Can't get confirmed hospital booking

A

aussiegal

Registered User
I'm almost 36 weeks pregnant and despite being reassured that by this point I would get a confirmed place at the Matilda I've now been told it's not going to happen. Same for the Adventist.
I'd love to know of other good private hospitals in Hong Kong that I could see if I can get in to. Any suggestions?

My husband is so concerned he wants me to fly back home (Aus) to have the baby. This would be tough for many reasons -not least because I don't want to risk my husband not being there!

This really sucks. I can't believe the hospitals here can't get their acts together enough to ensure that residents (local or expats) can have babies in the hospital of their choice.
 
so you mean that you have been confirmed a spot earlier and then that promise revoked? how could that have happened? sounds really scary....
 
AussieGal, who's your Dr?

I am in a similar situation, am 34 weeks, but because is twins looking at a c-section around 37-38 weeks, so in about 3-4 weeks time (similar dates to you I suspect).

Last time I saw my ObGyn she said she'd try to get me a booking, but as yet I haven't heard anything.....i don't want to pester her by calling, but I am getting nervous about it. Another Mum I know expecting twins is due to have her C-Sect next week but as yet doesn't have a booking at Matilda, although she does have one at Adventist.

I'm not sure what to do either, except sit tight and hope for the best...I guess worst case scenario is Queen Mary.
 
Kellyst, no, I've never had a confirmed place. I've always been on a waiting list but was assured that by the time it got nearer my due date (like how) i would have a confirmation. Only I don't and now I have to scramble to work out what to do.

Katboo my obstetrician is Dr Dawkins. I'm a bit nervous like you. It's a pretty big day I'd say and to have to worry about which hospital i can go to is absurd.
 
Hi there,
I sympathize with your situation- you have enough stress without not knowing which hospital you will be going to. I gave birth here in HK 4 months ago at Queen Mary Hospital. I too could have gone back to my home country (UK) for delivery, but I wanted my husband to be there to support me (more important to me than my surroundings), so I decided to stay put. It may sound like worst case scenario, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Definitely not as comfy/ cosy as Matilda, but they get the job done and after 2 days you will be in the comfort of your own home (of course, longer for c-section). I had a failed vacuum, then forceps delivery and based on what I heard about the private hospitals, I am glad I was at Queen Mary. The visiting hours suck and it's like going camping, but you will walk out of the hospital with something like a HK$500 bill. In any event, I do hope it all works out for you- but don't get too stressed out if it looks like you'll end up at Queen Mary :)
 
My understanding for Matilda's policy is even if you are confirmed, if there is no bed available on the date of delivery, you still can't go. You know, the estimate due date is never accurate. And if you are not confirmed, and there is a bed on that day, you can go.
And if there is no bed, matilda will call other private hospitals to check who has bed available. If none, the ultimate solution is public hospital. For public hospital like Queen Elizabeth, its policy I heard is if you don't have a record there (meaning you never did a checkup there), you will go to the emergency room (still better to have Dawkins records with you to show them); if you did have checkups there before (the checkup is pretty much free ), you will go to delivery room.
seems its all about luck in matilda.
 
yeh, I got told about the 'on-the-day' thing too, but now that I have to have a c-section it kind of complicates things as it's not as though I will just turn up when in labour (unless I go into labour prior to the planned section).

Aussiegal, I had a friend who was with Dawkins and he booked her into the Matilda really early in her pregnancy (she was also due in June), and therefore had a confirmed booking. Did he not book you in early too? She's now moved to the UK to have the baby, so I guess someone was lucky to get her spot at the Matilda!

I was never booked in early because my doc (Dr Sally Ferguson) said that it has never been necessary before. She said this scenario has NEVER happened before!

I don't think it's a mainlander problem, but just a general baby-boom according to word on the street, but if anyone knows any 'inside' info as to why all the hospitals are full I'd love to hear!

Fingers crossed for both you and I Aussiegal!!
 
KatBoo, I only arrived in HK when I was 6 months pregnant so i was waitlisted from day one.

Dr Dawkins did tell me that it is harder to get places these days because more Mainlanders are coming across - or were until they changed the rules recently. Firstly, it is cheaper to give birth here in a private hospital like Matilda than to give birth in a private hospital in the Mainland! I couldn't believe it. But many were coming to get citizenship too.
 
You know - Queen Mary is not a bad hospital. It's actually considered to be probably the best, in terms of neonatal facilities, in Asia. Of course you won't get a private room with a balcony, but really, it's just having a baby, and it doesn't take long. I've done it twice and am none the worse for it.
 
The Mainland mothers coming to give birth here is causing problems for the expensive hospitals but not because they are using them. There is the knock on effect happening. The Mainlanders are using the public and cheaper private hospitals. Thus the mothers who would use these hospitals are moving up market and using the middle range private hospitals. And again the mothers who would use the middle range are moving into the expensive hospitals, i.e. the Adventist and the Matilda. There is no where else for the mothers who normal use these expensive hospital to go, thus the unprecedented difficulty in booking a bed.
 
...but I thought that the numbers of mainlanders coming to HK had dropped hugely with the new regulations (according to the SCMP anyway)? This is why I don't understand why there is still a problem. You'd have thought everyone would have shuffled back down again now that the new booking system and costs are in place for the mainlanders.
 
I don't think it's really Mainlanders that are to blame. Both my doctor and the hospital have said that the boom is due to huge numbers of people wanting Year of The Pig babies. Not sure how much luck that these babies are going to have if they are all going to be compteing for the same school places, jobs etc. in years to come!
 
as i was speculating on another other thread, i think that the costs that have been put in place for mainlanders for public hospitals has DIRECTLY just PUSHED them to use private hospitals instead. there is essentially NO DIFFERENCE for them in cost, why not go private if you're paying the same. my theory anyways... i've always want to write to a paper or something to get this verified, it's so annoying to see bad policy like this.
 
It's absolutely ridiculous that you can't be guaranteed your (private) hospital choice within the current system. I can only wish you good luck in your birthing experience in HK, and that you have a really great memory of it all. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
 
But this is the whole point of the policy - to get people who can afford to pay $$$ to give birth into the private system, thereby reduing the strain on the goverment hospitals. Everyone entitled to enter HK is also entitled to get whatever medical care they wish here, as long as they pay the correct fees. The reason for setting the govt hosp fees so high is exactly for this reason - if you're paying so much anyway, you might as well go private. The policy is to help normal HK residents who have no choice but to use govt hospitals, not to make things easier for relatively well-off people who want to pick and choose hospitals. This is no secret - it's been reported in papers, directly from the people who implemented the policy.
 
I'm not suggesting it should be easier for those who use the private hospitals, but it seems ridiculous to implement a policy without giving any thought to how it will effect the entire system - both public and private.

As far as I was to believe (from what I have read in the press), the policy changes were put in place to stop so many mainlanders turning up in labour and resulting in a shortage of beds for residents... but the issue is also about residency and unpaid fees, not just about shortage of beds. Like I said in my previous post, if the policy changes have been successful...as they have been, according to the press, the problem of bed shortages should have been resolved resulting in less squeeze in both public and private systems. But this is clearly not the case.
 
Geiboyi, what of people like me who are residents and willing to pay the fees for private but can't get a room? Doesn't seem fair to me that someone living here doesn't get priority over room allocations if payment is not an issue. I'm not asking a local who can't afford a private hospital birth to give up their room in a gov hospital. I'm asking why I can't get a room in a private when non-resident mainlanders can. The policy doesn't work because everyone needs to be protected not just those using gov hospitals.
 
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