Going back to UK to give birth .... NHS or Private ... Does anyone have any recent experience or info?

Ah OK, thanks. I think the one by UWE is Frenchay? I'll have to see when I get home. We do have a midwife-led maternity unity at Weston general - which is my nearest hospital - but I'm not sure if they'll do everything I need as they don't have consultants and if I remember rightly my sister had to go to Bristol for a few bits. I think it was St Michael's she went to. She had horrendous birth experiences there, though, so I don't want to go anywhere near it! yeh thats the name frenchay. st michaels is i think the one in town. i went to southmead as i was alittle further out in bishopston/sadley broke area. i was fine in southmead but the problem i had was that baby had medical probs so was shipped up the road to the old childrens hospital and i was stuck in southmead with no baby! i did however transfer over to the one opposite childrens hospital so that i could wheel myself under the road, and eventually was allowed to stay in childrens hospital.

Ah OK, thanks. I think the one by UWE is Frenchay? I'll have to see when I get home. We do have a midwife-led maternity unity at Weston general - which is my nearest hospital - but I'm not sure if they'll do everything I need as they don't have consultants and if I remember rightly my sister had to go to Bristol for a few bits. I think it was St Michael's she went to. She had horrendous birth experiences there, though, so I don't want to go anywhere near it!

B*gger indeed :(. Add the pre-eclampsia and I'll be on first-name terms with them in no time! I think I need to take a letter from my doctor here explaining it all so they know what she wants them to do. Hopefully that'll count as a referral! dont worry the amount of times that i was in the hospital with my first pregnancy i knew them all...... many scans ..... and it was really funny because they would try and keep you covered up etc but after 25 scans it didnt really matter if there were other people in the room at that the time. i also had to have an amino and i had all the practice doctors and nurses in there with me in a very very small room, as i seem to be a "special case" lol.

Which one did you go to, busybee2? The GP clinic recommended the Nuffield in Clifton the other day. wasnt the private one it was the nhs. had loads of scans at southmead and as i had probs too with bleeding i visited the other one that i cannot remember its name across the road from the University of West of England (as that was the closest in emergency). Also because of complications with baby and he was in the "old" childrens hospital (this was a few few years ago) now there is a nice new spanking building unlike the rotten victorian one! but was also in the maternity hospital which was opposite the old childrens hospital and is now i believe right next door to it, there was an underground tunnel connecting the two. i do remember the private bupa one in the clifton area as i had to drive past that one. i used to work in the nhs in london many moons ago and the nuffield hospitals were always well thought of.

Which one did you go to, busybee2? The GP clinic recommended the Nuffield in Clifton the other day.

My friend has been sent an invoice for GBP7,000 for her maternity care. I'm not sure yet if her DH's insurance is going to pay but I'll keep you posted. My sister spoke to our local GP surgery and I can register temporarily there when I go home in the summer, and see the midwife on a pay-per-visit basis. Luckily I'll now be here for the anomaly scan but I'll be in the UK for the 28-week GTT test, so I can either go to the local general hospital or a private hospital in Bristol for that. I'll have to pay and claim for both the midwife and the GTT testing. Hope this helps and I'll update when I hear if the insurance are paying the 7k. (NHS) i had many scans in the hospitals in bristol, very good there. <em>edited by busybee2 on 17/04/2011</em>

B*gger indeed :(. Add the pre-eclampsia and I'll be on first-name terms with them in no time! I think I need to take a letter from my doctor here explaining it all so they know what she wants them to do. Hopefully that'll count as a referral! Oh yeah, I forgot you'd had pre-enclampsia... they'd be really hot on your tail in the UK in that case. With a complication-free second and subsequent pg, they only really want to see you every 4-6 weeks!

B*gger indeed :(. Add the pre-eclampsia and I'll be on first-name terms with them in no time! I think I need to take a letter from my doctor here explaining it all so they know what she wants them to do. Hopefully that'll count as a referral!

I have a history of insulin resistance pre-pregnancy and impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy:(. urgh, b*gger! Make sure you tell the midwives about it (no brainer) - they might want to see you more often.

I have a history of insulin resistance pre-pregnancy and impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy:(.

My friend has been sent an invoice for GBP7,000 for her maternity care. I'm not sure yet if her DH's insurance is going to pay but I'll keep you posted. My sister spoke to our local GP surgery and I can register temporarily there when I go home in the summer, and see the midwife on a pay-per-visit basis. Luckily I'll now be here for the anomaly scan but I'll be in the UK for the 28-week GTT test, so I can either go to the local general hospital or a private hospital in Bristol for that. I'll have to pay and claim for both the midwife and the GTT testing. Hope this helps and I'll update when I hear if the insurance are paying the 7k. The UK doesn't do teh GTT test as routine - if your urine samples are showing signs or you've got a history of diabetes in your family, then they will, but not as a routine. I haven't needed it either time.

My friend has been sent an invoice for GBP7,000 for her maternity care. I'm not sure yet if her DH's insurance is going to pay but I'll keep you posted. My sister spoke to our local GP surgery and I can register temporarily there when I go home in the summer, and see the midwife on a pay-per-visit basis. Luckily I'll now be here for the anomaly scan but I'll be in the UK for the 28-week GTT test, so I can either go to the local general hospital or a private hospital in Bristol for that. I'll have to pay and claim for both the midwife and the GTT testing. Hope this helps and I'll update when I hear if the insurance are paying the 7k.

