Public vs Private

monflat

Sligo1 wrote: »

Where was that said? I think this post is slightly defensive. If there are 6 people in a room there might be people taking in the middle of the night which I would definitely deem to be inconsiderate? As in Penny's sisters case. But in all likelihood there maybe quietness aswell??

I'm sure most people in a large room will always be considerate of others... But that's not to say everyone will be?...

Im.making my point thats all i was in a 4 bedded room twice and will be again and most people were considerate of others.
Its a hospital and there is bound to be noise and distractions no matter what room one is in. Noise on corridors noise from staff and cleaners

norrie rugger

In terms of private hospitals remember that, should anything go wrong, you will probably be transferred to public hospital.
Rather not waste that time in transfer if something is seriously wrong

Penny Dreadful

monflat wrote: »

Im.making my point thats all i was in a 4 bedded room twice and will be again and most people were considerate of others.
Its a hospital and there is bound to be noise and distractions no matter what room one is in. Noise on corridors noise from staff and cleaners

There is a world of difference between general hospital noise - which is always greatly diminished at night - and two people having a chat across the room with each other in their normal every day voice, getting phone calls and their phones being on full volume ring tone, chatting away with whoever called them, general banging around the place, listening to music and the like.
It is rude and inconsiderate both to the other women in the room and their babies.
Never did I say that this was done only by any particular type of patient.

Sligo1

monflat wrote: »

Im.making my point thats all i was in a 4 bedded room twice and will be again and most people were considerate of others.
Its a hospital and there is bound to be noise and distractions no matter what room one is in. Noise on corridors noise from staff and cleaners

Perhaps you missed Penny's earlier post? She previously said her sister was in a room with multiple beds which was fine. However there were a couple of women in the room who were talking all night while the other new mothers were trying to sleep. Now I'm sorry, but IMO that is completely and utterly inconsiderate to others in the room and I for one would not hesitate to ask them to be quiet!

Of course in a hospital ward there is going to be other noises. But at night time when lights are out I would expect others to have consideration that some people may want to sleep. That's not tarring very public patient as inconsiderate as you have stated. That is calling those women who are talking all night keeping others awake inconsiderate... Which they are...

Penny Dreadful

norrie rugger wrote: »

In terms of private hospitals remember that, should anything go wrong, you will probably be transferred to public hospital.
Rather not waste that time in transfer if something is seriously wrong

If you're a private patient in any of the maternity hospitals in Dublin you're not going to be transferred anywhere now that Mount Carmel is closed down.
Naturally if you as the mother need care you could be transferred and your baby stay in the maternity hospital but thats not going to be fixed until you get co-located care with an acute hospital and a maternity hospital.

norrie rugger

I am more talking about if something starts going wrong in Labour or before hand you may be taken in ambulance from private hospital (ie Bons Secours) to the CUMH.
It may only be a few kilometres away, but should there be an issue I know that I would prefer my wife to be in the public hospital, rather than wasting time on a transfer

Sligo1

norrie rugger wrote: »

I am more talking about if something starts going wrong in Labour or before hand you may be taken in ambulance from private hospital (ie Bons Secours) to the CUMH.
It may only be a few kilometres away, but should there be an issue I know that I would prefer my wife to be in the public hospital, rather than wasting time on a transfer

This is one of the reasons i chose Private care in a public hospital (Holles Street) as opposed to private care in a private hospital. The worrier in me again...

I'm obviously happy with my decision now since Mt Carmel has now closed... I was really thinking about having my baby there this time around... What a nightmare that would've been. I hope all the patients transferred their care ok and without too much disruption.

Roesy

norrie rugger wrote: »

I am more talking about if something starts going wrong in Labour or before hand you may be taken in ambulance from private hospital (ie Bons Secours) to the CUMH.
It may only be a few kilometres away, but should there be an issue I know that I would prefer my wife to be in the public hospital, rather than wasting time on a transfer

All maternity hospitals in Cork were centralised to CUH a few years ago. If are private in Cork you are still going to CUMH.

