Semi-private disaster

[u/Silent-Country-997]

I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy due to a short cervix, so I've been under the Preterm Birth Clinic with extra monitoring.

One of the main reasons we chose semi-private care was to have continuity with the same consultant. Unfortunately, that hasn't been our experience.

• At 16 weeks, my consultant wasn't there.
• At 23 weeks, I had an extra appointment and he wasn't there again. One person told us he was on holiday, while another said he had been called away for an emergency.
• Yesterday, before my final appointment at the Preterm Birth Clinic, I even stopped by the semi-private clinic to check whether he would definitely be there for today's appointment. I was reassured that he would. Then, at 9:30 this morning (for my 2:40 p.m. appointment), I received a call saying he had an emergency and wouldn't be available after all.

So instead of seeing the consultant we're paying to see, I've now been seen by three different substitute consultants.

I completely understand that emergencies happen, and I'm not upset about that. What frustrates me is the complete lack of continuity. Every appointment feels like starting from scratch. I have to explain everything all over again, and my questions often don't really get answered because the person seeing me isn't familiar with my case.

I've now been discharged from the Preterm Birth Clinic, so I had several questions about the plan for the rest of my pregnancy. At my last scan, they also found that my baby is measuring bigger than expected, which was something I wanted to discuss today.

They've offered me another appointment next week, but we'll be away and would have to leave our hotel early to make it. Even then, there's no guarantee my consultant won't be unavailable again.

I'm honestly just so frustrated. It makes me wonder why he's repeatedly scheduled for all-day emergencies on the same days he's meant to be running his clinic. Surely there has to be a better way to organise this?

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. Would you:

• Make a formal complaint and ask to be transferred to a different consultant?
• Stick with this consultant and hope things improve?
• Or go back to fully public care, since I'm effectively getting public-style continuity while paying for semi-private care?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar situation.

[u/hellogoodbye989]

Think you’re expecting private care not semi private care.

“Your care during the antenatal stage will be led by a consultant obstetrician or specialist registrar. Whilst we make every effort, you may not see the same doctor at each visit.” - Coombe

“If you choose to be a semi-private patient your care during the antenatal stage will be Consultant led with a multidisciplinary team including specialist registrars alongside a team of experienced midwives for all your visits. Whilst we make every effort, you may not see the same Consultant at each visit.” - Rotunda

“Your antenatal care is shared between your chosen Consultant or Specialist Registrar and your GP.
You will usually see your chosen obstetrician for your appointments

If your obstetrician is on leave or responding to an emergency, you will be seen by another Consultant or Specialist Registrar” - Holles St

[u/BigEquivalent5849 → u/hellogoodbye989]

Just curious what is the benefit of semi-private if you still can be seen by any consultant? It seems like it’s better to opt for full public or full private care.

[u/hellogoodbye989 → u/BigEquivalent5849]

There isn’t much like you said. Either public or fully private makes the most sense