The secrets of Britain’s poshest maternity ward
Dom Perignon, lobster and oysters on demand A countess gynaecologist dubbed ‘too posh to pull’... The birth that cost half a million pounds
WITH its plush suites, an afternoon tea menu to rival that at The Ritz and Dom Perignon available on request, the Portland sounds like a luxury five-star hotel.
But women checking in for a few nights are not there to be pampered – they are there to give birth.
The Portland, Britain’s only private maternity hospital and a place chosen by the Duchess of York, Victoria Beckham and Middle Eastern royals, is set to give the public a tantalising glimpse behind its doors.
A new documentary reveals an institution that prides itself almost as much on its à la carte menu as its medicine, and where whole delivery suites are refurbished at vast expense for just a few days’ stay.
It even boasts an obstetrician, Penelope Law, who is a countess. In an amusing twist on the ‘too posh to push’ label sometimes applied to women who have caesareans, Dr Law is teasingly described by colleagues as ‘too posh to pull’.
But a stay at the Portland does not come cheap – couples shell out at least £10,000, while the bill for one birth was a staggering £500,000.
It is a far cry from the experience of most women, who must deal with busy NHS labour wards.
The team behind Inside The Portland, to be screened on BBC2 next month, were granted rare access to the hospital for nine months last year. Chief executive Janene Madden, herself a ‘Portland mum’, told them: ‘It’s like having a holiday.’
After birth, babies can be cared for in the hospital’s nursery, leaving mothers to enjoy their suites and haute cuisine in peace. ‘After three nights, you leave here fit and ready to face those challenges of being a new mum,’ said Ms Madden.
The hospital’s hotel services manager, Paul Tuley, said mothers were regularly served lobster and oysters, adding: ‘We have a fantastic champagne selection too. Not every hospital stocks Dom Perignon.’ Chinese ‘It’ girl Pui, the wife of a shipping magnate, said she chose The Portland because her ‘icon’ Victoria Beckham did so too.
Running up a £40,000 bill, she was asked how she would have coped with birth if she had no money. ‘You’re kidding me!’ she responded. ‘I’d have died straightaway!’
But her costs were nothing compared to what The Portland classes as its ‘VVIPs’. Ms Madden added: ‘I’ve seen someone spend over half a million. If they want to have 20 additional rooms, we’ll provide it.’