Private or Public?

Mindfulness · 16-09-2014 12:17pm #1

Not a first time parent but we had our first in another country and I just wanted to know what the differences are in relation to public versus private for maternity care?

I do have a VHI plan but I understand that there are some sort of 'consultant top ups' that could amount to a few thousand euro if we go private.

If we went public what would we have to pay for and how much would these things cost?
Midwife services?
GP visits?
Scans?
Hospital stay?

Before people get all hot under the collar and start raging 'Why would anyone with private healthcare want to go public?', that's NOT what I'm suggesting.

I just want some information as I'm wondering WTF my VHI actually covers over public service if I still have to fork out a few thousand for consultants...

Any advice?

Ginny · 16-09-2014 12:28pm

For public you pay nothing. We have health insurance and didn't use it for our maternity care. We would have had to pay a few thousand for basically a shorter appointment wait(not always the case) and the small chance of getting a semi private room. Plus on private we couldn't go midwife led. Tbh I found no difference between care of friends on semi private and me on public.

Sligo1 · 16-09-2014 2:07pm

Ginny wrote: »

For public you pay nothing. We have health insurance and didn't use it for our maternity care. We would have had to pay a few thousand for basically a shorter appointment wait(not always the case) and the small chance of getting a semi private room. Plus on private we couldn't go midwife led. Tbh I found no difference between care of friends on semi private and me on public.

You're correct in saying there is not a lot of difference between semi private and public. However, IMO there is a world of difference between fully private and public. Also if you only went semi-private it shouldn't have cost a few thousand extra? That's only if you go full private. Semi costs prob a third of fully private or there about?

Anyways, basically a lot of it is a comfort thing OP so it's entirely up to you! Some people swear by domino which is a public service and is fab also! The reason I choose full private over public was for continuity of care by my one consultant. This is not guaranteed with public but I have heard of one instance from a boards poster where she saw the same consultant at each appt. I emphasise this is an exception to the rule and not the norm in public.

I wanted a private room. I hate hate hate sharing rooms after giving birth. I wanted to sleep and to get to grips with bfing... Which tbh was impossible for the one night I spent in a room with more than one person. Thank god I got my private room the following night. Again, this is only me. Some people love sharing rooms to chat etc...

Also, with private you are guaranteed to have a consultant at your baby's birth. And also if you choose to have an epidural it will also be a consultant anaesthetist that will administer it. Not a registrar or a more junior doc. This is another reason I choose private. I did not want a reg giving me an epi! On my second however, I didn't get any pain relief so that was neither here not there.

In private you will get scanned at every appointment. In public you may be scanned at each appointment however, again this is not guaranteed in public.

Also, in private the waiting times for appointments are shorter.

You will pay around 3-3.5k for your private consultants fees. And you will prob also have to pay for a blood test or 20week scan.

pwurple · 16-09-2014 2:23pm

Your VHI will cover jack **** for maternity. Same for laya, aviva et al.

You pay your thousands a year, you get diddly squat when you need it.

Private will almost entirely be out of your own pocket.

Public covers:
Midwife led care
Consultant clinic in public hospital (not the same consultant every time)
Some scans, depends on hospital, how many you need, previous history etc.
Ward/semiprivate room... depends on the hospital again. CUMH I've been public for both births, got a twin room both times.

Private gets you
Continuity of consultant
Extra scans
Private room if available.

mirrorwall14 · 16-09-2014 3:15pm

I'm public in the coombe. Care has been excellent so far I have to say. Was hospitalised for three days and saw the same consultant as at my appointments. The wait at the appointments can be long.

I have excellent private health insurance and am not using it because:

Private would have been north of 5k out of my own pocket. That is a huge chunk of money and while we have it would have put back mortgage plans etc. There is no guarantee of a private or semiprivate room. If the hospital is busy then you can be out of luck. Continuity of consultant as opposed to team didn't seem worth it.

Semiprivate would have been about 1200 odd. Here the benefits are even less discernible as you aren't going to necessarily have the same consultant each time/at birth. Again if the hospital is busy then no semi private room may be available

Public:
Options for care e.g. Domino/midwife schemes depending on risk. I wasn't given an option as I have a high BMI and asthma and was automatically assigned to a public consultant. Standard of care is the same (except waiting times). Admitted on public last week for three days I am totally happy that I will be well looked after in January even though I hadn't even dreamed of going public before I got pregnant

Scan wise on public:
I've been scanned fully once 12 weeks, minor scan with consultant 16 weeks and scanned in emergency last week. My Anatomy scan is on Thursday.

