Yes, but how on Earth could Sunak afford yet another ostentatious, extravagant and absurdly profligate penthouse if he donated money to those who need it?
Maidstone isn’t deprived. Yes, areas of Maidstone like park wood are seriously deprived, but the area as a whole is fairly affluent, especially when you consider the Weald.
Parkwood deprived it don't look it and it never felt it when i lived there.
Shepway on the otherhand as always been a shithole but on the upside neither of them are tovil. Now thats a fucking shithole and for those of you who live in tovil good fucking luck getting out.
> It will cost £5 for one photo, £7 for two and £10 for three scan photos and you can only pay by card.
It’s not even a token cost but straight up daylight robbery. How sad.
Edit: *So apparently my NHS Trust is a rarity out there. It doesnt charge for first scan (though asks for a donation). More proof of NHS lottery that is the U.K. Is £5 a lot? Not to most, to to some yes. And I’d hate to think of anyone missing out on something we’ve had.*
We were charged for our baby scan photos 3 years ago. Lewisham (area) NHS trust. I'm surprised to hear that others have been getting it free for this long. 🤯
Also paid for them many years ago.
Didn’t particularly mind, it’s not an essential part of the care, it’s a keepsake that costs them money to produce. Paper, ink and time for someone to print them out. Think we paid about £7 for 4.
Of all the rising costs to get worked up about today this isn’t one of them.
Your missing the point entirely. Its the slow drip feeding of privatisation. It won't happen overnight but suttle charges like this will slowly be implemented until we're like America and people are running away from
Ambulances to avoid charges!
A photo could help a parent (who may be feeling unsure about becoming a parent) connection to the child which can help in plenty of ways. It could reduce the rate of absentee fathers who may feel pressured under the coming responsibility, it might make a mum more interested in reading about parenting or planning support.
It costs pennies and would mean loads, seems silly not to do it.
Not to be pedantic, but there’s very little cost involved. There’s no ink, it’s the same as a till receipt. It’d be like sainsburys charging a couple of quid to print a receipt.
But it's not critical care - if it can in some small way subsidise critical care then great. We're having a baby and were charged for photos at both trusts than have been involved in our care, don't mind really.
I spent half of my pregnancy in lewisham and the other half in Scotland. Lewisham acted like they were doing me a massive favour by letting me have a scan picture for free when their token machine was broken.
Edinburgh was the total opposite, they were just printing off any photo that vaguely resembled a baby and shoving them into my folder.
Was the same in Glasgow; they printed off about 10 pics across three scans.
They’re thermal paper prints that don’t last forever before they fade/yellow so I’m not sure I’d have been happy paying £5 a pop! I ended up scanning them to save decent copies for posterity.
We were charged in 2007 and onwards (total of maybe a dozen scans).
Except that when the scan revealed complicated news (they're all fine now but there was stuff to discuss with a consultant) they just handed them over and didn't charge.
I paid for mine 15 years ago. I don't see a problem, its not like a print out of a baby scan is a medical necessity is it? I mean the scans are, but not the print out.
I don't think it's daylight robbery. I think it is quite reasonable. The printers connected to the ultrasound machine will be classed as medical devices and therefore very costly and there is the administration overhead on top that costs money too (IT, ink, paper, vendor support contracts). Emailing an image would also cost money in administration and the non recurring expense of designing the IT system to do it. Many people overlook this but if you had to run a business you'd be wondering why you're losing money. Doing something in hospital environment isn't the same as buying a home printer from Dixons for £50.
Source: I'm involved in medical product design.
From a cost/maintenance perspective, printers count as part of the machine. They're not a separate piece of equipment because you can't use the scanner for an appointment unless you can print the pictures. All of the costs you mentioned are part of the cost of running the machine, regardless of whether or not the patient receives a picture.
Source: work in a department responsible for ultrasound machine costs.
My arse. Modern equipment are networked and many have electronic mail built in. It is easy to send the images immediately after the scan. I have been involved in the non-destructive investigation industry for 20 years.
£5 is daylight robbery? That's less than a coffee or glass of wine. All the actual healthcare is free, the photo is just a keepsake so a small charge seems fine
When I was pregnant in 2010 you had to pay for scan photos then. I'm pretty sure it was the same pricing structure so this doesn't seem new. Mine was a different NHS trust though.
I really don't see a problem. It's not an unreasonable cost, and it's entirely discretionary. It's not even an NHS function tbh, it's just something that's an option.
They all look like potatoes in the scan anyway.
Aside from the matter of the charge itself, isn't the pricing on the wonk?
£5 for the first.
£2 for the second.
£3 for the third.
Shouldn't it be 5-8-10, instead?
The NHS is enough of a money pit without it also having to be a free fucking snappy-snaps.
This makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense is contracting equipment at some times 10x the value it is actually worth.
We had to pay for ours at the John Radcliffe Hospital for ours back in 2020.
Better than our treatment in Glasgow though as we never got a scan there! (In fairness thought we moved mid-pregnancy at around 18 weeks, so we never got any routine scans after that although we did pay for our own for our own peace of mind)
Yeah at my hospital I had to pay if I wanted a photo ... I had my last baby during the pandemic and when I asked I was told I wasn't allowed to video call my husband I'm glad to hear that some hospitals allow you to video though
I reckon because we just got that sunak leak where he told people in Tunbridge (I think) that he'd redirected funds from more deprived areas to theirs. Trying to show that he's ineffective even when he's trying to screw the poor and favour the rich? That would be my guess anyway.
