Private healthcare - cost and processes?

r3nu4l

We had our baby on the NHS in England so the situation was somewhat different to that in Ireland.

Every month I pay National Insurance from my salary as well as tax. NI covers the cost of going to the doctor and every aspect of pregnancy and childbrith.

A friend of ours recently had a baby in Ireland and paid over €4,000 to go 'private'. When she went into labour she was brought to a ward where there were other women and families and spent hours there going through contractions before being moved to the delivery suite for the final stages of labour and the delivery.

That contrasts a lot with our experience. When my wife went into labour we went straight to the delivery suite. My wife was examined and advised to go home until she felt she needed help. We went home for a few hours and then went back to the hospital. Once we went back in we went to the delivery suite again and spent the next 18 hours there until our baby was born.

So I'm just wondering what exactly going 'private' means in Ireland? What do you get for the money? Can anyone advise me? How is private different to public in terms of pregnancy? I'm asking because if I choose to move back to Ireland and have our next baby there, then I need to be forewarned.

I thought I'd ask those of you who have just had babies as this is likely tobe the most recent 'data'. Mods feel free to move if necessary.

Nevyn

With the baby boom they won't have anyone who is not in the final stages of labour in the deliver suite, ie 6cm dilated or above only. Before you are deemed ready for the delivery suite suite you are put in the labour ward and with other women and monitored by the midwives there.

Going private means that you see the same dr in the hospital rather then members of a team and you may never see the same one twice.

Going private means you get the option of a private room if there is one advailible, if not you may be bumped to a semiprivate (which has 2/4) or even to a public ward until one becomes advailible.

OS119

Thaedydal wrote: »

With the baby boom they won't have anyone who is not in the final stages of labour in the deliver suite, ie 6cm dilated or above only. Before you are deemed ready for the delivery suite suite you are put in the labour ward and with other women and monitored by the midwives there.

Going private means that you see the same dr in the hospital rather then members of a team and you may never see the same one twice.

Going private means you get the option of a private room if there is one advailible, if not you may be bumped to a semiprivate (which has 2/4) or even to a public ward until one becomes advailible.

what, and i shudder to think given that you've just described the 'private' version, happens in a 'public' hospital?

to prevent any confusion arrising from r3nu4l's post, National insurance is just a way to describe another income tax - its not ringfenced and how much you've paid only counts in calculating your state pension. they ought to get rid of it, its expensive to administer and pretty confusing, but no government seems to want to risk headlines of 'basic income tax goes up 10%!'

Moonbeam

It really depends on what hospital and county that you are thinking of.
We have no equivelent of the NHS in Ireland,we pay national health insurance too but do not have a similar system.
We do have a public maternity system where all aspects of maternity care are covered and "free".
Normally private patients go private in a public hospital with Mount carmel being the only private maternity hospital that I know of.
The maternity hospital websites normally have cost details on them.

OS119

Moonbeam wrote: »

It really depends on what hospital and county that you are thinking of...

ok, say i'm on holiday in Dublin - without travel/medical insurance - and 3 weeks before her due date my mrs starts getting the signs that she's about to drop.

what standard of care would we get, what meds/hospital stay/medical attention would we get - and not get - because we're skint and have no travel/medical insurance, and how would that differ from what somebody either with medical insurance, or big fat wedges of cash, would get?

January

I'll give you an example of both my births. Both public, but both very very different. My first daughter was born in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin in 2008 by emergency c section and I had a VBAC in the Coombe Hospital, Dublin in February 2010.

In 2008 I was part of the midwives clinic, which meant I got to see a midwife on each visit. I got to see the same midwife on every visit bar my last one where a student midwife was handling the patients that day. I had 4 ultrasounds, one I paid for myself privately at 12 weeks (cost €100 euro), my anomaly scan at 19 weeks, a scan at 33 weeks to check for cleft palette, and a scan at 38.5 weeks as they thought the baby was small and were worried about growth. I was induced and was first brought to the annex where there were four other women being induced that day, they broke my waters and I was then moved to the delivery suite as they were starting to give me syntocin to bring on labour. Baby failed to progress and got into distress so I was given an emergency c section under general anesthetic. Baby was brought to me when I got to the ward (she was with Daddy til then), I was on a ward with 11 other women. Discharged after five days.

On number two, in the Coombe hospital, because of the previous c section I was with the consultants team, although public I was lucky enough to see the same consultant at each and every visit. I had a mini scan at every visit and a big scan at 24 weeks (anomaly scan). I thought I was in labour the day after my due date, they took me in and observed me over night even though I wasn't, I went into labour at 3am that morning, was in a pre natal ward with several other women who were being induced the next morning or were in the very early stages of labour. I was then moved to a four bed room and given the epidural. I progressed very fast and was 9cms when I was moved to delivery suite. I gave birth naturally and baby stayed with me all the time, was moved to a ward with four beds (not semi p ward) and was discharged after 4 days (baby was in SCBU for one night so they kept us in for an extra day.).