Also because we didn't fork out for anything, we got a private scan at 9 weeks and may get a 3d scan in the next month. We have a bit of leeway from money saved

Ginny · 16-09-2014 3:16pm

Semi private can cost from 1200-1800+ in the rotunda now as they have 2 different levels of semi now. Evening or weekend antenatal classes are €150+, Plus if you or your baby need more than 3 nights for a non c section or 5 for a c section it will usually be an additional 800 euro a night, and I know people who have had to pay for additional nights for themselves or babies. So it can be a couple of thousand euro. I know my Aviva didn't even cover the initial 1200/1800, tbh I'm not even sure what peoples insurance is supposed to cover these days.
Maybe I was lucky but I had a consultant anaesthetist for my epidural, and I know it wasn't the norm but I had the same consultant at my 37,38 and 39 week appointment. He watched out for me every week and took me in on my 39 week appointment and got me a bed within an hour and my induction started in 3. Tbh I know I was very lucky with him going out of his way for me.

crazy cat lady · 16-09-2014 3:34pm

I'm not sure if it is in operation in all the Dublin maternity hospitals, but in holles st you cannot avail of the early transfer home service unless you are a public patient.

Also, by going public you have the option of attending a satellite clinic. I live in Wicklow and attended the Wicklow clinic on both of my previous pregnancies and again on this one. The only times I will have to go to Dublin is for my scan and to have the baby.

I'm a big fan of the public maternity services and could never justify spending thousands going private. Midwives are excellent at what they do - caring for women having normal pregnancies and referring to a consultant when they suspect that things are not normal.

uck51js9zml2yt · 16-09-2014 3:41pm

we had 2 children when having health insurance and went public. The only difference is the appointments. There is no guarantee the consultant will be available when junior is born and it's the same facilities as those who are public for the birth.
A private or so room are not guaranteed and you may be on a public ward.
My wife got a SP room on our first even though we were public and the level of care at th the weekend was scary.
Had a public ward on number 2 and it was brilliant.
You're better off keeping the thousands for when junior is born.

margo321 · 16-09-2014 6:02pm

Hi, I'm 33 weeks pregnant with my first, after much debate I went public (I'm in Cork) and I find the care outstanding. I'm glad I went public. I would like a private room but couldn't justify paying thousands for it and it's not even guaranteed. Best of luck.

Yehuda Fluffy Twin wrote: »

we had 2 children when having health insurance and went public. The only difference is the appointments. There is no guarantee the consultant will be available when junior is born and it's the same facilities as those who are public for the birth.
A private or so room are not guaranteed and you may be on a public ward.
My wife got a SP room on our first even though we were public and the level of care at th the weekend was scary.
Had a public ward on number 2 and it was brilliant.
You're better off keeping the thousands for when junior is born.

highly1111 · 16-09-2014 6:08pm

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056833364/1/#post82267800

Similar thread and my experiences!!

73trix · 16-09-2014 6:55pm

Have private insurance but after some research, decided on public and cannot complain at all. Having combined care - GP and Hospital. Have had three scans - early one at 9wks; big scan at 19wks, growth scan at 34wks and a couple of mini scans with the docs in between. Sure, I have only met the head consultant once and meet dif members of her team each visit AND would prefer a private room of course but in the end there is no SP in Wexford, there is no guarantee if a private room anyway and TBH the thoughts of forking out nearly 3K for this uncertainty was not worth it. Plus I plan to take unpaid leave so the 3K is much more useful to me then!

Good luck!

Fagashlil · 16-09-2014 7:05pm

I'm also domino scheme at the Coombe, can't fault it. Satillite clinic in 3 mins from my front door, have only attended the Coombe 3 times so far, 2 scans and 1 physio class, and wait time was never more than 10 mins at the scans. There's a midwife on call 24 hours, each one I've met so far has been lovely and really puts your mind at ease over things.

Have private health insurance, and even with the extended maternity package offered, nothing much is covered bar the hospital stay. Couldn't justify the cost of going private, we felt that semi-private really didn't offer much.

Drdoc · 16-09-2014 7:19pm

Domino and midwife schemes appear to be great although they do not cover all areas. I attended my local maternity hospital but the area I live in is not covered by domino etc so I would've had to go consultant led if I went public.

I agree with other posters that semi private is a bit of a waste and doesn't offer much.

I went private. Cost €2,500 all in including all scans and glucose tolerance testing etc. Consultant present for the delivery, consultant anaesthetist for epidural and private room for the full 3 nights. This was the Rotunda.

Little known fact but there was one main reason I went private. If you are public and you need stitches, the junior doctor will be called to do it and they may or may not know what they're doing.....No joke

73trix · 16-09-2014 7:24pm

Drdoc wrote: »

Domino and midwife schemes appear to be great although they do not cover all areas. I attended my local maternity hospital but the area I live in is not covered by domino etc so I would've had to go consultant led if I went public.

I agree with other posters that semi private is a bit of a waste and doesn't offer much.

I went private. Cost €2,500 all in including all scans and glucose tolerance testing etc. Consultant present for the delivery, consultant anaesthetist for epidural and private room for the full 3 nights. This was the Rotunda.

Little known fact but there was one main reason I went private. If you are public and you need stitches, the junior doctor will be called to do it and they may or may not know what they're doing.....No joke

Due next week. Not inspired suddenly! :eek:

Sligo1 · 16-09-2014 7:33pm

There wasn't a hope in hell I was going to let a jr doc suture me! Another reason I went private! However, I'm pretty sure the midwives can suture? They do on domino anyway. I'd be more confident of a midwife suturing me than a jr doc.