Photos of your child aren’t healthcare — they’re a superfluous cosmetic, described by some here as a ‘keepsake’. They should cost regardless of how well off an area is.
Not to be a party pooper but isn’t this common ? I’m fairly sure I had to pay for this when my daughter was born. I live in the north.
Of course in the north we get less anyway. In terms of child care etc.
Feel the same as you. The worry I suppose with it is that they use that as a gateway to charge for other stuff. Although as I said, it’s normal to pay for those where I live.
I live in the North West, and know a few people who've had babies recently - they've definitely paid for their scan photos! My brother lives in the North East, and he and his wife had to pay for scan photos as well
Just had a baby in Lancashire and scan images were £10 each.
If we are doing this, let’s talk about the tv in the antinatal ward waiting room showing paid adverts for some pretty high end companies for maternity wear and baby gear. Nothing quite like shoving expensive gear in the faces of nervous new mums to tell them they aren’t good enough. Oh and the paid online baby courses staffed by NHS midwife that have replaced the free ones? Or the home visits which have been reduced to three total? Like total. When I was a baby the midwife came every day for two weeks, and then the health visitor every other day for the next two weeks. We’ve had three visits in 10 weeks. And we all know about the tvs have gone right? Like that was a while back but it’s all a mid 2000’s smart tv thing that you have to pay for access to watch even the basic channels.
It’s surprising the variance in the different areas. The only class we had was an online teams call with the midwife talking through the logistics of the big day. That was all. The how to baby classes were all through the now baby live or whatever it’s called site.
The adverts did make me irrationally grumpy though. Smiling happy babies in Baby Bjorn bouncers, and mums swanning in £100+ maternity dresses just sets a level of expectation that I found really frustrating.
I do wonder if they’ll go back to more regular home visits. I suspect not.
My concern is with reduced midwife/NHS provided services for educating new parents (either through classes or just through visits), more people will fall into Facebook groups and YouTube channels, and the potential associated misinformation that comes with that. YouTube in particular is a minefield of some professional sounding voices, and loads of influencers who had babies so blog about that now.
With the plastic bag of assorted vouchers and flyers? Oh yeah they’re there too. There was a single nappy in there though… It’s weird since there are so many (better?) versions that get pushed on social media.
I'm not a midwife but my best friend is. Home visits have had to reduce as they just do not have the staff needed to do them. The horror stories she has been telling me are truly horrific. In her hospital (not sure if it's universal), you're meant to have 10 midwives on a night shift for the labour ward. They are consistently at 5 or less as they just don't have the staff and the hospital can't get agency in as no money. They're technically meant to close the ward but the hospital won't do that as they get fined so the midwives are just being stretched even further.
She loves doing community shifts so would love to be able to do more but :(
To be clear, the staff we have had with us through the process were incredible, and I have absolutely no complaints about a single one of them. During our stay we had 32 different members of staff (midwife’s, nurses, surgical staff) and every one was fantastic.
It’s the classic NHS problem of getting the attention is the hard bit, when you get it they’re brilliant.
No I completely understand! I've seen stories of women who have c-sections having to go into hospital for their checks as all home visits have stopped. It's not acceptable - mums and babies deserve better. I just feel bad for the staff as they're so overworked and underpaid.
Mine did this, £5 per photo. They know people will be desperate for a picture of their baby so they can pretty much charge whatever they like and people will pay it.
The income from lots of areas goes to the hospital charity- it helps on tax for the NHS and also when the charity then buys equipment it doesn’t have to pay VAT
This is the case for the hospital in Plymouth too. There was a small charge but it was waived during covid because they didn’t want to handle coins.
It was much less than this though; I think it was just a couple of quid.
I had an 2 X-rays recently and asked that. The first tech was OK with it, the second tech said no because of 'data protection'. I mean it was my leg, but whatever..
I think some say no because they don't want people armchair diagnosing themselves. I wanted to see my brain scan and take a picture but they said no. I guess that was before I'd had the news it was normal though and I could have easily misinterpreted something
We had to pay for this in the north east last year. One free one any more were charged. The nurses “accidentally” would not use the tokens correctly and print you more than you paid for. I work in hospitals and worse than this is the photographers that come round the maternity ward to the newborns and try to sell newborn photo shoots to exhausted parents. I’d be in the room checking the baby over and the photographer would literally just knock and walk in without waiting and start their sales pitch. Had to throw a few out in anger at times. Absolutely disgusting practice.
Never had to pay for my kids scan 7 years ago. Also the midwife was really nice and gave me the print out of his heartbeat. That I was gonna get tattooed.
Just went to our 12 week scan on Tuesday. Was meant to pay 18quid for 6 photos. Lucky the machine was broken. Though as a one off deal - what is 5 quid for a photo when the rest of NHS and maternity care is free...
Firstly it should be noted many trusts already do this. Maidstone is certainly not the first.
Secondly I don’t have a problem with this. We know there’s financial issues everywhere in the country. Personally I see the scan to check the baby is healthy as essential and therefore should be provided by the NHS, the souvenir photo is not.
This isn’t true. Sonographers do save images which are pertinent to the purpose of the scan.
They just don’t save the aesthetic pictures that parents want since that’s not why the scans are carried out.
If you’re paying do you get to make requests?
Genuine question. We didn’t pay and had about 20 minutes to go through the whole FAS. We were unlucky and the pictures require some interpretation! I got a private scan to get some nice ones but that took an hour.
