To ask is a private gynaecologist any better than an NHS one?

If you pay private you're more likely to get a consultant rather than a registrar. Do you know the seniority of the person you've been seeing? My experience is that you're pretty unlikely to see the consultant themselves - it's usually one of their "team" - usually a registrar or more junior doctor.

As said above, most private doctors are also NHS so it's possible you'd see the same person, just quicker, especially if you're already seeing the consultant. It's pretty unlikely you'd pay private to end up seeing a registrar or less.

Of course, you could ask your GP exactly who they'd be referring you to, ask why that person etc. Most decent GPs only refer to people they know and respect. I once got a referral to a heart specialist and the GP gave me a couple of choices of who he'd recommend, for different reasons. You could always check the GP wasn't referring you to the same person you're already seeing.

I couldn't even get a referral on the NHS!

I think the most important thing is finding someone who is a specialist in whatever your issues are (I realise that's not easy if you don't know what they are because you can't get a diagnosis )

They don't all do the same work on the NHS as they do privately. Mine was a as specialist in endometriosis and gynae cancers but no longer treated endo on the NHS. I sought him out because I had already had a laparoscopy and some treatment but was still in pain. My appointment wasn't rushed, he did an examination and agreed to do another laparoscopy. It was arranged at my convenience, the hospital was lovely and I wasn't rushed out afterwards. I was able to chat with him at the hospital about what he'd found and had a proper follow up at his office a week later, instead of waiting 6 weeks.

He was very thorough and found lots of scar tissue left behind by the previous doctor. Unfortunately due to being ignored by the NHS for 6 years I do have permanent damage, so I wish I'd seen him earlier.

Good luck, I hope can get some answers.

If you pay to see a private gynaecologist you will have a longer more detailed appointment and you could be fast tracked for treatment on the NHS

This was my experience. Worth it to calm my raging anxiety.

You will get most likely get everything done quicker. I went private for a hysterectomy as I couldn’t stand my condition any longer.

Yes yes and yes!
Private doctors will have ‘access’ to medical treatment and medication that simply isn’t available on the NHS. Not to mention the super quick wait times. But yes, totally worth the money

I had NHS and private (via work BUPA). Getting to a diagnosis was hellish and mostly private. The private guy referred me to a specialist gynae who only worked in the NHS. She told me that the time may come when I would need to the surgical route and that when that happened I should make sure I got a referral to a particular surgeon as he was local and one of the best in the country.

When the time came, my GP wouldn’t refer to him on the NHS. The GP was v old school (now thankfully retired as definitely one of those who didn’t believe in “women’s problems”) and said he would refer to whoever he felt was appropriate and it wasn’t up to me! Anyway BUPA stepped in and I got the referral that had been recommended.

So all in all, I would say private gives you choice, shortens the wait and will get to a solution rather than keep pushing you back to the GP if it isn’t obvious. But that choice is difficult to make without specialist knowledge.

No experience with gynaecology but this is my experience of going private:

Most consultants work both NHS and private. You actually want to see one who does both as a consultant who does private only is likely to be weird.

Going private - you get to choose who you see. Or at least we did as we are self- funding. Spend a lot of time researching who you want. So for example I wasn't getting seen at all for my severe migraine - going private, I saw the head of the migraine clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology with in a week. I was never ever going to get to see him on the NHS.

You get seen much much quicker although they do of course have holidays, they are still human beings!

They have very helpful and accessible secretaries.

If you need scans/surgery etc the wait is minimal. DH waited 18 months for supposedly urgent surgery on the NHS. Privately it was 3 weeks and they apologised for a wait which was absolutely beyond their control.

You get seen in weird clinics where there is always a coffee machine, and an array of posh magazines - Vogue, Tatler, Conde Nast Traveller. Instructions in the loos may be in Arabic.

You pay for everything. Depending on what you are going for, it can get very expensive, fast. However everyone we have ever seen has acknowledged we are self-funding and not taken the piss. A lot of piss-taking goes on if you are on insurance with unnecessary investigations, referrals and followups to boost up the money - I am a doctor and numerous consultants over the years have told me how the game is played.

Sitting in a waiting room once we saw an elderly lady explain how her lovely consultant still wanted to see her every 6 months to check her hip was OK - even non-medical DH whispered 'I bet he does, kerching!'

The ideal self-funding condition is one with minimal tests, and minimal follow up that once it's fixed you are done. A lifelong condition is spendy. However the bonus compared to the NHS is you see the same consultant each time, your appointment is never cancelled or postponed, you always get the right tests - you may think this is worth the spend.

Finally you aren't limited to what can be done in that clinic. They work in networks so you might see the consultant in one clinic, have a test somewhere else, and operation somewhere else and so on.

Generally they are NHS consultants doing private work.

I needed to see a Rheumatologist quickly, so used my private medical insurance to see one quickly and not wait the 3 months it would have taken.

He heads up the Rheumatology Dept at our local hospital, but does private work. I got my diagnosis from him quickly and then flipped back over to the NHS, but still see him now.

My mother also paid to see a consultant and he is an NHS consultant too.

