Private care - is this normal?

Toastytoes

Had originally posted in the May 2018 thread but might get more responses out here.

I’d be grateful if someone better informed that myself can tell me what’s normal when going private. Are you still treated under combined care ie. half your appointments are with your GP and not your consultant? I’m very confused by this as the citizens information website seems to indicate that combined care is something separate to private/semi private. It seems a bit much to be paying €3,400 for private care when you’re attending free gp visits half the time. Thanks.

Did anyone attend prof Morrison in Galway privately and was there an option of seeing him for all appointments or is the only option combined gp/consultant?

Beanybabog

No, I'm going private and was told by my GP and the consultants secretary that all visits are with the consultant

jlm29

Toastytoes wrote: »

Had originally posted in the May 2018 thread but might get more responses out here.

I’d be grateful if someone better informed that myself can tell me what’s normal when going private. Are you still treated under combined care ie. half your appointments are with your GP and not your consultant? I’m very confused by this as the citizens information website seems to indicate that combined care is something separate to private/semi private. It seems a bit much to be paying €3,400 for private care when you’re attending free gp visits half the time. Thanks.

Did anyone attend prof Morrison in Galway privately and was there an option of seeing him for all appointments or is the only option combined gp/consultant?

I went to my gp once in my last pregnancy, and that was to get him to refer me to the hospital. In fact I've had three babies, and I'd say I've probably gone to the gp five times in all three (and three of those would have been looking for referrals to the hospital).
It probably depends on the consultant though. My appointments were never more than 4-5 weeks apart, so there was no need to go to the gp in between. I do know other people who went to the gp for combined care as well as being private though.

Of note- I always signed up for combined care. It's handy to have it in case you do need to go to the gp for anything pregnancy related. I went to mine once in each of my first two pregnancies for a chest infection, and wasn't charged, though I think technically I should have been!

Toastytoes

jlm29 wrote: »

I went to my gp once in my last pregnancy, and that was to get him to refer me to the hospital. In fact I've had three babies, and I'd say I've probably gone to the gp five times in all three (and three of those would have been looking for referrals to the hospital).
It probably depends on the consultant though. My appointments were never more than 4-5 weeks apart, so there was no need to go to the gp in between. I do know other people who went to the gp for combined care as well as being private though.

Of note- I always signed up for combined care. It's handy to have it in case you do need to go to the gp for anything pregnancy related. I went to mine once in each of my first two pregnancies for a chest infection, and wasn't charged, though I think technically I should have been!

Thanks for responding, are you obliged to see your gp for some of your appointments if going private? I’m high risk and don’t want to just see a gp.

I thought the point of private was to get to see your consultant each time.

Sorry this is all new to me but only seeing consultant for half of the visit isn’t how going private is described one any of he information websites such as the national maternity Hospital, citizens info, eu mom etc.

Can I insist on seeing consultant instead?

Thanks.

Toastytoes

Beanybabog wrote: »

No, I'm going private and was told by my GP and the consultants secretary that all visits are with the consultant

Was this the automatic setup up or was there any discussion around it. Apparently I’d see consultant at 12 weeks but not again until 20 weeks. I’d see gp for an appointment in between. This is €3,400!

jlm29

Toastytoes wrote: »

Thanks for responding, are you obliged to see your gp for some of your appointments if going private? I’m high risk and don’t want to just see a gp.

I thought the point of private was to get to see your consultant each time.

Sorry this is all new to me but only seeing consultant for half of the visit isn’t how going private is described one any of he information websites such as the national maternity Hospital, citizens info, eu mom etc.

Can I insist on seeing consultant instead?

Thanks.

I doubt your obliged, but different consultants might have different systems, I don't know. As I say, I only went to my gp to be referred to the hospital initially. After that, it was all consultant care.
If I had some extra illness that wasn't really pregnancy related, that's the only time I went to my gp throughout my pregnancies.