Penny Dreadful

norrie rugger wrote: »

I am more talking about if something starts going wrong in Labour or before hand you may be taken in ambulance from private hospital (ie Bons Secours) to the CUMH.
It may only be a few kilometres away, but should there be an issue I know that I would prefer my wife to be in the public hospital, rather than wasting time on a transfer

I agree totally. It was one of the reasons why Mount Carmel would never have been an option for me. We all want and aim for a trouble free delivery with as few interventions as possible but emergencies are unexpected. I'd much rather have everything on site than have to be transferred.
Not an issue these days anyway as its all closed down now.

Moonbeam

CUMH sounds less crowded then the Dublin hospitals,so public might be ok.
I would go private or midwife led but I would not consider going public.
The waits are long,seeing a different consultant each time and especially if it is your 1st you want it to be the best possible experience.

January

Mount Carmel had a fully functioning SCBU and were well able to deal with emergencies... what they weren't able to deal with was women who presented in labour before 33 weeks. But even then you were told at booking appts etc that if you thought you were in labour before 33 weeks to head straight to Holles Street.

John Mason

Moonbeam wrote: »

CUMH sounds less crowded then the Dublin hospitals,so public might be ok.
I would go private or midwife led but I would not consider going public.
The waits are long,seeing a different consultant each time and especially if it is your 1st you want it to be the best possible experience.

I have to say this has not been my experience of going public.

i have been seen on time with all my appointments so far. in and out within 30 mins max., usually shorter. have always seen the same consultant.

maybe i have just been lucky but i really cant find fault the care i have received so far.

i have earplugs packed for the noise in the wards but i did have an over night stay on a previous loss and you could hear a pin drop.

at the end of the day everyone is going to get the exact same care, so if going private makes you feel calmer and more relaxed, then thats wht you should do

Sligo1

January wrote: »

Mount Carmel had a fully functioning SCBU and were well able to deal with emergencies... what they weren't able to deal with was women who presented in labour before 33 weeks. But even then you were told at booking appts etc that if you thought you were in labour before 33 weeks to head straight to Holles Street.

Correct. They were able to deal with some emergencies whic occured when babies were delivered over 32 weeks. However depending on the emergency and condition of the baby and mother the baby may well have still needed transfer to a different Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where there would be a lot more support and facilities to deal with the situation.

fiona-f

For me, the difference in public and private care is at the non-medical end - queuing times, additional scans that are not medically required but wonderful to have, seeing the same consultant all the time and of course the room issue. As a public patient, your medical care will be done at whatever is the medically appropriate level, such as midwife delivery for non-complicated birth, or being seen by perfectly qualified non-consultant doctor for standard medical issues. Plus access as appropriate to relevant consultant expertise in the case of emergency situation or pre-existing condition etc. Private medical care is always carried out by the top level of the system, the consultant, regardless of whether such a high level of expertise is needed or not.

So for medical emergencies, reassurance about standard of care, etc, I'd have no problem with public care. However, the other non-medical bits do matter to me, particularly the rooming situation as I'm an intensely private person so the thought of sharing a room with even one other stresses me out massively - and yes, I know it's not guaranteed.

For me, semi-private would therefore be a complete waste of money, still paying a fee but sharing a room. But everyone prioritises different things, so think about what you value in your care. Best of luck with your decision.

