work. The only thing that would entice me to pay for private or semi private is a shot at a better room (as I doubt it's easy to sleep on the wards). Is the treatment better or faster? What exactly do you get extra if you pay? If I want to try to get in at 8 am to keep the pregnancy under wraps from work would I be better public or private? Google seems to be telling you can wait longer for the consultant and get in and out quicker with the midwives?

lazygal

I was private in Holles Street. Semi private is IMO a waste of money. The ward was MANIC and there was little or no individual attention. Merrion Wing was much quieter. It might be coincidence but everyone I know who went private got a private room there. My consultant was brilliant. I had complications on my first and having built a relationship with her it was very reassuring that she delivered the baby and not whomever happened to be on duty. She came back from a holiday to deliver my second.
I had sections and the privacy and comfort of my own room cannot be overstated. I spent a night on a public ward and a night on a semi private room and I got virtually no sleep or rest. This alone would make me go private again if we have another, combined with the fact that I want to return to the same consultant.
I know lots of people have no problems with the public system or sing the praises of midwife led care, but they weren't for me at all. The few encounters I had with the public system were a bit chaotic and I really felt like nothing more than a number.

Beanybabog

Do you mind me asking whats a ballpark fee for private? Are the appointments quicker?

Keane2baMused

I have done semi private and public. Would never go semi or even private again.

You essentially end up paying for the same care and you have no guarantee of a private/ semi private room. When public I saw my consultant or the reg on every visit. Had a scan on every visit also and didn't have to pay for them (Inc the big 20 week scan)

I had an emergency c-section and was in a room with 3 others. Having other woman with you is great. The company is nice as you won't have family with you all day and night and also if you need to use the bathroom or have a very quick shower the other women are usually brilliant and will keep an eye on your baba for the few minutes.

There really is no extra peace of mind for paying a few thousand. If anything goes wrong you are treated and cared for like everyone else.

edit: Just noticed you are going to HS. I was in the Coombe but regardless it seems to be the general consensus. Private is really only worth it if the maternity hospital is private, unfort Mt Carmel is gone so that option isn't there.

Sebastian Dangerfield

I posted a similar thread on behalf of my wife a few months back, and the deluge of replies I got turned out to be correct. Semi-private is a scam, avoid it.

My wife went ahead with that option on the basis that she was nervous, and having the same consultant throughout would bring her some comfort. That has not materialised; the consultant has at times not been there when we've gone, and has attempted to move our appointments at 2 hours notice "because its a small clinic today". One single appointment was moved 3 times. We still go through the cattle mart-esque process in Holles St each time, and have been charged for things like blood tests on top of the semi-p fee, which would otherwise be free.

I cant comment on the private service, but we will be going public next time.

Good luck!

lazygal

Beanybabog wrote: »

Do you mind me asking whats a ballpark fee for private? Are the appointments quicker?

It will cost between €3500-4000 depending on consultant. You can claim some back from tax and VHI. The appointments aren't necessarily quicker but they're more personal than the ones I had in the public areas-they were really like a cattle mart, with no privacy and a chaotic waiting system. I had to queue for a pot to pee in, queue to hand it in, queue for the nurses, queue for the doctor. This is a very personal preference, but I felt more cared for and listened to in the private appointments.

I know a lot of women like others in the room-I'm not one of them. I liked my own bathroom and personal space. I was in five nights on my first and I would have gone mad having to share with others for that amount of time.

Cakerbaker

I just went through the public system in Holles st. I did combined care so some of my appointments were with my GP and others were in a midwives clinic in my town (so I can't comment on the wait times in the hospital itself). The only complaint I would have is the lack of sleep on the ward, although I am an incredibly light sleeper,other women on the ward seemed to be able to sleep through anything. I had originally planned on doing the early release scheme so would have been out of the hospital 6 hours after birth but there were some complications in labour so I had to stay for 2 nights. The standard of care in the labour ward and the ward afterwards were amazing, I had heard that midwives were rushed off their feet and didn't have time to help/ advise the mothers but the help and attention I got, (and saw everyone else get) particularly with breastfeeding, was amazing. I'll be going public again if I have another baby, I know it's a very personal choice but personally I couldn't justify the extra cost when the outcome is going to be the same at the end of the day.

xalot

Not wanting to scare monger anyone, but I've decided to go fully private this time for the reasons outlined below.

I did midwife led last time and couldn't fault the care I received. Appointments were always on time and very relaxed, often I was the only person in the whole area! Any issues I had were dealt with immediately and thoroughly. I had an easy pregnancy and was fit and healthy. Every single midwife I met was fantastic.