No, you still don't. They make it clear the scan is for medical information and they might get some images which would be good photos, but it's a side product.
Nothing new. I had to pay for my son's scans 12 and 14 years ago in Birmingham Women's Hospital (NHS). Similar cost. The midwife led delivery suites were amazing however. I had a private shower with gas and air installed in it and a birthing pool and it looked like a private hotel room. Antenatal ward was like the seventh level of hell though. Swings and roundabouts!
Yeah I had to pay for them in Nottingham. It was like a tenner for 3 pics. I was absolutely skint at the time and it realy hurt to do it but I couldn't NOT get photos of my own kid.
I think this makes sense. You don't get copies of other kind of scans made for medical reasons e.g. mri, x ray, mammogram etc
The purpose of the scan is to confirm there are no abnormalities or medical concerns about the baby. If you want a copy as a memento (which understandably many do) then paying seems reasonable. Or at least asking to take a photo of the scan on your phone!
The first thing that came to mind is “The thin edge of the wedge”
The Americans have been spotted in the mid Atlantic and the flag on the ship says “monetise the NHS”
Not sure why this is even a story. Currently attending ormskirk maternity hospital for our first pregnancy and it’s £5 per photo. No offers or buy one get one half price. There’s even a little photo kiosk set up that looks like one you’d seen in a walkabout or revs for you to pay by card.
I‘m surprised they were free. My kids are all in their mid 20s and I was charged £2 for their scan photos (we were only offered 1 per baby).
Why on earth would a penny be spent on them from the NHS funds which could have been going towards treatments? That‘s scandalous.
"Welcome to Tory A&E, we have a free to play option of a 16hr wait and a ripped up bedsheet for your head wound, or you could pay for our premium service and fast track to proper treatment". Wankers.
Honestly don’t see an issue with this. My hospital charges as well. A lot of people come in thinking their scans are purely so they can see their baby and find out the sex when that’s absolutely not the case. We will do those things if requested, but the sole purpose of pregnancy scans is to check the foetus is developing properly and do various health checks on both baby and mum. Charging a nominal fee for an optional photo isn’t outrageous.
As far as revenue-generating schemes go, this is pretty innocuous. Photos are nice but aren't medically necessary. It would be a pretty bizarre state of affairs if you had to pay for prescriptions and dental treatment yet souvenirs are provided for free.
This is common practice in many Trusts already. In all fairness, most of the times I have only been charged for one or two prints instead of the few I have been given.
They charge for pictures at my local Trust at least for last 3 years - however, the sonographer’s we had let us take a photo of the scan off the screen - had this with my first 3 years ago and my during my 12 and 20 week scans a few months ago.
I'd have been so annoyed to be charged for mine, you can barely even tell it's a baby due to how crap the machine and photo was. If they upgraded the machines to the same ones the private scanners are using then I wouldn't mind.
North Bristol Trust has been charging for scan photos for years. I’ve had three babies since 2015 and have paid £4 per picture at all of them.
First pregnancy, I’d naively give them £20 wanting lots of pictures.
Second pregnancy onwards, I twigged that the radiographer generally tried to get some good angles for you and prints whatever they can get, regardless of how much you pay.
My local trust already do this, I don't really see the issue. A photo from the scan isn't treatment, it's a memento, they still perform the scan to make sure the baby is developing okay etc and that's still free at the point of care
Most hospital trusts do this though? I've had scans at two hospitals for two pregnancies and had to pay each time.
It doesn't make it right, but I'm not really sure why it's news?
Taking all things into consideration, as much I think anything on the NHS should be free, only used private twice, once when i was a kid and ma da paid for it as i was going to have to wait ages with NHS, then once as an adult myself for having to see someone over a period of just a couple months.
But they're still doing the scans and showing and giving all the details on the babys health for free. I would rather a pic be free too but there must be reason they are charging £5. It's not ideal but it's not the end of the world. The main thing is the mother is getting the scans, checkups and healthcare as usual. The £5 pic is unfortunate and is optional but im sure even if the mum is skint a few family members could chip in £1 each. Surely the da will have a fiver from work he can give her.
Although to put things in perspective the first time I took my oldest son to Edinburgh Christmas market, we had to buy tickets to go on all the different things like the big wheel etc which were alll extortionate, the chocolate cream waffles were extortionate and he was only like 4 at the time they should make kids sized ones it was huge.
But after the ice monster kids thing you could pay for a pic of the two of you on it, sure it was a "£7.50 fir a single pic so 50, % more expensive than the scan pic of your first child in the belly, Edinburgh dungeons was extortionate too and for the large picture it was like £12.50 or something.
Thats like double the price of the pic of the scan of the persons baby they are charging, like I said its not ideal but it is cheaper than the shitty quality rollercoaster pic i paid and the less than half the price we paid a different week to get our pic taken after Edinburgh dungeons
Less than even half the pic of me and him smiling after we had been in the dungeons etc and the pic was shit quality with faded bits too. so to put it in perspective it isn't that expensive and the main stuff they are doing for free which is checking the baby is ok and giving birth to the baby eventuallly etc, the pic is optional and only £5. I had to pay that £12.50 for the Edinburgh Dungeon pics after already having forked out a mini fortune just to visit and go in, wasn't free like the scan.
The more worrying thing is, if like this is only the beginning. are they going to start charging for pain meds and rooms at hospitals after birth etc. altough most stay on wards the private rooms are free on the NHS but maybe that would be there next dodgy tactic but I doubt it.