If private, you'll only see the consultant in the hospital, you wont ever be seen by anyone else on their team.
I do, however know someone who had her babies in cumh, and she would have seen her gp a fair bit throughout her pregnancies

Toastytoes

It’s seems to be a lesser version of private but for the same price that’s on offer from consultants in Galway.

I’d be grateful if anyone has any experience with going private in Galway and could advise.

appledrop

I went private + did sign up for the combined care but choose to have all my appointments with my consultant. She just asked me did I want to go to gp sometimes or have all appointments with her. As others said very handy to have because if you have any worries during pregnancy you can just pop to your doctor if you need to + nearer than hospital if just something minor. From what I remember app at 8weeks, 12 weeks around 17 weeks then 21 weeks all with hospital. Then obviously more frequent as pregnancy progresses.

appledrop

I should have mentioned this was in Dublin hospital but I don't see why it should be any different in Galway. If your paying to go private then you should be able to see consultant all the way through especially if high risk. My consultant was very reasonable €2,500 + worth every penny.

Toastytoes

appledrop wrote: »

I went private + did sign up for the combined care but choose to have all my appointments with my consultant. She just asked me did I want to go to gp sometimes or have all appointments with her. As others said very handy to have because if you have any worries during pregnancy you can just pop to your doctor if you need to + nearer than hospital if just something minor. From what I remember app at 8weeks, 12 weeks around 17 weeks then 21 weeks all with hospital. Then obviously more frequent as pregnancy progresses.

Thanks. I’m going to phone the secretary on Monday and ask her. Haven’t attended yet for first visit but she told me on the phone that it was 12 weeks consultant, then gp, 20 weeks scan with consultant.

appledrop

Just say you want all appointments with consultant + see what they say. If you don't get the response you want then just choose another consultant. You haven't attended yet so can easily switch.

Millem

Toasty toes it depends on your consultant. I was in a Dublin hospital and only ever saw my consultant. I signed the combined care form like other posters said for handiness! Only visited gp once....to get whooping cough vaccine.
I know of one consultant in the coombe who gives a €500 discount if you go to gp for half of the appointments

Millem

Toasty toes it depends on your consultant. I was in a Dublin hospital and only ever saw my consultant. I signed the combined care form like other posters said got handiness! Only visited gp once....to get whooping cough vaccine.
I know of one consultant in the coombe who gives a €500 discount if you go to gp for half of the appointments

tea_and_cake

I rang holles St with the same question and the secretary said no point in doing combined care if private or semi because you're paying to see the consultant. My understanding from that was all my appointments were with the consultant. Which made sense to me for the price.

I chose to go public and go with midwife led combined care.

Toastytoes

I’m definitely going to query it on Monday. The secretary didn’t give any indication that there was any option so just listed out the schedule of appointments and every second one was with the gp. As far as I’m aware there is no semi private option in Galway so they’re probably getting away with this as you have no alternative other than public. I’ve seen Dr Sarma’s (other consultant in Galway) schedule of appointments too for her private patients and it’s the same, half the visits are with Gp. Have to say it’s very cheeky to expect to charge for private care and send people to gp on free visits for half the appointments.

Toots

I was semi-p in Holles St for my first, and I did half my appointments with my GP purely for convenience sake - the GP was around the corner from where I live, and I'd never be waiting for more than 15 minutes to be seen, whereas with the hospital meant a drive into the city centre and having to pay for parking, and then I'd be doing well to be waiting less than 2 hours to be seen.

I'm semi-p in the Rotunda now and it says on the site that semi-p is shared care (again works out handier for me because Rotunda is further away than Holles St) but for fully private, all your appointments are with the consultant, which is only right if you're paying several thousand for the antenatal care.

fits

I worked out cost per visit dor my antenatal care. And I was in frequently and it was still over 200 euro a visit. There is no way I'd be forking out over 3 k to see a gp half the time.

