Giving fake address to get into certain maternity unit?

[pradabooties]

Hi everyone,
This may not be relevant to US/UK Mums (I'm not sure) but in a lot of Australia we have to go to the maternity unit that our suburb is "zoned" into. It's a fairly recent development and I'm very disappointed as I've always planned to go to the Mater Hospital where I was born because it has an outstanding reputation but is out of my zone. I'll be referred to the Royal Women's Hospital which I've heard is also good but it's the government public hospital and doesn't have quite the same reputation as the Mater.

My doctor did say to me if my Mother or close relative lived in the Mater zone I could use their address... The thing is my OH does have a close cousin in the zone but I'm not so sure that would count as a close relative so I didn't mention it to my doctor. I am considering discussing with OH's cousin and using her address for the referral. Has anyone done this? Or think it's particularly wrong? The only complication I can imagine is OH's cousin will need to send or send photos of my mail from the hospital.

 

[MyFavSurprise]

We don't have to do that here in the US but as a kid we had to do that all the time to get into better schools. I'd say go for it really, so long as you have an address you should be fine

 

[Blu10]

Would this still be ok if the midwife has to see you at home pre or post delivery?

 

[mummy2o]

It sort of works like that in Bristol, but the mother still gets preferred choice. Where I currently live it would be Southmead which imo is the best, unless the baby has some medical matter which needs to be treated urgently then they would send you to St. Michaels as the children's hospital is next door. However, in my old address we could choose those two and Bath's hospital. I gave birth to my son in Bath and it was terrible. Mind you this was 8 years ago and might have improved, but if I lived there I'd pick Southmead as it was the best birthing experience I've had.

 

[Pearls18]

In the UK women are often pressured into believing they have to give birth at a certain place but in the UK it is our right to give birth in whatever NHS hospital we want, they can't turn us away (unless full!) so if similar might be worth finding out what the law is in Australia as it might contradict hospital policy slightly.

 

[DobbyForever]

I live in the US and when my dad died my mom married into an affluent neighborhood, so I grew up privileged most of my life. I'm also a teacher and a friend who has watched many people have their lives ruined where their address lies caught up to them. So honestly, if your zone hospital is good then I wouldn't bother lying. At the end of the day, you're getting to have your baby. Where that happens seems like a big deal now, but once (s)he is in your arms you really won't care if you are at Mater, your hospital, or the backwoods of Kentucky.

I will say I am inclined to go with the pp. I believe the doctor's oath is universal. They vow on the day of their white coat ceremony and admittance into medical school to help anyone in need. Haven't you ever wondered why there's a receptionist and a nurse and a giant wall separating you and the doctors? It's not just for procedure and crowd control. It's because doctors are morally and legally obligated to help someone they see who is in dire need of medical help. So if you waltz into Mater because you were visiting family and went into labor and you are too ____ to move to another/ your zone hospital (weak, in pain, dilated) then they have to treat you.

So... long story short, I'm very much personally against it but it is your decision to make. Not anybody else's. Good luck! Either way, you are blessed.

 

[pradabooties]

In the UK women are often pressured into believing they have to give birth at a certain place but in the UK it is our right to give birth in whatever NHS hospital we want, they can't turn us away (unless full!) so if similar might be worth finding out what the law is in Australia as it might contradict hospital policy slightly.

That's definitely interesting to know that technically you can give birth where you like there despite what you're told. I'm quite sure in Australia though it is 100% a strict policy... my doctor said if she legally can't give me a referral for the Mater because I'm not in the area. She said even if I lived in the area and went there for my 12 week appointments etc but then moved house even slightly out of the zone they would definitely transfer me to the other hospital.

 

[pradabooties]

Would this still be ok if the midwife has to see you at home pre or post delivery?

Hmmmm that's a very good point! That would actually be a problem. Although I am actually quite close to the Mater despite not being in the zone my OH's cousin that is technically in Mater's zone actually lives VERY far from us so if I had to be at her house pre or post labour for an appointment it would probably be an issue. Thanks for your input, that is definitely something to consider

 

[RaquelDee]

As a fellow Aussie, I understand where you are coming from completely, my zoned hospital is rubbish, no facilities for emergency cesearean (they have to send you an hour away to a bigger place) and there's been a lot of bad press about disputes between the Drs and administration. The other nearby option also has a really poor reputation. The only legit way to get your choice of hospital here is to go private which is what I'm doing, although it is ridiculously expensive once you factor in not just the cost of additional cover for private health insurance but also the exorbitant obstetricians fees. Had either of our zoned options had a halfway decent reputation, I would have gone with one of them.

If going via health insurance isn't an option, it might be worth investigating going to the Mater as a private patient in a public hospital. This means you essentially cover the costs that a health fund would cover - that is, your room/accomodation costs, and the Medicare gap for the birth (Medicare covers most of this, though). From what I've read, you might be able to do this for maybe $1000-$1500 (whereas my private costs all up will be at least $6500). That's as much as I know, but it's definitely something that I've heard of others doing to get into a preferred hospital.