Millem

I always said I would go private and to mount Carmel, however when we eventually did get pregnant and after a lot of research mount Carmel was ruled out. Private in holles street was around €4500 if my memory serves me correct semi was around €1200 (but you can claim 20% back in tax) and public was free! After more research I found that the chances of me getting a private room were so slim and there was a chance that consultant may not even be around at birth so I decided on the domino but unfortunately it was booked out they told me you need to book at around 4-6 preggers!! So they put me on the waiting list. I then went public and eventually got a spot on domino at around 28 weeks! The midwives are amazing soooo experienced really know their stuff looking back I don't know how I would of gotten through the labour without them! When I was public I had to go to causality (thank god it was nothing) and couldn't fault them. I also got scanned every visit for free! When in labour we had some very hairy moments and at one stage there were 4 doctors at my bed! They actually got the consultant to do some test where they take blood from baby's head as they thought I might need emergency section. Everything went grand in the end and got to go home after a few hours! You get to know the team of midwives really well. Midwives come to your house for a good week, more if you like! I honestly don't think I would receive any better care if I was semi or private. Oh and I also got free antenatal classes at night on domino and you get to have the special delivery room the only downside for me was the unbelievable amount of visitors I had to the house after the birth whereas if I stayed in hospital the 3 days only OH and grandparents are allowed to visit!

Sligo1

Although I haven't been on the domino myself I have to agree that it is an excellent option. As Millem has said, they have only the most experienced midwives working on this team. Usually Clinical Nurse Manager level 1 and 2 I think.

From what I know and have heard the Holles Street team are extremely conscientious and absolutely lovely to deal with. I think the Coombe domino is meant to be great aswell. It's a real pity the scheme is not open to more people.

Millem

January wrote: »

Mount Carmel had a fully functioning SCBU and were well able to deal with emergencies... what they weren't able to deal with was women who presented in labour before 33 weeks. But even then you were told at booking appts etc that if you thought you were in labour before 33 weeks to head straight to Holles Street.

January after I researched I found out they just didn't seem as advanced as holles street for the labour eg if baby is in distress, holles street can take a blood sample from baby and test then upon results they can check if section is needed, mount Carmel either couldn't or didn't do this so You would of automatically have a section there. This is definitely true as this came to light during a recent court case however they delayed section. Plus they told me themselves they only deliver 5 babies a day max. I remember going to my first antenatal class and waiting for my OH and got talking to a new dad who's wife just gave birth at 32 weeks! No one batted an eye lid there and babies were prefect. I know these are all non-issues now that mount Carmel is closed.

Chattastrophe!

John Mason wrote: »

I have to say this has not been my experience of going public.

i have been seen on time with all my appointments so far. in and out within 30 mins max., usually shorter. have always seen the same consultant.

maybe i have just been lucky but i really cant find fault the care i have received so far.

i have earplugs packed for the noise in the wards but i did have an over night stay on a previous loss and you could hear a pin drop.

at the end of the day everyone is going to get the exact same care, so if going private makes you feel calmer and more relaxed, then thats wht you should do

I had a similar experience going public. In and out within 30 minutes (except for a few times when I had high blood pressure etc and was sent up to the day ward for a couple of hours, again I was seen to straight away up there and not left waiting, just monitored for a while.) I almost always saw my consultant at the appointments, and got a scan at every single one. And while the consultant wasn't at the birth, he came up to visit me on the ward afterwards.

I did have two obnoxious women on the ward - one who watched TV loudly in the middle of the night (why wouldn't you just use headphones) and one who had a million loud visitors in all at once every evening, then when they left, spent half the night talking and bawling crying down the phone. But sure if you went private, you could still end up on a public ward and have the exact same experience. Actually, I really think that if you pay to go private, if a private bed isn't available, you should really get a part-refund - it would be only fair.

It depends on the hospital though. I was in Holles St, and I was happy that I'd get similar care whether I went private or public ... from what I've heard about some other hospitals, there is a big gap in the care provided, and I guess that might have affected my decision.

pwurple

Speckled hen, there is very little difference between public and private in cork. All the private maternity hospitals are closed. If you are high risk you do get continuity and extra scans.

I have gone public on all pregnancies, have had 2 person room after the birth.

