All of our private maternity packages are consultant-led, which means your antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care are all managed by your consultant. You will be able to choose which consultant leads your care, and your choice may be based on personal recommendation, their area of expertise (for example, an expert in multiple births) or you may be looking for a specific UCLH consultant. As an NHS patient you would not usually have direct access to a consultant. Our private midwives are also assigned a smaller number of patients to care for on the private ward, so they will be able to spend more time with you.
If you choose a private birth at UCLH you will be accommodated in a high-quality private en suite bedroom in The Fitzrovia Suite, and your chosen birth partner is also allowed to stay with you throughout your visit. If you have your baby on the NHS, you are likely to stay in a shared postnatal ward with other patients and their babies.
Other benefits of a private birth include an enhanced catering menu, hotel quality amenities including toiletries and bed linen, and flexible visiting hours.
Please see our latest price list for details.
We offer tours of The Fitzrovia Private Maternity Suite on Mondays between 1-2pm and 3-4pm, Tuesdays from 10am-1pm and Wednesdays from 10am-1 pm.
During your visit you will have the chance to see one of our postnatal rooms and the delivery suite (if available). You will also get a chance meet some of the team and to ask any questions you might have. Please allow 30 – 45 minutes for your tour.
If you would like to book a tour, please email us at uclh.
We are only able to offer this service if you are ordinarily resident in the UK and are eligible for NHS care.
As well as your chosen consultant being there for your birth, you may also have one of our consultant anaesthetists with you, who would supervise your pain relief or work with your consultant during your c-section. The Fitzrovia Private Suite also has a team of midwives who are dedicated to looking after private patients and you will get to know the team during your care. One of our private midwives will be looking after you on a one-to-one basis during your labour or c-section.
Your consultant and midwifery team will also care for you and your baby after your birth, and our midwives will support you during your stay on the ward.
UCLH is one of the leading centres for maternity care in the UK and can support patients with the most high-risk pregnancies and births.
As a private patient, your consultant will remain responsible for your care throughout your stay, but in the event of any unforeseen emergency where your consultant is not immediately available to be with you, we have an expert medical team on site 24 hours a day who will be able to care for you until they are able to attend.
If your baby needs any additional support, this can be provided by our world-class NHS team in our neonatal unit, where they are all experts in looking after the most pre-term or unwell babies. The team will be able to give your baby the best possible care, whether it from basic support, for example, if your baby has jaundice, through to critical care if your baby is very unwell.
Our specialist physiotherapy, breastfeeding support and newborn hearing screening teams also provide services to both private and NHS patients at UCLH.
As UCLH is a specialist maternity centre, our complete range of specialist services are also available to you as a private patient, if you need them. This includes breastfeeding specialists, paediatricians and other allied health professionals if required. However, there may be an additional charge outside of your fixed price package for some aspects of care. Please see our price list which outlines where there is a fee.
As a private patient, your baby will also receive a postnatal baby check delivered by a midwife as part of your package which will confirm that all is well with your newborn. Alternatively, you can request a consultant-led baby check for an additional fee.
If your baby requires any treatment that is identified through the check, they will be able to be seen as an NHS patient at no additional charge.
You will still be able to receive any additional services if they fall outside of your package. This will be charged as per the tariff on our price list.
No. The Department of Health has strict rules where a patient cannot be private and NHS at the same time, so by electing to have a private birth you are taking responsibility for all the cost of your care.
However, there may be some instances where your care can be transferred to NHS care, if there are complications. Please refer to the question "What happens if there are any complications during birth for either myself or my baby?" for details.
Assuming you are a UK resident, your baby can be treated on the NHS if they need extra care and support, at no additional charge.
Your baby’s first examination will take place before you go home. This physical examination includes screening tests to find out if your baby has any problems with their eyes, heart, hips and, in boys, testicles.
In some cases, it is possible that you may go into labour early.
If this happens, you will be instructed to call our private midwife team who will triage you, after which our midwife will advise you of the next steps and will involve your consultant if necessary.
Please be assured that you will still be seen as a private patient if you give birth early at UCLH. However, if you have opted for a planned caesarean section and have a vaginal birth, you will be charged for a vaginal delivery, or vice versa.
If there is a known period of time when your consultant will unavailable, they will have arranged for their patient caseload to be covered by a colleague. They should discuss this with you if it looks as though you may be affected.
If you go into labour when your consultant is unavailable, you will still receive consultant-led care from whichever specialist obstetrician is covering your consultant’s practice at that time.
As we are part of a large NHS teaching hospital, you can be assured that all the care you need is available on site.
As long as you are a UK resident, your baby will be able to be treated as an NHS patient and there wouldn’t be any additional bills to pay for neonatal care.
Regarding your own treatment, there are strict Department of Health rules which stipulate that a patient cannot be treated as an NHS and private patient at the same time. Therefore, if your birth follows a predictable course you would stay a private patients for the whole time and you will still be expected to pay for any additional treatment.
However, if there are unforeseen complications which cause you to need significantly more care than was expected (for example a significantly longer hospital stay, or a stay in intensive care) then we can potentially transfer you to NHS care within UCLH. In this instance you would not incur any further charges after the point of transfer. Please note that if you do become an NHS patient, you will receive the same care as other NHS patients from that point, within our NHS facilities.
If you would like further clarification on this, please contact us on uclh.
We limit the number of bookings we take at any one time, so you can be confident that this would not happen.
This section of our website is constantly evolving. If there are any questions that you think we should include on this page, please contact us at uclh.private.enquires@nhs.net.