In the end I wouldn't mess with giving a false addresses because it might cause problems down the track. Presumably you'll need the address to match your Medicare address, which will mean changing it for both you and your husband if he is on the same card as you, which could also mess things up for you at tax time. There's also loads of paperwork to do after the birth (birth registration, Centrelink for PPL, adding the baby to your Medicare card etc) and I'm not sure what would happen if this didn't match other records.

In all honestly, if the Women's hospital has a pretty good rep, I would just go with this. Many bigger maternity hospitals have great programs with continuity of midwife care, etc, so perhaps see if there's something like this they can offer? Usually the earlier you get in the better, though, so it might be good to get the referral quickly.

Sorry for the epic post - it was something that we really had to grapple with with when we found out I was pregnant and realised local facilities were crap, so obviously I've done a fair bit of research and have given it a lot of thought!

 

[ttc bubby no2]

Have you tried ringing the hospital direct to book in? Here in SA they will often tell you you have to go to a particular hospital but I know of many women who have rang the Womens and Childrens direct and booked in as they didn't want to go to the one they were zoned for. I don't think you even really need a referral from a GP anyway (here), they just tell you to ring a pregnancy hotline number.

If you are trying to get into a Midwife Group Practice (MGP) however you have to live in in the zone as the midwife will visit your home.

I think hospitals are run by the state government so the rules could be different interstate.

 

[pradabooties]

As a fellow Aussie, I understand where you are coming from completely, my zoned hospital is rubbish, no facilities for emergency cesearean (they have to send you an hour away to a bigger place) and there's been a lot of bad press about disputes between the Drs and administration. The other nearby option also has a really poor reputation. The only legit way to get your choice of hospital here is to go private which is what I'm doing, although it is ridiculously expensive once you factor in not just the cost of additional cover for private health insurance but also the exorbitant obstetricians fees. Had either of our zoned options had a halfway decent reputation, I would have gone with one of them.

If going via health insurance isn't an option, it might be worth investigating going to the Mater as a private patient in a public hospital. This means you essentially cover the costs that a health fund would cover - that is, your room/accomodation costs, and the Medicare gap for the birth (Medicare covers most of this, though). From what I've read, you might be able to do this for maybe $1000-$1500 (whereas my private costs all up will be at least $6500). That's as much as I know, but it's definitely something that I've heard of others doing to get into a preferred hospital.

In the end I wouldn't mess with giving a false addresses because it might cause problems down the track. Presumably you'll need the address to match your Medicare address, which will mean changing it for both you and your husband if he is on the same card as you, which could also mess things up for you at tax time. There's also loads of paperwork to do after the birth (birth registration, Centrelink for PPL, adding the baby to your Medicare card etc) and I'm not sure what would happen if this didn't match other records.

In all honestly, if the Women's hospital has a pretty good rep, I would just go with this. Many bigger maternity hospitals have great programs with continuity of midwife care, etc, so perhaps see if there's something like this they can offer? Usually the earlier you get in the better, though, so it might be good to get the referral quickly.

Sorry for the epic post - it was something that we really had to grapple with with when we found out I was pregnant and realised local facilities were crap, so obviously I've done a fair bit of research and have given it a lot of thought!

No thank you, I appreciate the epic post! Its nice knowing someone understands what I'm talking about Unfortunately private is not really an option for us at this stage and it may be different where you are but everyone I know who has gone private in Brisbane have ended up paying $4,000-$10,000 and have said it was no better than prior deliveries at public hospitals - but even if it was it wouldn't be an option at this time. I am sure though you will have a great experience being booked into a private hospital; the public hospitals here are both actually very good I'm just being picky, so it's not really a case of desperately not wanting to go anywhere luckily!

 

[pradabooties]

Have you tried ringing the hospital direct to book in? Here in SA they will often tell you you have to go to a particular hospital but I know of many women who have rang the Womens and Childrens direct and booked in as they didn't want to go to the one they were zoned for. I don't think you even really need a referral from a GP anyway (here), they just tell you to ring a pregnancy hotline number.

If you are trying to get into a Midwife Group Practice (MGP) however you have to live in in the zone as the midwife will visit your home.

I think hospitals are run by the state government so the rules could be different interstate.

Thank you, I will try contacting the hospital directly. I actually didn't think you could even do that, worth a try!

 

[RaquelDee]

No probs, glad someone could benefit from my overthinking! I think my situation would have been different if we were dealing with city hospitals but our options were limited to smaller regional places even though we aren't that far from Melb. So we're going private essentially to get into the city and somewhere with a far better range of services and greater ability to deal with complications. We also thought it might be a good idea since I'm classified as old for a first-timer. In any case, my experience has been excellent so far and I'm really happy with both the obstetrician and the hospital. I just try not to think about the cash too much!

Best of luck with your situation - it sounds like either way you should have a pretty decent level of care.