We had decided long ago that if we were blessed enough to have a child then my wife would be housed in a private room - may as well make the most of the whole thing, but there is nothing like a bit of privacy when you are in pain.
Watford General have a very swish section amid the mass of nondescript concrete buildings that forms the old hospital. The Maternity Wing is at the main entrance and hidden on the second floor, accessed only via Katherine Ward and a fair wait at the security point, is the the closest you get to a 'jewel in the crown' - if any part of Watford, let alone the hospital, can be described as such.
Here lies the hidden treasure of the Knutsford Suite (write that very carefully, chaps). It's a six room small wing which is the private section of the maternity wing at Watford. It isn't cheap, but it's bijou, vaguely private (it's corridor forms a link between Katherine Ward and the Delivery Suite so a good proportion of visitors have to walk through the ward), very clean, quiet and doesn't look or smell like other parts of the hospital. It is well decorated although you have the tell-tale cheap wooden doors with meshed glass to each room - thick with layers of paint from over the years.
We made an appointment and met with mid-wife Margaret Rennick who was an absolute diamond. My wife is very teary about most things right now so even just asking questions about the impending birth started her off - Margaret was superb. She was very understanding and comforting and soon all our questions were answered. We got to see the comfy beds, leather chairs for visitors, the flat screen TV, nice pictures on the wall, ensuite bathroom with nice khazi, bidet and walk-in shower - there were even some complimentary toiletries. I looked for a mini-bar but could not find one, nor the advertised hairdryer. The decor was not bad but the room was hot - I assume that's the way they like it for new-borns.
I booked up the 4 night stay for room-only which you prepay at a cost of £1,600. We are not having a private birth per se and if you want you can opt for packages which include private natural birth or cesarean section at extra cost. Naturally, as there are only six rooms, there has to be a priority system which they are pretty open about, and full private patients get top pick, then come private patients with insurance cover paying for their stay, then come nose-picking class like us who are room-only. They claim only about once a year that the demand gets too high and if that happens, the lowest priority gets bumped into the NHS wards and the money is fully refunded. That was said as if that was some sort of favour, so there are still some remains of the public sector there.
It was about lunchtime and the meals were being served and they looked vaguely edible and at least served on a nice warm trolley with a state-of-the-art light on it to give it a luxurious feel. Some kind of added bonus is that the partner can stay on a room-only basis too which includes two meals. At £160 per night it's blinking expensive, given the rooms are already painfully small and they have to wheel in some sort of trestle table to sleep on. While it is nice and cosy to be close to mum and newborn, I live only 15 mins away and it may actually be cheaper to stay at the Grove Hotel anyway! Actually, I exaggerate as I think the cheapest room there is around £270 but at least you overlook a golf course as opposed to a grimy block across an access street. Besides, I would have to take out a mortgage to afford the parking at Watford General.
As my wife has had fibroid complications at around 23 weeks which caused an onslaught of early contractions (not Braxton-Hicks) as well as excruciating pain, there is now a possibility that she may have to a Cesarean due to medical reasons. Margaret told us to contact our private medical insurers as if a cesarean is required on medical grounds, and not just as an emergency procedure, then they may cover it. I had not even thought of contacting them for any reason, to be honest, except to add the newborn to the policy when he/she arrives. So I called my firm today - they are health-on-line and they are underwritten by Axa PPP. They were incredibly helpful and referred me to the claims desk at PPP. I went through the history and they set up a claim pending the judgement of our consultant who we see tomorrow.
However, it is well worth checking in advance on these things. Firstly, they did not recognise our consultant as being one on their private list as he does most of his work on the NHS, as he would do for us. Secondly, Watford General did not have a contract with Axa PPP and so there would be no way we could have any private stuff covered, even the the room part even if the consultant acted on the NHS. It seems daft as this would mean we would have to be referred to a full private facility in either Harpenden or Bushey and get the whole thing done by a fully private consultant and team - which would dramatically increase the value of the claim.
It also sort of forced our decision. Even if we are recommended to have a cesarean on medical grounds, we will stay with our consultant, Yunus Tayob, who we both admire greatly and has a massive reputation in his field. That means we will stay at Watford General's Knutsford Suite and stump up the cost ourselves even if we could have claimed the whole lot somehwere else. Our view is that this whole experience has been a long journey and specific people have gone out of their way to be of greater help than others which has made the difference for us. Yunus Tayob is one of those and we feel safe in his hands.
On the way back, we called off at Bushey Arches and visited Mothercare. Chalk and cheese compared to Mamas & Papas but they had a good range of nursing and maternity bras plus nightwear which has been deemed, by my wife, to be essential. They also have really practical things there like electric socket protectors, door and drawer catches and a vast array of all types of prams that none of the staff knew much about without referring to a computer, let alone be able to adequately demonstrate them. More baby clothes were bought, plus odds and sods. The big thing I noticed, call me a snob, was that the quality was a lot less, in my unprofessional opinion on the subject, than Mamas & Papas. Also, in some of the areas, the choice was pitiful, as in cots and the like, of which there was just one. It was both expensive and shabby looking. The Early Learning Centre attached to the shop though, was great.
In total, we forked out over £3,000 in a short weekend on kit and private rooms. We haven't started on decorating yet. However, the level excitement, anticipation and trepidation has risen in proportion.
Roll on 25 February!
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