However, as I went over my due date I was transferred to the public system for induction. I was admitted a couple of days before that due to reduced fetal movements (everything was fine, was just being cautious) and was put on a public ward which was hell. People talking on their phone all night, snoring etc.
I was kept in to be induced and after my waters broke (stained) at 7am I was brought straight to the delivery ward where I stayed for almost 24 hours. The baby was in distress from the moment my waters broke and I was not progressing yet I did not see a consultant until 4am the following day who, after an hour of pushing, finally decided I needed an emergency section. My son was very sick after being born and spent 4 days in the SCBU. It was so horribly stressful and exhausting. I was moved to a semi private ward, which I couldn't fault - nurses and everyone were absolutely amazing and it was never crowded. I spent 10 days in total in the Coombe.

I've since paid to get a copy of my hospital chart to get my head around everything that happened that day, after reading my notes I have no doubt that if I had been private that I would not have had such an ordeal. I saw three changeovers of nursing staff and nobody took responsibility to involve a consultant even though my baby showed signs of distress by the CT monitor and the constant meconium.

As I said the level of care I received during my pregnancy was fantastic but when it came to the delivery it was a completely different story. This time I want someone on my side, looking out for my and my baby's needs so I'm going private to ensure it.

meeeeh

I think it really depends so much. With my consultant and trouble free pregnancy after first three months going private was a waste of money. I got more tests and the same amount of scans as public patient. The consultant was too late in the hospital to be present at birth but there was also no need for him. I had private room both times. In fact I think I always got private room, even when I was back in maternity ward a week later after I went public.

I would never want to lose private insurance for kids and ourselves but going private for pregnancy was a bit of a waste of money in my case. The only difference was I had to travel further for consultant appointments when going private. That being said I would talk to people who attend the same maternity hospital as you (I wasn't) because there seem to be quite significant differences in the amount of scans and appointments you get.

Beanybabog

Thanks all! I'm can afford it but I have so many other things to buy I'd have to make sacrifices elsewhere, so I'm not sure. I attended the Holles Street public appointments on a number of occasions with a friend and I would be happy, the consultant care isn't really an issue for me, but I'd like my own room! I know I won't sleep so maybe if things go well early release or something would be better? I'm getting ahead of myself anyway, I'm only a wet weekend pregnant!

lazygal

OT but everyone should ask for their notes. I found several discrepancies between what happened and what was written down. All on the public/semip wards.

Wotzit

Guys, I don't seem many people posting about the diff between public/semi-private/fully-private in the Rotunda - if anyone has any insight that would be great.

I'm going semi-private as I will fully covered under my VHI plan (except a fee of € 1,100 which I paid on my first visit last week). I'm just wondering - will it be worth it? Our visit was lovely last week, only a few people in the waiting room (which looked exactly like the waiting room in the private area that I 'accidentally' walked into) and we were no time waiting to be seen for medical history/bloods/scan and a quick visit with a consultant. So can't fault it yet but it's early days and I'm getting the feeling that the difference will the room I'll be in when I have the baby. I know (well I presume) the care I receive will be the same regardless.

LaLa2004

I have to agree with xalot. I went semi private in the Coombe on my 3rd. The baby was very low birth weight, which was not spotted on scans. I did not see the consultant AT ALL until after delivery. You do get much better care if you can afford to go private.
Apologies to the OP for going off on a tangent.

Beanybabog

LaLa2004 wrote: »

I have to agree with xalot. I went semi private in the Coombe on my 3rd. The baby was very low birth weight, which was not spotted on scans. I did not see the consultant AT ALL until after delivery. You do get much better care if you can afford to go private.
Apologies to the OP for going off on a tangent.

Thanks. My friend went semi private in the Coombe and said it was a waste of money. She felt she just paid for the public services. She had a problem that wasn't spotted too, but I don't know if this would have been had she been private. It just seems like an extra 4K for not a huge amount?

Keane2baMused

LaLa2004 wrote: »

I have to agree with xalot. I went semi private in the Coombe on my 3rd. The baby was very low birth weight, which was not spotted on scans. I did not see the consultant AT ALL until after delivery. You do get much better care if you can afford to go private.
Apologies to the OP for going off on a tangent.

That's surprising. Semi-private there I saw my consultant on every visit bar one where he was called to an emergency (couldn't be helped obv).

I had a very complicated labour and an emergency c-section under general anaesthetic. I was treated with utmost care, just as I was publicly! I haven't experienced any difference as a 'paying patient' than as a non-paying one!

Keane2baMused

Beanybabog wrote: »

Thanks. My friend went semi private in the Coombe and said it was a waste of money. She felt she just paid for the public services. She had a problem that wasn't spotted too, but I don't know if this would have been had she been private. It just seems like an extra 4K for not a huge amount?