Toastytoes

Phoned the secretary again this morning and she confirmed that shared care with the gp is the model they offer. I said I wasn’t happy with this as I’m going private because I’m high risk and I want to see consultant each visit when I’m paying full private fees. She said she’d highlight what I’m looking for to him and it’d be up to him. So have to wait for a response from him. It seem they’re really creaming it in Galway, there’s no semi private option and you pay €3,400 for shared care with the gp.

shesty

To be fair, semi-p is a bit of an overrated halfway house....I've gone with it twice. (And am starting it again for a third time) in the Rotunda.You really just pay for the room afterwards, you're not guaranteed you'll see the same consultant every time unless you ask, and half the appointments are GP. You don't have them attending the birth either (although I know that may vary by hospital). You raise an interesting point though, I never thought about it like that.Having said that there's a big difference between 1100 semi-p, sharing with the GP and almost 4k private, sharing with the GP. That actually is a rip-off when I think about it.

jlm29

Toastytoes wrote: »

Phoned the secretary again this morning and she confirmed that shared care with the gp is the model they offer. I said I wasn’t happy with this as I’m going private because I’m high risk and I want to see consultant each visit when I’m paying full private fees. She said she’d highlight what I’m looking for to him and it’d be up to him. So have to wait for a response from him. It seem they’re really creaming it in Galway, there’s no semi private option and you pay €3,400 for shared care with the gp.

It's a bit of a scam alright! I paid €2800, and never saw anyone other than a consultant, except by choice!

littlemisshobo

I see my GP and consultant. Going private means I go to his clinic and not the busy hospital. It also means I see the consultant at each and every antenatal appointment. In the hospital (public) it's more likely you see the midwife. I'm not dissing midwives but I have some high risks issue so I want to see a specialist each time. My consultant is a specialist in both geriatric (thanks ahah) pregnancy and fetal abnormality. Everything I researched was positive about going public but in cases where something could be or does go wrong it was recommended to go private. I wanted to feel confident that I was getting the best care, with extensive knowledge of the possible complications that could come with my pregnancy.

I also see my GP as I do blood tests every 4 weeks and it's more convenient for me to do that at the GP's clinic.

If you want to see your consultant more - there should be no problem with that. I know other women didn't want the long waits between appointments so asked for more frequent visits and got them no problem.

I felt the wait between 12 and 23 weeks has been too long so at my 23 week appointment I will ask for more frequent visits. At 3,200 I expect to get exactly the level of service I want. (I'm waiting until 23 wks and not 20 wk for anomaly scan so his heart is bigger & the consultant can get a better look).

If I didn't have risk factors and I was younger I think I would have gone public, through the domino mid-wife scheme and gone for home-birth with the HSE midwives. Unfortunately home-birth won't be approved for me and I feel happy with the consultant we chose.

I wish they were more upfront about what their fee covered - like how frequently you can visit, scans and tests you can get, how involved they are when you go into labour, and so on. It's a very high fee to pay out.

cabogirl

Wow that’s madness, what a scam! I’m private in NMH and have been seen every 4 weeks then every 2 weeks and now weekly by my consultant. My understanding is that all the maternity hospitals in Dublin provide that, what you’re describing in Galway is semi private care. You are absolutely right to expect to see your Doctor and ask for that, hope you’re facilitated.

Blingy

I wonder is that just the option that that consultant offers. I wonder do different consultants offer different options. So another consultant might not do the shared care. You could ring around the secretaries and check.

Toots

shesty wrote: »

To be fair, semi-p is a bit of an overrated halfway house....I've gone with it twice. (And am starting it again for a third time) in the Rotunda.You really just pay for the room afterwards, you're not guaranteed you'll see the same consultant every time unless you ask, and half the appointments are GP. You don't have them attending the birth either (although I know that may vary by hospital). You raise an interesting point though, I never thought about it like that.Having said that there's a big difference between 1100 semi-p, sharing with the GP and almost 4k private, sharing with the GP. That actually is a rip-off when I think about it.

