Holles St- Public or SP? What are you doing and why?

What are you doing and why? I was going to go sp which I was told today will cost between 800 - 1200 so just wondering is there a big difference?

anyone??

i am HS SP for the pure reason that I would prefer to be in a smaller ward, I know there is no guarantee of a room to yourself but would prefer to be with one other mammy than about 6 and try to get a bit more rest in the days after. But that is my only reason really. I dont know what the difference is between public and semi private clinics but having been to the SP clinic for all my appointments you get in and out pretty quickly (bar one occasion which was straight after a BH weekend so they must have doubled on appts). HTH, would be interested to hear other reasons too..

Hi, Im going SP in Holles Street, I was also SP in Holles Street when my DD was born. There is about 6-8 women in each SP ward (as far as I remember) I visted a friend who had a baby in the public ward and there was between 8-10 women in her ward so there is not much of a difference between the two. One thing I remember is that there was a special changing room for changing your babys nappy in the SP ward. When I was in labour and I was walking around the hospital to speed things along, I noticed that a couple of women where changing their babys nappys in the babys cots on the ward corridors in the public area so Im not sure if they have a separate nappy changing area in the public area. The SP ward in Holles Street is also more older looking that the public ward as far as I remember.

AFAIK the antenatal care you receive whether semi/public is the same and both are excellent. I went public last time and cannot fault anything from antenatal visits which went quickly to post natal care. The midwives are wonderful. Was thinking of going semi this time purely for accommodation however as there are no guarantees and hope to be out asap anyways would spend the money painting the house instead in preparation!

I was public on DD in Holles street and i have to say could not fault at all, i was in a ward of 6 which was fine, one night i think there was 7?? there was a seperate changing and bathing room for the babies and the nurses did demonstration of both. also had your dinner table in the middle of the room so it was nice for all the mammys to sit and have a chat, i am going public again this time as i would rather spend the money on getting a new kitchen especially when on your second you can get out early, and you still get very good care. That is just my opinion and i suppose i dont have anything to compare it to.

I went private on dd but i rang Holles street today to get information for a friend and they told me that all semi-private are garanteed to get into a semi-private ward. The rooms can have anythin from a 2 beded to a 5 beded but no more than 5. In a public ward it anything form 6-8beds. As for ante-natal care there is no difference is what i was told. You pay €500 for your consultant in the semi-private clinic and you pay for 2 scans totalling €220

trying to remember - but i have my first appt in HS with the consultant next month. this is my first official time going in. I'm semi private. how much do i have to pay on the first visit?

Am going public. Didn't think of it when making my first appointment ages ago and then was going to switch to SP because I have the health insurance. I haven't bothered - chances are there'll only be a difference of 1 bed on the ward and the care I've received has been excellent. Have never been kept waiting long and even though the scans are the same, I didn't have to pay for mine. I think if I had a few kids at home I'd be tempted to go private for the peace and quiet

[quote="Minkie":2pmhpekb]trying to remember - but i have my first appt in HS with the consultant next month. this is my first official time going in. I'm semi private. how much do i have to pay on the first visit?[/quote:2pmhpekb] I was in there last month for 1st appt with the consultant and I had to pay €500; I've healthcare with Quinn so they cover the other €300. Good luck with your appointment.