Private Pediatrician recommendation Post Reply

[alabaster]

Hi
Does anyone have any experience in private pediatrician's specialising in gastro (ie reflux etc)?

Our health insurance provider is suggesting a Mr Nicholls at Lister/Parkside.

Would love to hear a mother's vote of confidence for whomever we end up seeing!

Thanks so much.

[madmillsy]

I am currently seeing Dr Fysh at Great Portland Street with my son who has reflux and he is very good.

[mummybubble]

We have seen John O'Connell at Parkside for my daughter's reflux and found him to be very good with an understanding manner (covered by our health insurance provider).

[Bee@lifeafterlondon]

I also highly recommend dr fysh. He's a legend and kind and good and really knows his stuff. I went to him with my baby who had silent reflux and he was great. I recommended him to others who have found him similarly good. His pa is called Rona and their number is 02073908282

[Wfm]

Dr Douek at the Portland is my hero, for reflux and as a general paed for my daughter.

[emmielou]

I also second John O'Connell - he was amazing when our daughter was two weeks old and had a cold..turns out she had all sorts of minor heart problems which the hospital had missed and had we not seen him we would be none the wiser!

[brihoney]

If your baby has reflux you might want to think about getting the amazing 'cocoon-a-baby' mattress from red castle. My french friend gave us one for our little one and it is lovely, he sleeps so well in it. But it also helped her baby with reflux - they only really discovered their daughter had bad reflux when they moved her out of it.

The mattress was developped by the Marseille neo-natal ward, and they now make it for full term babies from birth to about 5 months. It hold the baby at a slight angle and the knees are tucked up so it mimicks the fetal position of the woom. It is also supposed to reduce SIDS and flat heads.

I obviously can't promise it will cure your babies bad reflux but might we worth trying. Even if it doesn't it is a lovely cosy mattress, and babies sleep well in it. Our son has been sleeping through the night since about 2 months in it. It is also practical if you go away - you don't need to take a travel cot or moses basket, you can just take the mattress. It is expensive at about £150, but I really can't recommend it enough.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find any UK websites that have it, but this is it on the redcastle website (in french):
http://www.redcastle.fr/?id=171

And these are links to buying it from french shopping sites:
http://shopping.cherchons.com/dossier/c ... astle.html

Must be tough having a sick little one - good luck with it...

[supergirl]

I have been seeing Dr O'Connell at the Bupa Cromwell hosp for my second daughter. Since last Feb she has got everything from pneumonia to tonsillitis with a pneumococcal infection through croup and an ear infection in the left ear that was untreated for a long time. She has spent the ENTIRE month of march vomitting and not keeping anything in. She had lost that month 1kg (she was 8 months old at the time).
I would NOT recommend dr o'connell as lovely and caring as he is, he missed all these things. All I got from him all the time was "she is fine don't worry" to which I would say "what about her chesty cough like she has smoke a pack of cigarettes?" and he would just say "you just have to put up with it".
It took a french paed (not covered by Bupa) to finally diagnosed the pneunomia and since funnily enough my GPs have done a much a better job at keeping her well. Dr O'Connell charges £250 per consultations...

I am in need of a good paed so will research some of the names I have seen on this thread. But also, how can you get recognised by Bupa? There was one french paed on Bupa until she retired last year... Why not more? Does anybody have an idea as to why?

[clio]

Dr. Thurbeck at St. Georges is amazing. Please please please dont go to Dr. Singer at Parkside.

[lisalatte]

I can highly recommend Dr Neil Shah - Consultant Padediatric Gastroenterologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We see him privately in the International wing of the hospital (he sees private patients on Tuesdays.)
You're welcome to contact me for more info and a chat if you like.

[alabaster]

Thanks so much everyone. There are loads of good ones by the sounds of things!