That was why I went semi P in the end as opposed to full private - I'd have asked for shared care either way so I wasn't trekking all the way to the hospital for every appointment and I'd have been just paying for appointments I wasn't using. If the hospital had been near my house, I'd have forked it over and done all the appointments there.

The fact that the OP's consultant has to be asked to do all the appointments is a bit much! Sounds like they've got patients over a barrel seeing as how there's no semi-p inbetween option, it's either go public, or spend a fortune on private and not even have all your appointments in the hospital.

shesty

I get the feeling you just get signed up for combined care because everyone it entitled to it for free, regardless of whether you go private or not.I do know someone private in the Coombe who is doing combined care but just never goes to see the GP, and this is not her first pregnancy....she did the same on her first.I think it's more that it's one of the quirks of our 'wonderful' healthcare system, where private and public exist in the same facilities.Really, if things were set up properly and you were to go private or semi-p, you should be heading to private maternity hospitals, with private birthing facilities and private rooms ......not a different building on the campus of a public hospital, using the same public birthing suites.And of course, the public system would be set up properly, and the majority would avail of it, with paying for private care being unusual.

Don't get me wrong I have absolutely noting against public hospitals or public birthing suites or anything like that.I have had two births with only a midwife on duty attending each, and it has ben exactly what I wanted.I just get so angry at how our system has been set up and allowed to evolve over the years.It's so wrong.


Rant over😳

Toastytoes

Blingy wrote: »

I wonder is that just the option that that consultant offers. I wonder do different consultants offer different options. So another consultant might not do the shared care. You could ring around the secretaries and check.

He (Prof Morrison) is the second one I’ve checked and they both (Dr Sarma and himself) are both doing this shared care with gp as their “private” option. Her fess are €3,200 and his €3,400. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that all the consultants in Galway are pulling the same stunt. And in a region where there is very little option as to which hospital you attend and with the maternity in Galway having a bad reputation which probably makes people wary and choose private. This is the what you’re faced with. Full private fees, half your appointments under the free maternity scheme and very limited facilities in terms of private rooms and birthing options. It does feel like a scam.

lazygal

I went private twice and had all appointments with my consultant. I'd have been pretty miffed to be shunted out to my gp for any appointments, you're paying enough as it is. I attended the gp for vaccines and once for a pregnancy related matter and that was covered under the normal pregnancy visits.

jakeypooh

Can you tell me which consultant that is please?

tobdom

@toastytoes, We're in Galway with Una Conway (€3200) and its the same, pretty much shared/combined care with the GP. Dunno if you can call it a scam, but seems 'cute' at least when compared to Dublin.

Now, in saying that, you can request an appointment with your consultant at any time if you've any concerns and they should/will see you. You also get scanned at every appointment with the consultant, which is always reassuring. Also, as you come closer to your due date, you will have much more frequent appointments with your consultant. You will also have your consultant delivering your baby (unless they are on holidays, then they will have one of the other consultants covering - you will have a consultant either way). The visits to your GP will be for routine stuff, blood pressure, blood tests etc. as required.

So it might seem (and is) expensive for what you're getting (compared to Dublin or wherever), but at the end of the day you're paying for peace of mind and if you require further peace of mind, just ask your consultant for more appointments with them (as opposed to the GP) and see what they say.....

Best of luck with it all!

lazygal

I got all that with my consultant and wasn't shunted off to a gp. I can't believe these people are getting away with it. All that money for half the service.

Toastytoes

The fact that it’s not reflected in he price is very annoying, those gp visits are free so your price per visit to the consultant will be ridiculously high.

They seem to have a cosy cartel going on between them in Galway, everyone offering the same (half) service so there’s no choice for the patient. I’m half thinking of contacting the someone in the Hse to check if it’s acceptable to call that “private”. That isn’t what is described as going private on the citizens info website or the national maternity hospital website.

Effectively there is no full private option in Galway. There’s also no official semi private option so you get some kind of hybrid instead at the higher price point. I’m amazed I never heard of this being the norm in Galway before but I guess most of my friends either went public or were not based out of Galway.