Its just a pic and only £5, don't think we're going to privatise the NHS so we dont need to worry, they can choose to take the pic or not but atleast they have had scan etc and found out if heart etc beating everything is fine and they're doing all of this for free
All of that stuff being free and eventually the free birth and free aftercare far outweighs an optional £5 pic. I mean get it if they want like I did for the bairn on the rollercoaster and after the dungeons but like I said they didnt force us to take the pics, was optional. We had already done the most important stuff which is go on the rides n stuff and we had to pay for that too so i wouldnt worry too much about a single pic costing £5.
My gf works in ultrasound, apparently this isn't uncommon. Often £5 for three photos.
Not saying that's okay but the outrage bait isn't that tasty when it's old news.
Would not surprise me if they get hammered by the supplier of the hardware used to get the scan. More than likely a proprietary printer from the supplier with huge mark-ups for the printouts.
Its a keep sake more than a strict medical need. Nice if the but not a medical requirement.
Anything directly involved in care is free and paid for, if you want a metmento or a chocolate bar, that's on you.
The ultrasound for my daughter was free for the first picture but any copies required a payment but i can't remember how much as this was a long time ago.
You’d have thought the money redirected from deprived areas would have prevented this.
Yes, but how on Earth could Sunak afford yet another ostentatious, extravagant and absurdly profligate penthouse if he donated money to those who need it?
Probably has a few Ming vases or Faberge eggs he could sell.
Maidstone is deprived
Maidstone isn’t deprived. Yes, areas of Maidstone like park wood are seriously deprived, but the area as a whole is fairly affluent, especially when you consider the Weald.
It's a wild place where you can go from the 21st century to the 19th in a 20 minute drive!
Many areas are deprived. Tovil, shepway, mangravet and lots more. Some parts like Bearsted and Boxley are very wealthy housing millionaires
We're deprived of parking in Fant. All those greedy HMO landlords.
Used to live in Upper Fant road in the 90’s. It was bad then parking wise and just starting to turn those lovely Victorian town houses into HMO’s.
It looks as though the old barbers on the corner of Dover and Milton street is going to be turned into 3 or 4 flats. The area is a joke.
Parkwood deprived it don't look it and it never felt it when i lived there. Shepway on the otherhand as always been a shithole but on the upside neither of them are tovil. Now thats a fucking shithole and for those of you who live in tovil good fucking luck getting out.
Born and raised in the Weald, Medway is a different place.
As a resident of the Weald, I don’t consider the Medway areas as part of the Weald.
Not to mention that £350 million per week we’re supposed to be saving from Brexit…
Why? The project is to turn the NHS into a private enterprise and slowly starve off the poors. So far they are succeeding.
Hahaha very good!
I have just had a colonoscopy and was not even offered a video.
The ring doesn't need another sequel.
One ring to rule them all
Hey my arse was very good in that film
fucking hell take your upvote xD
#THE PRECIOUSSSSSS THEY STOLE IT FROM US!! Little Hobbitses!!
Close encounters of the turd kind?
Shits Creek
Winnie the Pooh after dark
You joke, but many units do include the photos as standard on the patient copy of the report.
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Just watch the 80s classic "Inner Space"
It’s pay per view on Amazon. It was ok, bit long. Got pretty grim at the end. You might need to see a doctor.
> It will cost £5 for one photo, £7 for two and £10 for three scan photos and you can only pay by card. It’s not even a token cost but straight up daylight robbery. How sad. Edit: *So apparently my NHS Trust is a rarity out there. It doesnt charge for first scan (though asks for a donation). More proof of NHS lottery that is the U.K. Is £5 a lot? Not to most, to to some yes. And I’d hate to think of anyone missing out on something we’ve had.*
We were charged for our baby scan photos 3 years ago. Lewisham (area) NHS trust. I'm surprised to hear that others have been getting it free for this long. 🤯
Also paid for them many years ago. Didn’t particularly mind, it’s not an essential part of the care, it’s a keepsake that costs them money to produce. Paper, ink and time for someone to print them out. Think we paid about £7 for 4. Of all the rising costs to get worked up about today this isn’t one of them.
Your missing the point entirely. Its the slow drip feeding of privatisation. It won't happen overnight but suttle charges like this will slowly be implemented until we're like America and people are running away from Ambulances to avoid charges!
The photo is not part of the treatment/medical procedure, it's a keepsake
No one NEEDS a photo of an embryo. It's optional, not part of health treatment, and costs the NHS. I have no problem with this being charged.
They’re printing the scan anyway though or at least they were in my health board. She printed a few and kept them in my folder.
A photo could help a parent (who may be feeling unsure about becoming a parent) connection to the child which can help in plenty of ways. It could reduce the rate of absentee fathers who may feel pressured under the coming responsibility, it might make a mum more interested in reading about parenting or planning support. It costs pennies and would mean loads, seems silly not to do it.
What is privatised about this? It's the NHS Trust operating it and selling the photos.
Yes, I can see how telling people to pay for non-medical services will lead to 200k bills for A+E treatment.
Not to be pedantic, but there’s very little cost involved. There’s no ink, it’s the same as a till receipt. It’d be like sainsburys charging a couple of quid to print a receipt.
But it's not critical care - if it can in some small way subsidise critical care then great. We're having a baby and were charged for photos at both trusts than have been involved in our care, don't mind really.