Nevyn

OS119 wrote: »

ok, say i'm on holiday in Dublin - without travel/medical insurance - and 3 weeks before her due date my mrs starts getting the signs that she's about to drop.

what standard of care would we get, what meds/hospital stay/medical attention would we get - and not get - because we're skint and have no travel/medical insurance, and how would that differ from what somebody either with medical insurance, or big fat wedges of cash, would get?

The standard of care is the exact same if you are public or private.
You be asked to fill out the public care forum and she could be in a public ward which can be from an 8 bed to a 12 bed.

Moonbeam

OS119 wrote: »

ok, say i'm on holiday in Dublin - without travel/medical insurance - and 3 weeks before her due date my mrs starts getting the signs that she's about to drop.

what standard of care would we get, what meds/hospital stay/medical attention would we get - and not get - because we're skint and have no travel/medical insurance, and how would that differ from what somebody either with medical insurance, or big fat wedges of cash, would get?

You would be covered by E111 for medical attention here
http://www.ehic.ie/

I think the biggest difference between public and private is the long queues public patients face at appointments,1 scan would be the norm for public,you do not have the same doctor for every visit and a bigger ward after baby comes along.

January

OS119 wrote: »

ok, say i'm on holiday in Dublin - without travel/medical insurance - and 3 weeks before her due date my mrs starts getting the signs that she's about to drop.

what standard of care would we get, what meds/hospital stay/medical attention would we get - and not get - because we're skint and have no travel/medical insurance, and how would that differ from what somebody either with medical insurance, or big fat wedges of cash, would get?

You'd go to hospital, you'd be brought to either the pre labour ward (below 6cms) or the delivery suite (above 6cms), you'd be looked after by a midwife or if your wife required it, the duty consultant for that day, you would be given any and all pain medication your wife needed (gas & air, pethidine, epidural, spinal block, general anesthetic (if required, having an emergency c section).

The care during labour does not differ whether private/semi-p/public, it's more the prenatal care. You are not guaranteed a private bed in a public hospital, nor is there any guarantee that your consultant would make it to the birth on time if needed.

OS119

adrieanne__x wrote: »

...The care during labour does not differ whether private/semi-p/public, it's more the prenatal care. You are not guaranteed a private bed in a public hospital, nor is there any guarantee that your consultant would make it to the birth on time if needed.

ok cheers, so its not quite third-world then!

ted1

very few people would pay 4K as this is paid by your private health insurance which costs about 800 for the year. In fact any one that does pay it are mad. They keep you in the prelabour ward for as long as possible because once they declare wo are in labour they genrelly only jet you be in labour for a max of twelve hours. They'll then give a section

implausible

ted1 wrote: »

very few people would pay 4K as this is paid by your private health insurance which costs about 800 for the year. In fact any one that does pay it are mad.

But your insurance doesn't pay all of the €4000!

ted1

it pays most of it depending on you policy, some polices only pay €3450. after our childs birth in Holles street in Aug 09we only got left with a bill for €80 for blood tests.

we were semi private in a room with two beds, the second of which was empty for about 50% of the time.

so in response to your statment it pays most of it, thus my original statment is correct very few people do pay 4k. in fact only mad people do..

Nevyn

I had a crappy time first time around as I went public, queing for hours and then with the labour and birth I went about 30 hours with out sleep and ended up in a ward of then beds which were all full and I didn't get any sleep at all there was alway someones baby crying.
It was so bad and stressful it was hard to establish breastfeeding and I rang my partner and my mother saying I was checking out and taking the baby home at midnight after giving birth at 7am that morning as I had been with out sleep for roughly 40 hour.

I was over heard by one of the ward sisters and I was moved into a smaller room for the rest of the night as they would not let me check out, but I had to spend to more days and nights in the 10 bed ward and it was very stressful.

Second time around I went semi private, the longest I waiting to be seen was less then hour, compare to 2/3 as public you get told to be there by 10 and so has everyone else so you end up shuffling along the benches and waiting.

I was put in a 4 bed room and only two of other beds were occupied, I got lots of sleep, only waking when the baby did and was able to establish breast feeding no bother at all, it was quiet and peaceful for two nights I was there.

Yes I did have VHI cover and while I am not planning on any more, but if I was having any more there is no way I would go public again, it wouldn't be worth the stress and my sanity.