Private maternity care Post Reply

[Citymum]

The Portland offers amazing care and can deal with all emergencies, to the same level as eg C&W- so don't let folks scare you off for the wrong reasons! We has Claire Mellon who works at the London Clinic and the care she gave us was incredible, along with a devoted mid-wife team!

[emsken]

oMG what a horrid story... I guess i have only heard good things about Keith duncan as they have been elective c-sections!

[zaza107]

I had my daughter at the Portland last winter (Colin Davis was our consultant - perhaps one of the nicest doctors I have ever met and he did a brilliant job) It was generally a great experience. I was not thrilled with the night nurses, who were overly nervous to a point of probably exacerbating some problems we had and made some errors (didn't give me the correct hypertension drugs and my husband had to show them on my chart...). However, the place is lovely and small, and everyone else was wonderful. I ended up in intensive care as did the baby and I didn't for a moment think that both of us weren't being taken care of well. I feel incredibly lucky to have had insurance that covered this. Would I pay for it from my own pocket? Probably, at least to get Davis and the midwives. I'd have my husband stay, though, as before, to provide a check on the night nurses who weren't up to scratch. Yes, we have been very clear about this all with the Portland and I expect they acted on our comments.

[klw]

I had an emcs at Chelsea & Westminster under Keith Duncan in July and he did an incredible job under pretty stressful circumstances and I felt safe at all times as he was so calm. We then had a 4 day stay on the Kensington Wing and whilst it wasn't like staying in a 5 star hotel, after my NHS experience with my first baby, it was pretty amazing (but that was more about having my own room & bathroom!). I agree, Mr Duncan's bedside manner could be more comforting and warm, but he is an amazing surgeon.

Like others, I wanted to have my baby in a large NHS teaching hospital with intensive care facilities (we were high risk preg). If we hadn't been high risk, I might've been tempted by the Portland.

[sw18mummy]

I second the vote for Nick Wales. I have had both my children with him and he is friendly, relaxed, and most importantly, an outstanding obstetrician. My second child did end up in intensive care for two weeks after she was born and I was so glad that I had chosen to go for a big teaching hospital as it would have been so stressful having a baby in one hospital and me in another! The Kensington Wing staff were delightful and I saw a lot of them in the last few weeks of my pregnancy due to complications and I ended up having all my post-natal checks with them as well because the baby was not at home with me. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[Wfm]

I had my first child with Keith Duncan at the Kensington Wing and have decided to go with Nick Wales for my second. My decision to change consultants was nothing to do with ability/competency, but as some of the other mums have said, bedside manner. This time round I wanted somebody who was a bit more "warm" and not so "clinical" - of course, professionalism and competency are much more important, but when it comes to having a baby, I think it's such a personal matter that personalities do play a role too.

Anyway, the point is Keith is a fantastic consultant, and delivered my daughter under pretty stressful conditions. I'm currently pregnant with my second so can't say what Nick will be like with the delivery, but so far he's been wonderful, and I still see Keith for my scans so I suppose I'm getting the best of both worlds!

I'm disappointed to read the comment about the lady who had a bad experience with the Kensington Wing second time round. Sorry to hear that. My second is due mid-March, and so far, I've had quite a few of the midwives who have been taking my blood recognise me from last time so I hope the care will be as good as I have come to expect and experienced first time round.

[joji]

I'm glad you are switching to a doctor with a warmer bedside manner. I agree that giving birth is an incredibly personal experience and the doctor's personality makes a huge impact on the experience. I think that's why so many people spend time searching for a good doctor on sites like locateadoc.com. It's nice that you can still see your old doctor so that you have a sense of familiarity.