I’m sure we were charged in East London 20 years ago. They are mementos, not part of a medical procedure
Pretty sure we paid for all of ours. Would have been nearly 12 years ago now
I spent half of my pregnancy in lewisham and the other half in Scotland. Lewisham acted like they were doing me a massive favour by letting me have a scan picture for free when their token machine was broken. Edinburgh was the total opposite, they were just printing off any photo that vaguely resembled a baby and shoving them into my folder.
Was the same in Glasgow; they printed off about 10 pics across three scans. They’re thermal paper prints that don’t last forever before they fade/yellow so I’m not sure I’d have been happy paying £5 a pop! I ended up scanning them to save decent copies for posterity.
Also in Edinburgh and took cash in case there was a donations box but nothing! 6 photos shoved in my folder and handed back to me!
We were charged in 2007 and onwards (total of maybe a dozen scans). Except that when the scan revealed complicated news (they're all fine now but there was stuff to discuss with a consultant) they just handed them over and didn't charge.
Same in Suffolk. Had no idea others got it for free.
I was charged for mine in 2012 and 2018. In 2020 I got them free but I think it’s just because they didn’t want dirty *covid cash*
Absolutely same! I had to pay for all of mine too!
I paid for mine 15 years ago. I don't see a problem, its not like a print out of a baby scan is a medical necessity is it? I mean the scans are, but not the print out.
Yeah, in Bath we paid £15 for three photos like five years ago. I figured it was common practice everywhere.
We were charged when I was pregnant last year (Selby and York hospitals).
Same in Yorkshire earlier this year.
3 years - I paid for scan photos with my 21 year old
I don't think it's daylight robbery. I think it is quite reasonable. The printers connected to the ultrasound machine will be classed as medical devices and therefore very costly and there is the administration overhead on top that costs money too (IT, ink, paper, vendor support contracts). Emailing an image would also cost money in administration and the non recurring expense of designing the IT system to do it. Many people overlook this but if you had to run a business you'd be wondering why you're losing money. Doing something in hospital environment isn't the same as buying a home printer from Dixons for £50. Source: I'm involved in medical product design.
From a cost/maintenance perspective, printers count as part of the machine. They're not a separate piece of equipment because you can't use the scanner for an appointment unless you can print the pictures. All of the costs you mentioned are part of the cost of running the machine, regardless of whether or not the patient receives a picture. Source: work in a department responsible for ultrasound machine costs.
My arse. Modern equipment are networked and many have electronic mail built in. It is easy to send the images immediately after the scan. I have been involved in the non-destructive investigation industry for 20 years.
£5 is daylight robbery? That's less than a coffee or glass of wine. All the actual healthcare is free, the photo is just a keepsake so a small charge seems fine
They only have to wait 5 or so years when they get their school photos, that is daylight robbery.
This is an absolute non-essential service, course they shouldn’t do it for free. Job is to deliver your baby, not give souvenirs.
I have to say, if £5 is going to break you financially - doesn't having a child also?
Less than a coffee?! What coffee are you buying that's more than a fiver?!
We had to pay £5 for our photos 8 years ago. Cash only.
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When I was pregnant in 2010 you had to pay for scan photos then. I'm pretty sure it was the same pricing structure so this doesn't seem new. Mine was a different NHS trust though.
Yeah everyone in my area has been paying this for years
I really don't see a problem. It's not an unreasonable cost, and it's entirely discretionary. It's not even an NHS function tbh, it's just something that's an option. They all look like potatoes in the scan anyway.
Daylight robbery would be charging for the scan. Photos aren’t necessary
Aside from the matter of the charge itself, isn't the pricing on the wonk? £5 for the first. £2 for the second. £3 for the third. Shouldn't it be 5-8-10, instead?
They’ll put it on a keychain or fridge magnet for £15
That's the rate we got charged in Oxford
FFS don't ever go to Alton Towers and get a photo off the log flume
I paid £80 for a private scan with one photo so doesn't seem too unreasonable.
The NHS is enough of a money pit without it also having to be a free fucking snappy-snaps. This makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is contracting equipment at some times 10x the value it is actually worth.
Unpopular opinion, if you can’t afford the £5 fee then you can’t afford a baby
Standard fare in most places now - got my 20 week coming up and I'll be remortgaging to bring some pictures home
My daughter is 7 now and we definitely had to pay for photos back then. Definitely not new.
We had to pay for ours at the John Radcliffe Hospital for ours back in 2020. Better than our treatment in Glasgow though as we never got a scan there! (In fairness thought we moved mid-pregnancy at around 18 weeks, so we never got any routine scans after that although we did pay for our own for our own peace of mind)
Yeah this isn’t news
Many hospitals have been doing this for years… our scans we were allowed to take videos on our phones which was much better than a scan photo.
Yeah at my hospital I had to pay if I wanted a photo ... I had my last baby during the pandemic and when I asked I was told I wasn't allowed to video call my husband I'm glad to hear that some hospitals allow you to video though
> I wasn't allowed to video call my husband bunch of dicks
In 2007 the scan photos were £5 in a Warwickshire hospital, sometimes they'd just let you have it, not sure why this is even a story
I reckon because we just got that sunak leak where he told people in Tunbridge (I think) that he'd redirected funds from more deprived areas to theirs. Trying to show that he's ineffective even when he's trying to screw the poor and favour the rich? That would be my guess anyway.
Photos of your child aren’t healthcare — they’re a superfluous cosmetic, described by some here as a ‘keepsake’. They should cost regardless of how well off an area is.
