Booking Obs & Hospitals?

[nicoleE]

Has anyone got onto this yet? My FS suggested I start now if I want to get who and where I want (I have private cover)...

But what do I do? Do I just ring up the Hospital I want and tell them Im prengant and would like to have a tour of their maternity ward? Once I have chosen a hospital and 'booked' in do I then choose an Ob?

I am in SA and am looking at either Ashford or North Eastern Community at this stage. I am planning to use my Health cover to its full extent and find an Ob who is registered in a no gap scheme with them... I dont have any recomendations from friends but have done a bit of searching (mainly on Bubhub) and found a Dr who practices at both (and is in the no gap scheme) that sounds really good.

Im confused - what do I do now????!!! :confused:

[shorty_851]

Nicole sounds like you are like me.

I have only just booked into the hospital and i'm 13wks

I went to my GP and asked for a referral but before that i rang the hospital i wnted and asked them how i went about booking into have my baby there and they told me what i needed.

Once they told me what i needed which was just my referral from the doctor i went and got one.

My doctor was kind enough to fax it to the hospital for me. The hospital then rang me and booked ne in for an appointment to go and tour the hopsital etc.

From there you can eiother chose to see a midwife ro you can contiune to see your GP

I am seeing my GP until i have to stop

[Kewe]

i'm going to see my GP tomorrow and get a referal for my OB, but I want to birth in the birthing centre so i'll be ringing them in the morning so I can book in, cause they fill up fast :yes: I wanna make sure, i'm still all new to the system here in OZ, I had my first 2 in NZ so its totally different

[~Emmylou~]

Basically the process for a private patient is -
*decide which hospital you want to deliver at
*get a list of the OB's that work from that hospital (your GP can give you this)
* decide on the OB you want to use and get a referral to them from your GP
* call the OB and make your first appointment
* call the hospital and book in with them as well - you do this second because they will want to know who your obstetrician is.

HTH :)

[nicoleE]

Thanks for that gals :thumbsup:

I think I would need to seek the referal from my FS so will contact them. I think I know what Ob I want and he practices at both Hospitals we are looking at (which we have to go visit).

[chook76]

Hi Nicole,
Sorry to crash your post but congrats on the bfp to start with!
You'll need to get the referral from your GP as one from your FS will only be good for 3mths unless things are different in SA.
What Emmylou has said is correct, contact the hospital you want to deliver at and they will provide you with a list of OB's that operate there. My hospital just emailed it to me with the Dr's phone #'s.
Being private, your OB may actually take care of the initial booking for you and the hospital will send out the docs to complete.

Good luck with a healthy and happy pg.
Kathy

[nicoleE]

lol chook - I left a message with my FS to call me back and I had just opened up your message (but not yet read it) when they called... they just tole me exactly that - the referral from them will only last 3 months! :D
I just made an appointment with my GP this Thursday to get one. Can I contact the Ob I want before then? I know the Ob practises at both Hospitals we are looking at (we are favouring one but have not yet been to see it yet!)

[morganj]

Nicole. You don't need your referral until your first visit with the ob so there's no harm in booking the ob now (the sooner the better as they book out quickly). Good luck!!

[kitty1kat]

Hi NicoleE - definately ring and make appt with Ob straight away, as MorganJ says, you can get the referral afterwards. They will ask you heaps of questions about your last AF, due date etc, and will prob ask you which hospital is your preference, so be ready.

That was all I had to do then - my Ob booked my place at the hospital and I got the forms in the mail 2 days later from the hospital to fill in and send back in order to confirm my booking. I also got a whole heap of info sent in the mail from the Ob after I made my first appointment - all about the common questions in the first few months, what to watch out for etc.

But you should prob see your GP as well - he/she can give you the pregnancy health talk (even though you prob know everything, but its a great opportunity to ask any nagging questions) and will also schedule all yuor antenatal tests so they can be sent on to the Ob before your first appopintment. I had all the BTs for rubella etc when I started TTC, but I needed to have them all over again once I got my BFP. urine test for stuff as well.