I went back to the UK to give birth on the NHS just over 2 years ago. I had completed the P85, but 3 months later, it made sense to complete the P86 and become resident again, since my baby was due in June and realistically, I'd be spending most of the year in the UK. I am not working over here so there were no tax implications for me. My circumstances were a bit particular though, because we had kept our house in the UK, so I had a permanent address and was still registered with my GP (forgot to un-register when we left), so was "in the system" already. I was completely open to anyone who asked as to what my situation was (DH working abroad, we're there for extended periods, part of my antenatal care was in Dubai, etc...) but everyone really just cared about doing the job in hand, which was to ensure I had a healthy pregnancy and birth. I guess I also fitted therefore into the 1st and 2nd categories that Cheggers linked. I know some people just pop over and pop back, and others forget to mention a few key details to a few key people and get away with it, but I do think that if you want to play the game, so to speak, you should play by the rules... goodness knows they're quite flexible as they stand! <em>edited by Hello.Again.Kitty on 11/04/2011</em>

The following is a link from the Citizen's Advice Bureau website. The bit highlighted in red regarding working abroad is a little ambiguous. I read that as WORKING abroad, it doesn't mention being RESIDENT abroad, i.e. you could still be working abroad but resident in the UK (if you spend more than 90 days a year in the UK or whatever) in which case it would make sense to have access to the NHS as you are still techincally UK resident and therefore paying taxes. I might be wrong and it would definitely be worth clarifying this. There seems to be so much confusion on this. http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/index/family_parent/health/nhs_charges_for_people_from_abroad.htm Who can receive all NHS treatment free of charge Some people from abroad can receive all NHS hospital treatment free of charge. If you are entitled to free NHS hospital treatment, your spouse, civil partner and dependent child(ren) will also be able to receive free treatment, but only if they live with you permanently in the UK. You can receive free NHS hospital treatment if you:- •have been living legally in the UK for at least 12 months when you seek treatment, and did not come to the UK for private medical treatment. Temporary absences from the UK of up to three months are ignored •have come to the UK to take up permanent residence, for example, if you are a former UK resident who has returned from abroad, or if you have been granted leave to enter or remain as a spouse •have come to the UK to work, either as an employee or self-employed person. This does not include people on short business trips [color=#CC0033'>•normally work in the UK, but are temporarily working abroad, have at least 10 years continuous residence in the UK, and have been abroad for less than 5. However, if you are studying abroad you are not entitled to free NHS treatment[/color'>•are receiving a UK war disablement pension or war widows’ pension •are an asylum seeker or have been granted exceptional leave to remain or refugee status. Proof of your immigration status from the Home Office may be required. In England and Scotland, if you're refused asylum, you do not have the right to free treatment if you have temporary admission. However, if you're a failed asylum seeker who was receiving a course of treatment, that course of treatment should continue until it is finished without you being asked to pay for it. In Wales, there are plans to change the rules and you might get free treatment. If you’re asked to pay, get advice about how to challenge the charge •have been identified as having been trafficked from abroad or are believed to have been trafficked from abroad •are imprisoned in the UK or detained by UK immigration authorities •are a UK state pensioner who spends up to six months a year living in another European Economic Area (EEA) state, but are not a resident of that state •are working in another EEA country, or in Switzerland, but are paying compulsory UK national insurance contributions •are a student following a course of study which lasts at least six months, or is substantially funded by the UK government. EEA countries are the European Union countries and Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. To find out which countries are in the European Union, go to The European Union.

A friend of mine left the UK about 18 months ago (I think - it could be closer to two years) and has lived in the Gulf since then. She went home at about 32 weeks pregnant and gave birth there at the end of last year. While the local NHS health authority accepted her registration and allowed her to deliver, they did say she'd have to pay for it and they are currently in the process of invoicing her for her emergency C-section. I'm afraid I don't know how much the bill is but I'll try and find out for you. She did say her DH's insurance policy here were going to cover it so I'd check that out if I were you. Private maternity facilities seem to depend on where you live; we checked it out for my sister in the Bristol/Somerset area and they were practically non-existent, unless she wanted to pay privately for NHS facilities which was pretty pointless for her situation :(. You might have more luck if you're closer to London for proper private healthcare. I actually need to look into this for myself as I worked out last night I'll be in the UK over the summer and right when we're due our 20-week anomaly scan. I think we can book it as a private appointment at our local NHS maternity unit, but I'll let you know what I find out.

Just do what you feel most comfortable with.

Hi Natasha. There have been a few topics on using the NHS so maybe worth doing a search, but from memory once you had left the UK as a non resident you're not entitled to use it unless you move back permanently. I also had a feeling you had to be back for 6 months before you could legally use the NHS. However the fact you filed your tax return is unlikely to be detected by the NHS. If you didn't inform your doc you were emigrating then i bet you are still on his books. It's up to you how much info you choose to give them, even though technically this would be fraud. My friend back home looked into private maternity in the UK and she said it was in the region of £10k for a normal birth. I don't know how accurate that is and what it included but that was recently. If you haven't already checked, it's worth double checking your insurance defintiely wouldn't cover you in the UK, sometimes they do. Hope it all goes well whatever you decide to do. I remember your sad problem last year and it's great to hear this one is going much better :-)