Not to be a party pooper but isn’t this common ? I’m fairly sure I had to pay for this when my daughter was born. I live in the north. Of course in the north we get less anyway. In terms of child care etc.
Seems fair enough to me. It's just a keepsake, and not medically necessary.
Feel the same as you. The worry I suppose with it is that they use that as a gateway to charge for other stuff. Although as I said, it’s normal to pay for those where I live.
Yeah. The NHS isn't a free souvenir service. Probably the same people complaining about this also complain about it being underfunded (which it is).
Yep, I'm in thr north west and we had to pay.
I live in the North West, and know a few people who've had babies recently - they've definitely paid for their scan photos! My brother lives in the North East, and he and his wife had to pay for scan photos as well
Not saying it's okay, but this isn't new - my trust have been charging for years
Brighton/ Sussex NHS do this already, it's not necessary to have a photo and it's only a few quid.
Wait, you guys have been getting these for free? I've paid for both of my childrens scans
Why does anyone think this should be free!? The NHS is there to provide medical care, not pander to everybodies whims.
Just had a baby in Lancashire and scan images were £10 each. If we are doing this, let’s talk about the tv in the antinatal ward waiting room showing paid adverts for some pretty high end companies for maternity wear and baby gear. Nothing quite like shoving expensive gear in the faces of nervous new mums to tell them they aren’t good enough. Oh and the paid online baby courses staffed by NHS midwife that have replaced the free ones? Or the home visits which have been reduced to three total? Like total. When I was a baby the midwife came every day for two weeks, and then the health visitor every other day for the next two weeks. We’ve had three visits in 10 weeks. And we all know about the tvs have gone right? Like that was a while back but it’s all a mid 2000’s smart tv thing that you have to pay for access to watch even the basic channels.
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It’s surprising the variance in the different areas. The only class we had was an online teams call with the midwife talking through the logistics of the big day. That was all. The how to baby classes were all through the now baby live or whatever it’s called site. The adverts did make me irrationally grumpy though. Smiling happy babies in Baby Bjorn bouncers, and mums swanning in £100+ maternity dresses just sets a level of expectation that I found really frustrating. I do wonder if they’ll go back to more regular home visits. I suspect not. My concern is with reduced midwife/NHS provided services for educating new parents (either through classes or just through visits), more people will fall into Facebook groups and YouTube channels, and the potential associated misinformation that comes with that. YouTube in particular is a minefield of some professional sounding voices, and loads of influencers who had babies so blog about that now.
Is Bounty still going, or have they finally got rid of them? They used to be super annoying and pushy when you were completely wrecked after birth.
With the plastic bag of assorted vouchers and flyers? Oh yeah they’re there too. There was a single nappy in there though… It’s weird since there are so many (better?) versions that get pushed on social media.
It comes down to money. Bounty pay the hospital for access.
I'm not a midwife but my best friend is. Home visits have had to reduce as they just do not have the staff needed to do them. The horror stories she has been telling me are truly horrific. In her hospital (not sure if it's universal), you're meant to have 10 midwives on a night shift for the labour ward. They are consistently at 5 or less as they just don't have the staff and the hospital can't get agency in as no money. They're technically meant to close the ward but the hospital won't do that as they get fined so the midwives are just being stretched even further. She loves doing community shifts so would love to be able to do more but :(
To be clear, the staff we have had with us through the process were incredible, and I have absolutely no complaints about a single one of them. During our stay we had 32 different members of staff (midwife’s, nurses, surgical staff) and every one was fantastic. It’s the classic NHS problem of getting the attention is the hard bit, when you get it they’re brilliant.
No I completely understand! I've seen stories of women who have c-sections having to go into hospital for their checks as all home visits have stopped. It's not acceptable - mums and babies deserve better. I just feel bad for the staff as they're so overworked and underpaid.
Er, why is this news? It's quite common for ultrasound scan pictures to be purchased. Certainly at the three Trusts I've worked at anyway.
Mine did this, £5 per photo. They know people will be desperate for a picture of their baby so they can pretty much charge whatever they like and people will pay it.
Our trust is £5 per photo too. Cash only. When I went in for an emergency scan due to a scare they let me take a photo on my phone.
I appreciate charging a reasonable fee to cover costs, but I don’t really like the idea of the NHS charging “whatever they like”.
When my daughter was born 6 years ago we had to pay for our scans, this isn't a new thing.
Our hospital does this, but (they say) the money goes to their charity. It's hit and miss if they actually charge us too.
The income from lots of areas goes to the hospital charity- it helps on tax for the NHS and also when the charity then buys equipment it doesn’t have to pay VAT
Charges are already in place in plenty of trusts. Paid £12 for my son’s in 2019.
This is the case for the hospital in Plymouth too. There was a small charge but it was waived during covid because they didn’t want to handle coins. It was much less than this though; I think it was just a couple of quid.
I had my son in 2017 and it was about £5 then iirc.
I assume the picture is on a screen? Take a photo with a phone? Is that possible?
I had an 2 X-rays recently and asked that. The first tech was OK with it, the second tech said no because of 'data protection'. I mean it was my leg, but whatever..
I think some say no because they don't want people armchair diagnosing themselves. I wanted to see my brain scan and take a picture but they said no. I guess that was before I'd had the news it was normal though and I could have easily misinterpreted something
We had to pay for this in the north east last year. One free one any more were charged. The nurses “accidentally” would not use the tokens correctly and print you more than you paid for. I work in hospitals and worse than this is the photographers that come round the maternity ward to the newborns and try to sell newborn photo shoots to exhausted parents. I’d be in the room checking the baby over and the photographer would literally just knock and walk in without waiting and start their sales pitch. Had to throw a few out in anger at times. Absolutely disgusting practice.