The only thing I would say to someone in CUMH is decline the offer of midwife led care and stick with consultant clinic on public. It's much faster appointments on consultant, despite what they tell you. Hours in the difference. If they see anything at all in the midwife clinic (I had a slightly fast heartbeat from sinusitis one day) they put you at the back of the consultant q, so you are there the whole day. One day my appointment was 8am, and I didn't leave the hospital until after 4pm. That was with no food or water for the whole day either as I hadn't got cash on me and all their water dispensers were broken. You feel you can't leave as you are waiting to be called. Disaster. Where with consultant public clinic you are in and out in an hour.

Moonbeam

Millem wrote: »

January after I researched I found out they just didn't seem as advanced as holles street for the labour eg if baby is in distress, holles street can take a blood sample from baby and test then upon results they can check if section is needed, mount Carmel either couldn't or didn't do this so You would of automatically have a section there. This is definitely true as this came to light during a recent court case however they delayed section. Plus they told me themselves they only deliver 5 babies a day max. I remember going to my first antenatal class and waiting for my OH and got talking to a new dad who's wife just gave birth at 32 weeks! No one batted an eye lid there and babies were prefect. I know these are all non-issues now that mount Carmel is closed.

No where else in the country is advanced as Holles St for emergencies.

Moonbeam

I found the after care for private,semi private and public completely different.
When you present in labour it is all the same,but when you get back to your ward/room it changes.

Private -
I was in the Merrion wing after my 1st,I stayed the 3 nights happily,had a lovely room and an ensuite bath and shower,at night time the nurses offered to take the baby as she would not let me sleep!! I would have stayed longer!!

Semi private -
My worst experience was on the sp ward.
It was during a time no visitors were allowed due to I think it was swine flu.
I was horrified,there were 6 beds and shared showers across the corridors.
The other husbands/partners never left,I was driven mad.
The lady beside me was 40 and had just had a c section for twins and was completely wrecked,the nurses were too busy to take the babies to give her a break but her husband stayed as she could not do much. I did not mind that at all he was lovely and also quite!!
One of the other ladies had had a c section too and no idea why the rest never left,I could not get out quick enough.
The one time I went looking for a nurse I could not find one.

Public -
Again it had 6 beds and showers across the corridor which horrified me less this time:) there were plenty of nurses and midwives around and although i had to stay a night the paediatrician came early the next morning so I had escaped by Lunch time.

I loved all the food,they feed you so often:)

Millem

Moonbeam wrote: »

No where else in the country is advanced as Holles St for emergencies.

I was always led to believe that if you made it to the 40 week mark there was no differences between the two (even after having a tour of mount carmel). It was my first baby so didn't have a clue about labour or anything! Would you believe going Private on mount carmel was cheaper for us than private holles street. It was after a lot of googling we made out decision (I just didn't want to risk going to mount carmel in case I went early) we said we would try public for one appointment and if it was terrible we would go private, public was grand really didn't have much waiting time in and out in a hour max 90 mins. I have to say they didn't scrimp on scans and if you were worried or anything they would get you to go upstairs for a big scan. Supposedly they do that blood sample frequently in holles street and they told me they have been doing it more than 10 years (maybe even 20 but I can't remeber!). Mount carmel is closed as I said before so it is a non issue and I am sure there are thousands of people who have had great experiences there.

xalot

Just thought I'd weigh in with another point to think about. I went with the Domino Scheme in the Coombe- which I found brilliant but that's another story.

I had to be transferred off Domino and became public when I went overdue and was induced, had a very complicated birth and my little boy was taken to special care for 8 days. I had a section and luckily got a bed in an overflow room of a semi private ward which was great, four beds and lovely nurses - apparently the food is better in semi private too.

If I had used my health insurance the nurse said I would have been turfed out after 5 days as that's all you are covered for but as I was public I was able to stay and on the ward and have access to my son - I was trying to establish breast feeding and had to go up to special care every three hours. There was another girl on the ward in the same situation and she would also have been sent home. Now we did both have small medical reasons ourselves to stay but I'm not sure what would have happened if we had gone privately. I was so grateful to be able to stay close to my little boy and couldn't fault the level of care.

