This is a bit of a saga but it might help you weigh up a few things that might be factoring into your decision

I originally went private because I had heard many bad things about the local public hospital. I had also had a rather unpleasant experience in a shared ward in a public hospital (not the same place) when I had my appendix out so I decided I wanted the benefit of a private room and my husband to stay with me.

When DS2 was born we had moved further out and as we still had PHI, the closest hossie to us was private and the same OB worked there too so we went there. I was labouring in the bath and due to the no birthing in the water policy I was dragged out by the armpits when I started pushing.

When I was newly PG with DS3 the flashy new public hospital opened but it was a low risk facility which meant they wouldn't take me because I had a retained placenta and a PPH with DS2. Had they taken me I would have gone there without a doubt because they have nice big baths that they let you birth in. I also considered going to a different public hospital because of being dragged out of the bath and I was still a tad bitter, but because DS2 came rather quickly I decided we didn't need the stress of birthing in the car on the way there. So we went back to the same private hossie.

So when DD was born we went back to the same hossie, again for the same reasons. My OB didn't make it for the birth but did when I had a PPH 2 hours later.

In 4 pregnancies I only had 2 appointments rescheduled due to him attending a birth which I think was pretty good. I did have a few times when there was a bit of a wait but after having him tend to me with 2 complications post birth for hours, I totally understand why they run behind some days.

The fees can be quite a shock to the system I agree but they all go toward your safety net.