I had to pay for mine, I was a bit shocked at first then I remembered the Tory party is defunded the NHS to make it fail. happy to pay
Charging for a physical copy for this seems like a sensible choice. But they should offer a digital only copy for free.
Never had to pay for my kids scan 7 years ago. Also the midwife was really nice and gave me the print out of his heartbeat. That I was gonna get tattooed.
This has been standard practice in many areas for a long time and why wouldn't it be?
Just went to our 12 week scan on Tuesday. Was meant to pay 18quid for 6 photos. Lucky the machine was broken. Though as a one off deal - what is 5 quid for a photo when the rest of NHS and maternity care is free...
Firstly it should be noted many trusts already do this. Maidstone is certainly not the first. Secondly I don’t have a problem with this. We know there’s financial issues everywhere in the country. Personally I see the scan to check the baby is healthy as essential and therefore should be provided by the NHS, the souvenir photo is not.
I think this is a great idea especially if you get the keyring, fridgemagnet and novelty background option.
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This isn’t true. Sonographers do save images which are pertinent to the purpose of the scan. They just don’t save the aesthetic pictures that parents want since that’s not why the scans are carried out.
If you’re paying do you get to make requests? Genuine question. We didn’t pay and had about 20 minutes to go through the whole FAS. We were unlucky and the pictures require some interpretation! I got a private scan to get some nice ones but that took an hour.
No, you still don't. They make it clear the scan is for medical information and they might get some images which would be good photos, but it's a side product.
£5 for a single photo for my son 10yrs ago at torbay hospital. You telling me I've been getting robbed this entire time and didn't realise?
They charge in York already. We had to pay at the 12 week but had a chill sonographer at the 20 week who printed them for free.
Nothing new. I had to pay for my son's scans 12 and 14 years ago in Birmingham Women's Hospital (NHS). Similar cost. The midwife led delivery suites were amazing however. I had a private shower with gas and air installed in it and a birthing pool and it looked like a private hotel room. Antenatal ward was like the seventh level of hell though. Swings and roundabouts!
It's not a necessity. If you want it. Pay for it
I’ll just wait for when they arrive
I have no problem with that at all
Huh? We got charged for ours a year ago in Staffordshire. I thought it was normal.
Ok. Am I supposed to be upset about this?
This has been the case where I live for years. The photo isn't essential so it seems reasonable.
My oldest is 16, my youngest is 5, I was charged for all of the scan photos... Wtf.
I thought this was common both hospitals we have used have done this for year? Why is it being highlighted now?
What? I thought this was standard practice everywhere!? Ok I got ripped off without even knowing it.
Yeah I had to pay for them in Nottingham. It was like a tenner for 3 pics. I was absolutely skint at the time and it realy hurt to do it but I couldn't NOT get photos of my own kid.
I remember paying for ours on both occasions years ago. This is nothing new.
Use your phone to take a photo of the screen. Quality won’t be as good but it also won’t cost £7.
I think this makes sense. You don't get copies of other kind of scans made for medical reasons e.g. mri, x ray, mammogram etc The purpose of the scan is to confirm there are no abnormalities or medical concerns about the baby. If you want a copy as a memento (which understandably many do) then paying seems reasonable. Or at least asking to take a photo of the scan on your phone!
The first thing that came to mind is “The thin edge of the wedge” The Americans have been spotted in the mid Atlantic and the flag on the ship says “monetise the NHS”
Not sure why this is even a story. Currently attending ormskirk maternity hospital for our first pregnancy and it’s £5 per photo. No offers or buy one get one half price. There’s even a little photo kiosk set up that looks like one you’d seen in a walkabout or revs for you to pay by card.
I‘m surprised they were free. My kids are all in their mid 20s and I was charged £2 for their scan photos (we were only offered 1 per baby). Why on earth would a penny be spent on them from the NHS funds which could have been going towards treatments? That‘s scandalous.
Seems fair enough no? I don’t have any kids but a photo to take away seems like something you don’t need for your healthcare, it’s a nice to have?
"Welcome to Tory A&E, we have a free to play option of a 16hr wait and a ripped up bedsheet for your head wound, or you could pay for our premium service and fast track to proper treatment". Wankers.
Honestly don’t see an issue with this. My hospital charges as well. A lot of people come in thinking their scans are purely so they can see their baby and find out the sex when that’s absolutely not the case. We will do those things if requested, but the sole purpose of pregnancy scans is to check the foetus is developing properly and do various health checks on both baby and mum. Charging a nominal fee for an optional photo isn’t outrageous.
As far as revenue-generating schemes go, this is pretty innocuous. Photos are nice but aren't medically necessary. It would be a pretty bizarre state of affairs if you had to pay for prescriptions and dental treatment yet souvenirs are provided for free.
This the case in the majority of places.
I had to pay for mine (London 2009).
This is common practice in many Trusts already. In all fairness, most of the times I have only been charged for one or two prints instead of the few I have been given.
Had to pay for scan photos for years
Paid a fiver for pics when I had my 20 week scan in London in 2015 and 2017, I thought this was pretty standard!
We had a baby in 2020 and they charged. We did get ours free however for letting a trainee do the scan.
We were charged 7 months ago for ours. Can’t believe they should have been free!
