'Booking' hospitals in advance?

[kimdavis]

Hi,

I've been reading about having to book in advance for hospitals but I don't understand what that means.

-Does it mean that I will have to book a bed for the week that I am expected to deliver? But what if I end up in the hospital a week earlier or later than the expected delivery date? Would the booking still hold?
-Also, does this apply to BOTH private and public hospitals?

I am about 6weeks pregnant with my first child and am new in HK so all this new information is a bit overwhelming and confusing.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Flack]

Hi Kim

You book the hospital (private) for the due date estimated by your OB/GYN. The hospital will either confirm the booking, put you on a waitlist or decline the booking (rare).
Once you have a confirmed bed you are booked in regardless of the date you actually deliver. Obviously if you go in to labour and the hospital is full (either on your due date or otherwise) they can still refuse you and you will need to go to the public hospital but this certainly does not happen often. I delivered at 38 weeks and had no problems getting into the hospital.
I think you just register with the public hospital in your catchment area if you want to go to the public hospital once you have had your pregnancy confirmed by a doctor.

 

[jvn]

Congratulations kimdavis.

The first thing to do is to look at your health insurance/finances and decide whether going private or public is going to be the most viable for you. Private docs appointments can range from around HKD900 a go to over HKD1200 - they're usually once a month but more often if you have any complications and nearer to the end of the pregnancy, and there will be additional costs for bloodtests. Probably budget about HKD100k for delivery in a private hospital - it's a good figure for estimates but of course may vary. If these kind of figures aren't going to work for you then the public option may be better - Queen Mary is very good and I know a few people who've had excellent experiences there - they have various prenatal appointments and the cost of the appointments and delivery is in the hundreds rather than thousands.

You can also see some docs for private appointments during your pregancy and deliver at the public hospitals.

Once you decide which option is right for you you can pick a doctor, some only do private hospitals, some will see you if you are delivering at a public hospital. Costs vary and there are loads of threads and directory entries here on choosing a doctor here.

I'm not sure what the booking system is for the public hospital, am sure someone will come along and explain that but if you're going private, you go and register and see your chosen doctor and they submit an "application" to the private hospital. Different docs favour delivering in different hospitals and have different levels of priority on their waiting lists so that should be a factor in your choice too - again there's loads of info on here about the different hospitals.

Once the doc has submitted your application as Flack says the hospital will inform you if you are booked in or waitlisted etc.. then you usually pay a deposit or you put them in touch with your insurance company and they will deal directly with the hospital for you.

Your booking is based on your EDD but of course they are used to that not being when you deliver... that's part of the system and I personally haven't heard of anyone being refused entry but I suppose it's possible - I wouldn't really worry about it if I were you.

Hope this helps, it's v. confusing to begin with!

 

[shweta]

hi Kim,
For private ospitals you need to book in by the 10th week, this would be usually done by your OB/GYN on your behalf and you would need to pay a certain amount as deposit for the booking. This amount is usually non refundable. Once you've booked you can deliver anywhere around your due date - a week or more earlier or later. Most big hospitals have space when you get admitted but they might upgrade / downgrade your room depending on availability. In most cases the doctor will be able to assist you with the room. the booking holds because you've paid for it.

I am not sure about public hospitals though!!!

 

[kimdavis]

Thank you ladies

Dear Ladies,

Thank you all so much for the great information! Really appreciate it.


If anybody has had experience giving birth at Queen Mary's and knows how the procedure works, please share.


Thanks again.

 

[nicolejoy]

QMH - once you know you're pregnant, you get a letter from your GP or someone to then register at Tsan Yuk hospital - that's where they do most of their antenatal care. You just go there with the letter, and proof of address - and they'll schedule your antenatal appointments. You can register at any time but your first appointment won't be until you're 12 weeks or something like that... Many people do also go to private doctors if you want more check ups or more tests than what the public hospital gives...

It's impossible NOT to get into a public hospital if you're in their catchment area. And the price is ridiculously cheap - it's something like $300 for the entire childbirth and hospital stay... as opposed to $100,000 in a private hospital. And most of the antenatal check ups are free. I think you only need to pay for "extras" like physiotherapy etc (but that's only something like $60 or so)... and you also pay for your ultrasound (again, it's only like $100 or something, not a lot...)

Once you register, it's pretty straight forward - and the nurses and staff do speak English so if you have questions, just ask them Geobaby's really helpful too and has lots of information - so just ask here too if you're unclear of anything...

 

[kimdavis]

Thanks

Thanks for the information below!

QMH - once you know you're pregnant, you get a letter from your GP or someone to then register at Tsan Yuk hospital - that's where they do most of their antenatal care. You just go there with the letter, and proof of address - and they'll schedule your antenatal appointments. You can register at any time but your first appointment won't be until you're 12 weeks or something like that... Many people do also go to private doctors if you want more check ups or more tests than what the public hospital gives...

It's impossible NOT to get into a public hospital if you're in their catchment area. And the price is ridiculously cheap - it's something like $300 for the entire childbirth and hospital stay... as opposed to $100,000 in a private hospital. And most of the antenatal check ups are free. I think you only need to pay for "extras" like physiotherapy etc (but that's only something like $60 or so)... and you also pay for your ultrasound (again, it's only like $100 or something, not a lot...)

Once you register, it's pretty straight forward - and the nurses and staff do speak English so if you have questions, just ask them Geobaby's really helpful too and has lots of information - so just ask here too if you're unclear of anything...