I had my second baby publicly and needed another emergency section (having hoped for a vbac)

I was treated the very same as I was semi-private. I know a number of people who have been private and really found no difference either bar waiting times for appointments.

Beanybabog

Keane2baMused wrote: »

I had my second baby publicly and needed another emergency section (having hoped for a vbac)

I was treated the very same as I was semi-private. I know a number of people who have been private and really found no difference either bar waiting times for appointments.

I am kind of going towards public. If I was rolling in money I'd go private but I could probably do with diverting the money elsewhere

Keane2baMused

Beanybabog wrote: »

I am kind of going towards public. If I was rolling in money I'd go private but I could probably do with diverting the money elsewhere

The only real pain is the queuing for appointments tbh! If you don't mind that then go for it and save the 4k

Don't believe the hype that if you go private you and your baby receive better care.

Anything can go wrong no matter how much or how little you pay. It's the hospitals duty of care to protect ALL patients and babies regardless of their status.

pc7

For me I knew I'd only do this once or twice, Id never been is hospital previously and was so glad I went private. I liked the fact my consultant knew me and we'd built up a relationship. She was very supportive of my choices, also I know I'd never have slept in a busy ward, I was so glad to be private (Holles St). All my appointments were early morning, on time, I was never late for work once. If I go again I'll go back to my consultant and go private again.

Coat22

My wife went SP with boths our kids in Holles St.. VHI covered both, think we had to pay €200 & €400 for either but understand that went up soon after - is it now over €1k?

When we went for her first appointment we accidently joined the public queue - what a cattle mart that was. Soon thankfully realised we should be elsewhere and found the SP clinic which had 2 or 3 people queuing and would have paid the above just for this.

She was induced on our first and as said before we were thrown into a public ward until delivery. She spent almost 30 hours in there and it was hell. I complained that we were SP and was told that everyone was public until post delivery. There must have been 30 women in a ward fit for 24. Most cubicles were doubled up and there were 2...how shall I say....families that like to wander..... on the ward.

Can't comment on whether delivery would have been better in private (really can't see how but I'm a man....).

SP ward had 5 women in it. My wife liked that as, if she needed to use the loo, have a shower etc someone would keep an eye on the baby for her.

Never going back there again but if we did we'd go SP again.

lawred2

Beanybabog wrote: »

What's the difference? I'll be going to holles street as its near work. The only thing that would entice me to pay for private or semi private is a shot at a better room (as I doubt it's easy to sleep on the wards). Is the treatment better or faster? What exactly do you get extra if you pay? If I want to try to get in at 8 am to keep the pregnancy under wraps from work would I be better public or private? Google seems to be telling you can wait longer for the consultant and get in and out quicker with the midwives?

My wife went public despite being able to well afford private if we wanted..

She is from the UK and finds it hard to stomach paying for something which should be freely and widely accessible to all regardless of means.

She went to the Rotunda and has never had anything but good things to say. The wards are a little dated but the delivery suites are top notch and the midwives are fantastic.

The only drawback is the cattle mart which is the outpatient department but this is minor stuff.

Overall - public all the way from us.

Personally speaking; I think consultants are doing very well out of maternity services. In public hospitals; it's more often than not the taxpayer funded midwife or registrar that will be present with you in the delivery room. In most cases you won't see sight not life of your handsomely remunerated private consultant.

As it goes - my wife was left all to herself in a 6 bed room for three nights after her second.. while a friend who went SP or fully Private ended up in a full ward because there were no private facilities available after her delivery... It's all a bit of a lottery/scam

lawred2

Keane2baMused wrote: »

The only real pain is the queuing for appointments tbh! If you don't mind that then go for it and save the 4k

Don't believe the hype that if you go private you and your baby receive better care.

Anything can go wrong no matter how much or how little you pay. It's the hospitals duty of care to protect ALL patients and babies regardless of their status.

there can be no waiting lists with babies either

meeeeh

Just one point, you are not guaranteed private or semi-private room, if everything is full you will end up wherever they have space.

The second time I ended in private room in our delivery ward because everything else was full and I was public patient tgen. If someone who was private arrived after me it is very likely they put them into public ward.

lazygal

meeeeh wrote: »

Just one point, you are not guaranteed private or semi-private room, if everything is full you will end up wherever they have space.

The second time I ended in private room in our delivery ward because everything else was full and I was public patient tgen. If someone who was private arrived after me it is very likely they put them into public ward.

Someone was moved from the private room I ended up second time in because they were semip. The woman from accounts said they want private patients in the room because the health insurance pays more for them.

Beanybabog

What are the appointment times like in public v private in Holles street? ow many do you have? Can I do the combined care thing with a GP instead?

meeeeh

lazygal wrote: »

Someone was moved from the private room I ended up second time in because they were semip. The woman from accounts said they want private patients in the room because the health insurance pays more for them.