73trix · 16-09-2014 7:35pm

Sligo1 wrote: »

There wasn't a hope in hell I was going to let a jr doc suture me! Another reason I went private! However, I'm pretty sure the midwives can suture? They do on domino anyway. I'd be more confident of a midwife suturing me than a jr doc.

I kinda presumed it would be the midwife in my innocence... I thought they ran the show.

Moonbeam · 16-09-2014 7:38pm

Have a look at semi private and the midwife led schemes .
Private could cost you 2-4k on top of VHI .

Sligo1 · 16-09-2014 7:39pm

73trix wrote: »

I kinda presumed it would be the midwife in my innocence... I thought they ran the show.

Lol... I'm pretty sure the midwives can Hun. Don't be worrying. You could always request a midwife if you prefer. Sure you might not even need stitches!!!

Moonbeam · 16-09-2014 7:40pm

No matter where you live you can attend the midwives clinics but you would not wyakufy for the Domino or other special location based schemes .

Op I think a lot depends on what country you had your others in .

pc7 · 16-09-2014 7:45pm

Not everyone can do the domino scheme (fertility treatment, or high risk ect). Going private you can claim 20% back from revenue also.

Ginny · 16-09-2014 8:11pm

I waited for nearly 2 hours for a dr. to stitch me in the Rotunda, had 3 midwives in the room, so I'm not sure if the midwives stitch in the Rotunda, could have just been mine though.

Millem · 16-09-2014 8:17pm

Ginny wrote: »

I waited for nearly 2 hours for a dr. to stitch me in the Rotunda, had 3 midwives in the room, so I'm not sure if the midwives stitch in the Rotunda, could have just been mine though.

Domino midwives in holles street defo stitch, they stitched me as I had a second degree tear

Ocean Blue · 16-09-2014 8:22pm

73trix wrote: »

I kinda presumed it would be the midwife in my innocence... I thought they ran the show.

I was stitched by a Dr in Wexford in July. I couldn't tell you what grade the Dr was but she was demonstrating and teaching a junior Dr so she definitely knew what she was doing. I had full faith in her anyway so don't be worrying!!

Drdoc · 16-09-2014 8:35pm

Sorry didn't mean to frighten people.
Midwifes can definitely suture and always do on domino schemes I think.

If you have an assisted delivery the registrar will be there anyway and they'll be perfectly good.

If you aren't confident with the person doing it, never be afraid to say. It's your body after all, you get the final say. I never would've taken offence if someone had said it to me!

Millem · 16-09-2014 8:46pm

Drdoc wrote: »

Sorry didn't mean to frighten people.
Midwifes can definitely suture and always do on domino schemes I think.

If you have an assisted delivery the registrar will be there anyway and they'll be perfectly good.

If you aren't confident with the person doing it, never be afraid to say. It's your body after all, you get the final say. I never would've taken offence if someone had said it to me!

I never even thought about who would stitch me! In fact I didn't even know you would need stitches!!! Lol lol

73trix · 16-09-2014 9:17pm

Ocean Blue wrote: »

I was stitched by a Dr in Wexford in July. I couldn't tell you what grade the Dr was but she was demonstrating and teaching a junior Dr so she definitely knew what she was doing. I had full faith in her anyway so don't be worrying!!

Great to hear. Will know soon enough! :eek::D:eek::D

highly1111 · 16-09-2014 11:26pm

I was public in Holles st and the midwives did the suture.

2xj3hplqgsbkym · 17-09-2014 7:16am

I got stitches in the rotunda (public).
I had to go into the operating theatre and get an epidural. It wasn't a junior doctor. Maybe because it was a 3rd degree tear?
The midwife stayed with me. Anytime I got my stitches checked by consultant, perineal clinic or physio, they all commented on what a fantastic job she did!

pwurple · 17-09-2014 1:47pm

Drdoc wrote: »

Little known fact but there was one main reason I went private. If you are public and you need stitches, the junior doctor will be called to do it and they may or may not know what they're doing.....No joke

Not so... I had stitches done by a midwife on my first (which were done badly, and needed to be redone later).

On my second I let them know that if I needed stitches, I wanted a surgeon, not a midwife, and not a junior doctor. This was adherred to, a surgeon was requested and appeared (after a 45 minute wait due to being busy with another patient).

Public both times.

You can get a variety of people doing them, but you need to specify if you have a preference.

Sligo1 · 17-09-2014 1:51pm

pwurple wrote: »

Not so... I had stitches done by a midwife on my first (which were done badly, and needed to be redone later).

On my second I let them know that if I needed stitches, I wanted a surgeon, not a midwife, and not a junior doctor. This was adherred to, a surgeon was requested and appeared (after a 45 minute wait due to being busy with another patient).

Public both times.

You can get a variety of people doing them, but you need to specify if you have a preference.

Was it a reg or a consultant that did them pwurple?

crazy cat lady · 17-09-2014 2:10pm

I was taught to suture as a student midwife in holles st.

Private or Public?

Comments