Penny Dreadful

xalot wrote: »

Just thought I'd weigh in with another point to think about. I went with the Domino Scheme in the Coombe- which I found brilliant but that's another story.

I had to be transferred off Domino and became public when I went overdue and was induced, had a very complicated birth and my little boy was taken to special care for 8 days. I had a section and luckily got a bed in an overflow room of a semi private ward which was great, four beds and lovely nurses - apparently the food is better in semi private too.

If I had used my health insurance the nurse said I would have been turfed out after 5 days as that's all you are covered for but as I was public I was able to stay and on the ward and have access to my son - I was trying to establish breast feeding and had to go up to special care every three hours. There was another girl on the ward in the same situation and she would also have been sent home. Now we did both have small medical reasons ourselves to stay but I'm not sure what would have happened if we had gone privately. I was so grateful to be able to stay close to my little boy and couldn't fault the level of care.

If your insurance company knows that you have to stay longer for medical reasons as certified by a consultant they will continue to cover for. How long for though I'm not sure.

xalot

The nurse said that they would have had to exaggerate the issues in my case anyway and that down the line it's very possible that I would receive a bill for the extra nights. It my son wasn't in the hospital I would defnitely have been discharged.

lazygal

I might've had to stay longer than five nights on my first. A nurse and the accounts section checked and I would've been covered as it was for medical reasons, problems with breastfeeding post section. They also said if I wasn't covered I'd just have been transferred to a public ward for the extra time if needed. Never needed to but it wasn't a worry.

xalot

lazygal wrote: »

I might've had to stay longer than five nights on my first. A nurse and the accounts section checked and I would've been covered as it was for medical reasons, problems with breastfeeding post section. They also said if I wasn't covered I'd just have been transferred to a public ward for the extra time if needed. Never needed to but it wasn't a worry.

Good to know, often worried what would happen if I'm ever in the same situation.

lazygal

You're paying for public care through taxes so of course you'd be covered for public care regarding of health insurance, including maternity accommodation.

Roesy

A nice midwife kindly told me just after she inserted the first gel at 6pm that as I wasn't expected to have the baby until the following night that if I ended up staying 4 nights that she'd heard of people being billed €1000 for the extra night and their insurance not covering it. I asked would I not be moved to a public ward, she said she didn't think it worked that way. This was obviously something I was not factoring in cost wise and worried about it on and off for the following few weeks. As it happened I did end up being in for 4 nights. I asked my consultant about it at my 6 week checkup and he seemed surprised. He said that in the unlikely event that I did get the bill then they would just said it was medically necessary and that there would be no issue with the Vhi. The midwife obviously had been misinformed and maybe thought she was doing a favour giving me the heads up but to be honest I wish she'd said nothing as I was being induced regardless.

Karmella

I went public in CUMH last time round and am doing the same this time. I thought it was fine, the only downside being waiting around for appointments - in a waiting room where the temperature must've been 40 degrees !!! but these are only every 8 weeks at the start and then down to 4 after 30 weeks or something.
I met my allocated consultant once last time, and random doctors the other times. They were all different so there is a little loss of continuity, but I was lucky to have a fairly uncomplicated pregnancy so this didn't really matter. (To me).

When it came to delivery I thought the care was fine and was lucky enough to be allocated a room with only one other person. I might be wrong but I think the biggest wards are for four?

If you don't want to have to go to CUMH for appointments I believe there is an option of going to st. Finbarrs or other satellite clinics aswell.

I know a few people who went private and this suited them, especially on their 2nd / subsequent labours as all the history was there with the same consultant.

To be honest I just didn't have 3000 euro so private was never going to be an option for me anyway. But I had no issues with the public care. It helps that CUMH is a new-ish hospital too!