Quite possibly, it is still no guarantee you will get private room. I usually got it for myself when in hospital (except for day procedures) but when we were in with our son, we were told there is no chance and rooms were used by public patients who needed to be kept away from others.

Beanybabog

meeeeh wrote: »

Quite possibly, it is still no guarantee you will get private room. I usually got it for myself when in hospital (except for day procedures) but when we were in with our son, we were told there is no chance and rooms were used by public patients who needed to be kept away from others.

If you can't sleep can you leave early if you choose to? Like I presume they can't forcibly keep you there and if all went well and everyone is healthy they'd be happy to get the bed back??

Digs

Beanybabog wrote: »

What are the appointment times like in public v private in Holles street? ow many do you have? Can I do the combined care thing with a GP instead?

I'm on my second in holles street going public. Zero issues last time so didn't enter my head not to go public again.

I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and commented to the midwife how seriously efficient the clinic had gotten since last time. She said they'd introduced a structure whereby they give 2-3 women a particular appointment slot, they won't check them in before then and they find its working out great. On my last pregnancy for example the clinic just ran from 2pm and the world and its mother arrived and started queuing from maybe 1:30pm so it was a bit manic.

Their new system works very well. I was in at 8:45am for my appointment, checked in with midwife, saw consultant etc and out by 9:10am. Seriously can't fault it. It is very calm and relaxed. She said there can be a knock on for the afternoon clinics but this happens in most healthcare settings, gps for example can run later in the evening times. So if you do decide to go public maybe try request a morning clinic.

I've had an apt at 13 weeks, GP at 16, hospital at 22, GP 25, hospital 28 and my next GP is 31, hospital at 34 and I think it's evey 2 weeks from then to eventually every week in the hospital

Had big scan at 21 weeks and have been scanned at every appointment in the hospital also.

lazygal

Beanybabog wrote: »

If you can't sleep can you leave early if you choose to? Like I presume they can't forcibly keep you there and if all went well and everyone is healthy they'd be happy to get the bed back??

You can discharge yourself any time. The paediatric doctors may not discharge the baby if there's complications.

Kathy22

Wotzit wrote: »

Guys, I don't seem many people posting about the diff between public/semi-private/fully-private in the Rotunda - if anyone has any insight that would be great.

I'm going semi-private as I will fully covered under my VHI plan (except a fee of € 1,100 which I paid on my first visit last week). I'm just wondering - will it be worth it? Our visit was lovely last week, only a few people in the waiting room (which looked exactly like the waiting room in the private area that I 'accidentally' walked into) and we were no time waiting to be seen for medical history/bloods/scan and a quick visit with a consultant. So can't fault it yet but it's early days and I'm getting the feeling that the difference will the room I'll be in when I have the baby. I know (well I presume) the care I receive will be the same regardless.

I am private in the Rotunda and so far am glad I went private mainly because I am a worrier by nature and 2 bleeds I had in early pregnancy I was told to go straight to my consultant and he scanned me right away. I never have to wait more than 30 minutes for my appointments, get a scan most times except my 28 week appointment. I also got an early scan @ approx 8 weeks. In saying that I ended up in the emergency room twice and could not fault a single person in there, nurses and doctors were lovely. I was in on Monday for an ultrasound and trace in the public hospital due to my visit to the emergency room on Friday and it was insane, I was waiting hours to have both done. It was chaotic to say the least. I was 4 hours waiting in total (now that is after a bank holiday weekend). I went back over to the private clinic after to see my consultant and was rather relieved to go back over as its so much more calm. I like having the same consultant at every visit although I do miss time with the midwives as I find them fantastic. Obviously I have not had my baby yet so will have to revert back with that experience in 7 weeks. Hoping for a private room as I hate the idea of sharing a room with a load of strangers.

meeeeh

Beanybabog wrote: »

If you can't sleep can you leave early if you choose to? Like I presume they can't forcibly keep you there and if all went well and everyone is healthy they'd be happy to get the bed back??

With the second child they actually asked me if I want to go home early. As I was left in predeilivery ward because they were so full I presume they were very happy to send me home. First time a day extra suited me but the second time I was quite happy to go home asap.

I was back in a week later and this time in delivery ward because some placenta had to be removed. Again in private room and that time it was frustrating because it was over the weekend and there was no-one around for hours to discharge me. So I think it depends a bit and if you are impatient like me it can be quite frustrating .

BTW I think there are big differences between hospitals and how stretched they are. I was in Mullingar so there were plenty of scans, mostly with the same doctor and the second time I had them from 8 weeks on. (I had couple of miscarriages). I would say some bigger hospitals could be a bit more unpleasant and then going private would make a bit more sense.