[nicoleE]

Thanks Kitty.

I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow night. Spoke to the Ob i want and he seems fine for October at the moment. i have not booked with him yet as i want to see the hospital he practises from which we are hopefully doing on Sunday. Im sure all will be fine as it is a highly recomended hospital. (and he practises out of it)

so :fingerscrossed: by Monday arvo I will have it all booked!

[abeckaj]

My GPis an OB is and also a Gyno so i just go to him for everything! He also works at the hospital i wanted to go to so he has copies of the booking in form so he signs it and says he will be my ob and then i fill out the rest and post it the hospital. I think form memory they then called me and i went in to confirm evereything.

[Bub#1]

I booked my initial consult and scan for 12 weeks with my preferred OB last week when I was only 6 weeks. The receptionist said it was definitely good that I called so far in advance because he gets booked out quickly.

Still have that nagging feeling from time to time that I'm going to have to cancel the appointment if anything goes wrong but I try to stay positive and ignore the little squirmy feelings i get from time to time.

Going back to our local scanning centre in about 1-2 weeks to have another scan - all going well there should be a heartbeat by then so I'm looking forward to that.

[zenifa]

I have booked an appt to see my OB when I'm 10 weeks, I'll be having my antenatal BT that week also, and I'm having my 12 week scan at 11 weeks (as I'm away on holidays on my 12th week and have been told its okay to fly).

When I rang my OB to make the appt, his secretary (who is lovely) told me to book into both hospitals that my OB delivers at, although my preference is the hosp where he delivered my first baby. I might ring them next week and book in, I guess its never too early.

[our little treasures]

I am hijacking to say CONGRATULATIONS ZENIFA ON YOUR BFP I haven't been in the August thread so might go there and have a look!! Congrats again and hope you don't suffer too much m/s

[zenifa]

Thank you for the well wishes!! Yeah, I haven't been in the Aug 05 thread either much lately......I've been a bit preoccupied over the last week with my :bfp:

Hope all is going well with your pregnancy too!!

[Mackies_Mummy]

Nicole,

I'm also in SA, I had my last baby at the North Eastern, if you are after a hospital birth I would definately reccommend it. They had the best food ever!! And the mid wives were all so lovely and helpfull. I had a tour there really early on in my preg. I just rang up and asked them if I could have a look. Which they were fine about and will give you a list of Obs who deliver there. There was only one thing I disliked, the midwife I had in the delivery suite was very pro drugs and kept trying to push me into having them.

You have to get in really early with the obs cause they book out so quickly. I ended up (after trying 4 on the list) going with Ian Jones. He was fantastic, since I have recommended him to 3 friends and they have all loved his care. He does a little ultrasound at every appointment!

I hope this has helped and good luck with everything! Let me know where and who you decide. We might end up in the same hospital at the same time. :yelclap:

Kara.

[nicoleE]

Thanks Kara.

I rang the NECH on Sunday (they previously told me to ring before i was planning to come to just check) but they were too busy and didnt have any rooms spare for me to look at... which got me wondering... what would happen if they are ultra busy and had no rooms left when I went into labour??? Where would I go then!?


I really want to go with Dr Neil Tamlin but wanted to check out the hospie first... should I risk it and wait or just book him and check out the hospital when I can? If I book him in and for some reason (which I doubt) really hate the hospie can I cancel with him?

[Mackies_Mummy]

The hospital is lovely! I too was worried about there not being room for me. (I did end up getting the dodgy delivery suite though) But they only book out a certain number of rooms per month, they don't go by your due date as this is just a guide.

If I was in your situation I guess I would ring Dr Tamlin and see if you can book in with him, you don't have your first appointment till 10 weeks. So this will give you some time to check out the hosp. If you really don't like it then cancel with Tamlin and find somewhere else!