Public or Private in Letterkenny General.

pkmkjk

Hi All,

This is our first post on here so as no-one knows the news yet (10 weeks gone and excited !!) so this is a new username.

We're based in Donegal and this is our first baby.
We're completely stumped as to the difference in care etc between Public and Private (with Quinn) so here goes with the questions:

Has anyone on here been in LGH either Public or Private?
What was your basic experience like?

We've got a bunch of assumptions that we think are true, but a bit of clarity would be very welcome!!

Apparently, with public care, you get 4 or 5 appointments but may be waiting in the gatehouse room/centre for ages with other expectant mothers. With Private you get seen at more convenient times and for a longer period.

After admission, as there are very few private rooms, you will probably not get a private room even with private cover, and will end up in the public room.

During labour, the consultant is more likely to be there to attend than if you go public, but the midwives will more than likely be the ones doing the delivery.
If public, you will be dealt with by whoever is there (consultant, doctor/jnr doctor) and you 'may' or may not see 'your' consultant.

The medical cover will cover costs/fees up to a point but you will still be paying 3k+ on top for potentially the same scenario as if you just go public. What's the point? That money would be well spent on the baby when they arrive.

We're due in March/April and these are the things that are in our heads at the mo, but I'm sure many other questions will be forthcoming.

Can anyone comment on our queries above, regardless of LGH-specific or not.
We've been on eumom.ie, bump2babe.com, ratemyhospital as well as being on here and there's a bit of a jumble of info out there. Any comments much appreciated.

Cheers,
PKMKJK.

(ps, apologies for the 'we' are due thing. I personally hate that term, but this is a joint email that we'll both be using so )

foxinsocks

I don't have any experience with Letterkenny, but I have gone private, mainly because my pregnancy(s) have been classed as 'high risk' and I wanted to be reasonably sure that my obstetrician would be consistent throughout, and I wouldn't have to give my entire medical history every time I attended another overworked antenatal clinic. I went private with my first too, and my obstetrician was in situ almost throughout my labour, and was there with me to deliver at 2am.

Also, I really didn't want to attend the usual public clinics, where they give you a 10:15 appointment, and also give the same to 60 other women.

As it turns out, this one has been extra high risk, with diabetes to add to my already irritating high blood pressure issue, and I'm now attending the public diabetes clinic which means I get the 10:15 appointments, and don't get out of there until 3 anyway.

BUT, my obstetrician is there for me, and every time I see her, whether in the hospital, or in her private rooms, I get an ultrasound which reminds me exactly why I'm sitting in that waiting room unable to eat crisps for 5 hours at a time. I have at least a chance at a private room when the time eventually comes, and my baby is in special care and all I need is a few minutes of peace and quiet to sleep.

If I wasn't high risk, I would have thought twice about going fully private though, it's not cheap, and sort of dead money, because honestly, it's not something you really *need*.

implausible

First of all, congrats! It's a very exciting time. I went public in Letterkenny 15 months ago and have to say that I could not fault the place, the staff or the care! I'll answer some of your questions first:

Apparently, with public care, you get 4 or 5 appointments but may be waiting in the gatehouse room/centre for ages with other expectant mothers. With Private you get seen at more convenient times and for a longer period.

I don't know if you get seen for longer in private, but the queues can be long enough in the Gate Lodge. My appointments always seemed to be at 2:30 or earlier, so I used to turn up 1:30, before the docs got back from their lunches. I think everyone is given the same time, because it seemed to be first come, first served. I always got out by 3 o'clock.

After admission, as there are very few private rooms, you will probably not get a private room even with private cover, and will end up in the public room.

True. However, it can work in reverse too. My friend who was public, got put in a semi-private ward.

During labour, the consultant is more likely to be there to attend than if you go public, but the midwives will more than likely be the ones doing the delivery. If public, you will be dealt with by whoever is there (consultant, doctor/jnr doctor) and you 'may' or may not see 'your' consultant.

As far as I can see, the midwives do everything. Mine was a dote and stayed in the labour room with me for the entire thing. The consultant only turned up when they realised I wasn't progressing, announced "section", sent me upstairs and performed the procedure.

The medical cover will cover costs/fees up to a point but you will still be paying 3k+ on top for potentially the same scenario as if you just go public. What's the point? That money would be well spent on the baby when they arrive.

My thinking exactly! I thought this before and I am sure of it now and I will be going public again on this one (I'm 6 wks pregnant).

The staff were fab. I breastfed and couldn't get out of the bed after the c-section, so had to ring the bell to get them to put him in beside me. They always responded quickly, made sure I was latched on and were so nice. I was in a public ward with 6 beds, but for about three days, there were only 4 of us in it which was great and the nurses had no problem letting me move bed to a corner one.

If you take ante-natal classes, you'll probably get a tour of the labour suites, which were brand spanking new when I was there. They are massive and really lovely, with showers and baths in them.

I never considered private as the price was mad and my thinking was that my taxes have paid for this service, so why wouldn't I use it. I have never used the health service before and I was amazed at how good it was and that my entire pregnancy didn't cost a penny!