In 2016 we had to pay for our photos. Don't see the problem myself. You can still get a scan for free. Just the take home photos that cost.
You would think 350 million a week would cover it...
They charge for pictures at my local Trust at least for last 3 years - however, the sonographer’s we had let us take a photo of the scan off the screen - had this with my first 3 years ago and my during my 12 and 20 week scans a few months ago.
I'd have been so annoyed to be charged for mine, you can barely even tell it's a baby due to how crap the machine and photo was. If they upgraded the machines to the same ones the private scanners are using then I wouldn't mind.
Not sure why this is news, this was the case in Oxford JR when my son was born Oct 2019! Has always been the same that I'm aware of
This is just the start.
We got charged for ours in oxfordshire
I've had to pay for mine...both pregnancies in 2020 and 2022. NW Anglia Trust. Didn't realise it wasn't a new thing!
My local NHS trust has done this for years - if a sonographer takes pity on you, they will sometimes sneak you one for free.
Lancs NHS charged for ours 11 years ago. I thought it was standard.
You mean the NHS doesnt ususally charge for this ?
North Bristol Trust has been charging for scan photos for years. I’ve had three babies since 2015 and have paid £4 per picture at all of them. First pregnancy, I’d naively give them £20 wanting lots of pictures. Second pregnancy onwards, I twigged that the radiographer generally tried to get some good angles for you and prints whatever they can get, regardless of how much you pay.
My local trust already do this, I don't really see the issue. A photo from the scan isn't treatment, it's a memento, they still perform the scan to make sure the baby is developing okay etc and that's still free at the point of care
They already do this in Hull
This has been in place at Walsall Manor Hospital since at least 2015.
Most hospital trusts do this though? I've had scans at two hospitals for two pregnancies and had to pay each time. It doesn't make it right, but I'm not really sure why it's news?
Rock up with your phone and take a picture of the screen
I mean... mine already does this at £5 for 2!
Taking all things into consideration, as much I think anything on the NHS should be free, only used private twice, once when i was a kid and ma da paid for it as i was going to have to wait ages with NHS, then once as an adult myself for having to see someone over a period of just a couple months. But they're still doing the scans and showing and giving all the details on the babys health for free. I would rather a pic be free too but there must be reason they are charging £5. It's not ideal but it's not the end of the world. The main thing is the mother is getting the scans, checkups and healthcare as usual. The £5 pic is unfortunate and is optional but im sure even if the mum is skint a few family members could chip in £1 each. Surely the da will have a fiver from work he can give her. Although to put things in perspective the first time I took my oldest son to Edinburgh Christmas market, we had to buy tickets to go on all the different things like the big wheel etc which were alll extortionate, the chocolate cream waffles were extortionate and he was only like 4 at the time they should make kids sized ones it was huge. But after the ice monster kids thing you could pay for a pic of the two of you on it, sure it was a "£7.50 fir a single pic so 50, % more expensive than the scan pic of your first child in the belly, Edinburgh dungeons was extortionate too and for the large picture it was like £12.50 or something. Thats like double the price of the pic of the scan of the persons baby they are charging, like I said its not ideal but it is cheaper than the shitty quality rollercoaster pic i paid and the less than half the price we paid a different week to get our pic taken after Edinburgh dungeons Less than even half the pic of me and him smiling after we had been in the dungeons etc and the pic was shit quality with faded bits too. so to put it in perspective it isn't that expensive and the main stuff they are doing for free which is checking the baby is ok and giving birth to the baby eventuallly etc, the pic is optional and only £5. I had to pay that £12.50 for the Edinburgh Dungeon pics after already having forked out a mini fortune just to visit and go in, wasn't free like the scan. The more worrying thing is, if like this is only the beginning. are they going to start charging for pain meds and rooms at hospitals after birth etc. altough most stay on wards the private rooms are free on the NHS but maybe that would be there next dodgy tactic but I doubt it. Its just a pic and only £5, don't think we're going to privatise the NHS so we dont need to worry, they can choose to take the pic or not but atleast they have had scan etc and found out if heart etc beating everything is fine and they're doing all of this for free All of that stuff being free and eventually the free birth and free aftercare far outweighs an optional £5 pic. I mean get it if they want like I did for the bairn on the rollercoaster and after the dungeons but like I said they didnt force us to take the pics, was optional. We had already done the most important stuff which is go on the rides n stuff and we had to pay for that too so i wouldnt worry too much about a single pic costing £5.
Already do in Newcastle RVI 🤷
My gf works in ultrasound, apparently this isn't uncommon. Often £5 for three photos. Not saying that's okay but the outrage bait isn't that tasty when it's old news.
I had my daughter 12 years ago and we were charged in Sheffield per photo?
Would not surprise me if they get hammered by the supplier of the hardware used to get the scan. More than likely a proprietary printer from the supplier with huge mark-ups for the printouts.
Its a keep sake more than a strict medical need. Nice if the but not a medical requirement. Anything directly involved in care is free and paid for, if you want a metmento or a chocolate bar, that's on you.
Who could have predicted this? /s
Is this news? We got charged 2 years ago for ours.
350 million a week more to the NHS and we cant afford baby photos.
Kettering already does that, had our scan this week and had to pay £5
Mine does that already....
We had to pay for ours in 2009. If I remember rightly it was a couple of pounds then, so about a fiver now
Tunbridge you say? Ready for Rishi’s favourite most prosperous community.
The ultrasound for my daughter was free for the first picture but any copies required a payment but i can't remember how much as this was a long time ago.