Hi All

For those who dont know me im 24.5 wks preg with triplets & am booked into a local private hospital.

Basically untill now, I have happily followed my Dr's suggestions for me & it wasnt until recently talking to a few friends that I have come to realise that I want to switch hospitals because I beleive I will be better off.

Basically I want to switch from a private hospital with a special care nursery to a public hospital with a much higher level of NICU & which also has a multiples specialist etc etc......

I know I should have thought about this well before now as its getting to be a little late, but has anyone ever cancelled a private hospital booking for a public hospital this late???? Is it okay to do this? Can they refuse to let me change?

I am just reluctant to go to a private hospital that has less facilities particularly when no body can tell me just what its going to cost in anaesthetist & paediatric & surgical fees etc etc....

Also how do I go about doing this? Do I just ask my OB give me a referral???? It just seems a bit awkward !!!!! :quest:

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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Hi there i switched Dr/Ob's a number of times Due to Dr/Ob's been away or leaving Mandurah. I didn't have any problems at all swapping Dr/Ob's. You can ask you Dr for a referal or just make a call to whom you want to see and see what they say. Just say you are not happy with the care you are getting from your current Dr, or something along those lines

Its never too late to change i was approx. 28wks when i had my last swap. It's your choice on what care you want for you and your bundles of love..
Good luck in what choice you may choose.

Hi-I think this is a GREAT idea-having worked in both public/private hospitals I would definitely go for the public for such a high risk birth (triplets I mean).

Can you call the specialist concerned (the multiples specialist?) and find out? Also perhaps the maternity ward admissions to find out what the proceedure is.


Cheers and good luck




Caz Joel and Cam at 2 1/2years old-now 3 years old

Hi there I don't see why there should be a prob. i would talk to your ob to see if he as rights to any of the major hosp's as depending on where you are some of the major public hosp's have a private hosp attached eg with me I was booked into a very pop melb private hosp however at 29 weeks I had probs and was then transferred to Jessie Mac which is a private hosp located within Monash Medical Centre (which has a NICU) They then became the hosp who took over my care for the next couple of weeks as I went into labour and had another bleed at 31 weeks hand delivered my twins there and they were sent across the hall to NICU and when they were strong enough they transferred back over the hall to the SCN.
Good luck with your choices
Meredith

Hi lilymurray

I switched cities, therefore ob and hospital at 28 weeks! It was fine, and i am so glad i did! It is nerve wracking, but if it is what you want to do then do it. I personally would go for the public hospital with the better NICU care. I went private because my boys were really healthy and my Ob was fantastic and i knew that they boys would be transferred immediately if there was any probs, but if i was having triplets then i would have of went into the public hospital.

Just go and see your Ob and tell him what you want to do, or if you are uncomfortable doing that then see your GP and tell them who you want to see (which is what i did) and they will write you a referral. Go with your gut instinct, because you won't be happy if you don't - and you want to be comfortable when you are in hospital with the decision you have made. Also even though we were supposably fully covered in a private hospital we ended up being out of pocket $2,500 - and we didn't know that until 3 weeks after we got home... so public is definently the go! I am glad that i went to the hospital that i did, but if i was in the same position i would definently be thinking things through a lot more than i did!

Let us know what you decide to do!

Rach

Rach(26),BJ(35), Aidan & Keenan

If it feels right then go ahead!!! i Had the girls in melb and went through the public system have absolutely no complaints and it's all free. nice to see our taxes being put to good use.

My mind was made up as if the girls came early we would have had to go to the public hospital anyhow, as they have much better Neo natal care.

We now live in cairns and it's the same up here if there is anything at all wrong with the baby they are sent to the base hospital.

My sister just had a baby through the private system and for the first day or two was in a room of 4 then given a private room. Sort of made me wonder what all the fuss was about.

Good luck with your switch and really hope the bubs stay put for a while longer!!!

Rebecca 32
Nathan 28
Fraternal twin girls Amber & Olivia 08/05/03