Hi All

A quick rundown on my situation for those who dont know me.

I am 25 wks & 3 days preg with triplets...My DH & I decided to swtich from JJMH to TCH because we want to be closer to the babies in the event that they come early & end up in the NICU & also because of the massive cost of going private with triplets at JJMH (ie: paediatric fees & anaesthetist fees, surgical assistant fees on top of obstetric fees etc etc)

I had my first appt at Feotal medicine unit today & this was a pre admission appt only & they have told me that once I get my referral I will have to wait 4 wks to get in for my first appt at feotal medicine cause they are too busy to see me before then & also If I need any treatments before then it will need to be done by my current private OB untill I can get into the feotal medicine unit. The problem is that now I am booked into TCH & my private OB doesnt have visitation rights to TCH....What do I do if I need any treatment in the next 4 weeks. I cant go to JJMH cause i'm not going there anymore & yet the feotal medicine unit wont do it until they have seen me in 4 wks. (so that leaves in limbo for 4 weeks) This isn't the level of care I would have expected for someone carrying triplets.......

This has left me thinking that if this is a taste of switching to a public patient, then maybe I am better going as a private patient in a public hospital (instead of private patient in a private hospital)

Question: If I decide to go to TCH as a private patient, will I be charged for paediatric fees & anaesthetist fees, surgical assistant fees etc...I know I will have to pay for obstetric fees but am not sure about the other costs. I am thinking that maybe that will be a better option than being in the lurk for the 4 weeks.

Cheers, Lilymurray

ME 28
DH 28
TTC #1 12/03
Gonal F -BFN 2/12/04
Gonal F -BFP Triplets due 11/10/05
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Dont quote me on this as I am not really sure but...
My Mother is the Director of Nursing at a hospital in South Australia and she told me that both public and private patients in the maternity ward (and I am assuming everywhere else too) get exactly the same treatment and care, same rooms etc the only difference is that private patients have to pay for it.
Now TCH may be different as it is a bigger hospital but thats just what I know. I also dont know if being a private patient in a public hospital is cheaper than being a private patient in a private hospital...
Sorry probably not much help am I??? Hope you get it all worked out...

DD Brenna Rose 24/09/2004
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Yep I'm afraid the poster above is correct. Either go public or private. There is zilch benefit from being private in a public hospital.

I'm speaking from experience here. The only difference is you get a nice gap bill to pay and nothing to show from it. The only time it was beneficial for me to be private was when the nurses wanted to move my DS into an isolation ward- for no real reason- rather than both of us into a private room that was available. I used the no that is not my choice I'm a private patient and I am choosing the option of a private room.

(I sounded like an absolute b#tch I'm sure but it worked. )

From what I've heard all OBs have visitation rights to TCH. Trust me it is the best place for you to be going in your situation. They have the only NICU in the ACT and if your bubbas are born early them that is where they will be sent regardless of whether you are public or private.

If you do go private through TCH your care will not be any different to a public patient. The only difference is that you will have to keep seeing your private OB and pay their fees. You may also be offered a private room *if* one is available. They generally give these rooms to patients that have had a CS, forcepts, vacumme or complications.

I haven't looked into gaps etc. I was very keen to go private with Darcy but couldn't justify paying for an OB when the OBs at TCH are excellent. Have had several friends with very complicated pregnancies go through the Foetal Medicine unit and they both rave/praise the staff there very highly.

If something were to happen in the next month requiring admission or whatever, they would have to take you and they would give you whatever care you required. They are after all a public hospital and that is what they are required to do.

I hope that the next month sails by quickly and uneventfully for you Hope that info helps though.

Susana & DH Chris[size=1] aka GoateeCat
DD Delia Jade 13/11/02 & DS Darcy Cole 2/11/04

Hi there,

None of the private hospitals here in Canberra will deliver you if you are less than 32 weeks pregnant (correction, they would deliver if you were on their doorstep in late stage labour, but then transfer you and the babies as soon as you were all stable). So, TCH would have to take you if anything happened in the next 6-7 weeks. So if you do go into labour in this timeframe head straight for them.

There is no real difference with going public or private in a public hospital. Going private ensures you have the Ob of your choice and you might be able to get a room to yourself if one is available. There are probably a couple of other benefits and I'm sure other ladies here will explain. The downside is the private Ob fees and any other "private" fees which you'd have to have clarified.

One thing I do know - not all Ob's have visitation rights at TCH. And I do know that your current private Ob is ones of those that can't be there. I would stick with the Fetal Medicine Unit and go public at TCH - you'll be looked after I'm sure of it. One suggestion for you might be to ring them and see if you can get an appointment earlier if they have a cancellation anytime. Ring them regularly (every week if not even more frequently) and they will fit you in as soon as they have a gap.

Good luck with everything.

Cheers,
Helen.
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Susana: Not *all* obs have visitation rights at TCH and it just happens that Lilymurray's previous private ob is one that has had his VMO rights withdrawn.

Lilymurray: How upsetting!

I find it completely bizarre that carrying triplets at 25w they have told you to go away for 4w! I'm sure you realise that you could go into labour any time now and at some point between now and 4w time may need to be admitted for bedrest (which I guess you are expecting at some stage but could be lucky to not need it). While bedrest could happen with your old ob at JJMH, there is NO WAY that preterm labour could be managed by your old ob as you would ABSOLUTELY have to go to TCH in case the babies had to be delivered, and your existing ob wouldn't be able to do it.

I think there would be a significant difference between going thru FMU as a public patient and seeing your proferred ob there (?David Ellwood) as a private patient - at least in terms of care. I would think that if you were a private patient that you would see your preferred ob at every appointment and they would deliver your babies. Going public might mean you sometimes see other obs and whichever of the FMU obs is on when your babies are born would deliver them. Perhaps I am wrong on that score since you are having triplets??

As far as costs go, I was admitted to TCH as a private patient to have my DD in the birth centre with Anne Sneddon as my ob, and again to Postnatal when DD was 4d old. My health fund paid the hospital bills, and between Medicare and my health fund Anne's fees were covered in full as were some pathology tests done during both stays. Anne told us at our first visit with her that there would only be out of pocket costs if I needed a c/s and she called in an Anaesthetics specialist which she said would be rare as she is pretty much always happy to use the on duty Anaesthetics doctor unless they are busy.

Edited to add: All of my prenatal appointments with my ob and ultrasounds at FMU and pathology at the hospital were bulk billed and I was under the impression this is standard if your ob is a hospital staff member - as opposed to a VMO with rooms elsewhere.

When DD was born she was not admitted, but when I went back and she was 4d old both of us had to be admitted. We do not have private health cover for DD so even though I was admitted as a private patient, SHE was admitted as a public patient. Perhaps you might want to consider going to TCH as a private patient (if it would guarantee you more frequent access to your preferred ob and that they would also do the delivery) BUT if one or more of your babies need to be admitted perhaps have them admitted as public patients? That way you don't need to worry about costs for their treatment which really can't be estimated at this point in time (unlike yours which are a lot more predictable).

Btw I am SOOOOO glad to see you are still doing well and not in hospital yet and I am watching the weeks tick by hoping you hang out as long as possible!!

Steph
DD Alex (March 04)


This message was edited by s_m on Thursday, 30 June 2005 @ 7:27 PM