@MiniMaxi Your comments about equipment are far from correct. In fact the opposite is usually the case. Someone in my extended family is having scans (ongoing) after having cancer and has been told by their oncologist (who works both NHS and privately) that the equipment in the NHS is (often) outdated. Private hospitals, especially those in London, invest in the latest technology. In fact there was something in the news only a few months ago about NHS hospitals being told to replace their 10 yr old outdated MRI and CT scanners. I agree that not ALL private hospitals are the best- there is a huge variation- but the bonus of private health cover is that usually you can go anywhere in the country- you choose your dr and the hospitals.

A large majority of private consultants will be the same than those in the NHS. There will be some who don't, most likely to be in London. You then need to sip through those who could be dodgy, those who got kicked out of the NHS, those who are only after the money.

You normally get diagnosed quicker because it means more money if it then leads on to needing surgery. Many patients assume that the ultimate end to their issue is surgery. It often isn't.

What you can do though is ask your NHS consultant to be referred to a specialist NHS hospital if they can't reach a diagnosis or know what treatment to offer. This would be a tertiary hospital, so most likely in the main cities. In some instances, GPs can refer directly to them, but in most cases, you need to be referred by a local consultant.

The wait can be long though as only a few of them. In this instance, it might be worth finding out who they are through your normal consultant and then seeing if they offer private clinics to. However, as already pointed, it can get very expensive if it requires surgery. Private consultants are not entitled to fast track their private patients to their NHS clinics. Some do, but more and more, this is being challenged and hospitals are at risk of not being paid for it, so hospitals are much more scrutinising this activity. A patient seen privately shouldn't be accessing NHS surgery quicker than someone who didn't have the funds to see the consultant privately for the initial consultation.

Gynaecology is a wide area so seeing someone with a special interest in your particular problem is key.

Some conditions are very tricky to diagnose and treat so the NHS doctor may be absolutely correct in their approach.

However the speed, or not, of all of this can be utterly unacceptable. I saw my GP for an issue last May, appointment finally arrived to see consultant in November. She ordered an MRI which was done quickly but the follow up isn’t until Feb. That’s just to find out if we have any diagnosis at all.

In the interim I saw a private consultant who gave me an injection which was initially very successful. Unfortunately I needed to continue with the NHS in the longer term because private investigations and repeat appointments become very expensive.

So do your research, find someone with your issue as their subject and see them privately. Then if possible take along all scans etc you’ve already had (request from NHS hospital). It should at least speed up this painfully slow process.

I was referred to a gynaecologist and did the self booking thing. Ended up going to a private hospital and had all my treatment there through NHS. It was the same person I would have seen had I opted for my local NHS hospital.
I’m currently seeing a knee consultant again at a private clinic via NHS. 1st appointment 5 days after seeing GP, at 8pm, gas xray, exam, consultation, then had MRI in the same place 3 days later (Saturday at 7pm.) have booked my next consultation for this Saturday afternoon. She said at my initial appointment that I’ll probably need surgery and she’s be able to do it by the end of January. All on the NHS.

OP I think if you have the money, go for it. However, you can also ask for a second opinion on the NHS. Just all to be referred to another hospital. Yes longer waiting times perhaps but if you get answers, then fine.
For eople don't they see consultant on private and then get fastracked on NHS, the consultants should not be doing that as it's ethically not right to fast track someone because they've paid you separately. As it's unfair for those who can't pay.

,@JinglingHellsBells This is the same in the NHS. If your unable to tolerate local 9r no meds for hysterescopy, you get booked an appointment with GA

The gynaecologist I saw privately also worked for the NHS. The differences were -

• I could choose which consultant to see from the insurer-approved list (so I chose one with a 'special interest' in my problem)
• I saw her within two weeks, rather than the four months it would have taken on the NHS.

My appointment lasted about 40 minutes and cost £200. She scheduled the surgery I needed there and then. It was great, but I couldn't have afforded it if I hadn't had medical insurance through work.

If you have a local private hospital, ring & ask if they have an NHS contract for gynaecology, if they have it means you can be referred by your GP there instead of AN NHS hospital, you will be treated exactly the same as a private patient but the NHS will foot the bill, it is done to keep waiting lists down, gynaecology, orthopaedics, general surgery are the main ones that have big waiting lists & are contracted out. If you need any scans or tests these are done at the private hospital, much quicker than having to wait to be seen at the NHS, often the private hospitals have newer equipment as well & will be doing new surgical methods before the NHS, minimally invasive surgery. When I had my hysterectomy 10 years ago, very few women got it done laparoscopically on the NHS & most women were in hospital a minimum of 3 nights, mine was all done & dusted from being admitted to going home in less than 16 hours.

Often the same person as others have said, one thing I have found is that tests happen quicker as the appointment can be made there and then. Bloods can be run immediately. There seems to be a smoother simpler system in private hospitals, the consultants secretary can immediately access theatre slots to book you in, where as in the NHS it has to be referred to a central booking department.

I have seen both a private and an NHS dermatologist. It was the same man.

I had to have a few tests that the NHS probably wouldn’t have sprung for and he said the relapsed rectocele wasn’t bad enough for surgery and would almost certainly get better on its own if I lost weight. Which was true (have lost 2 stone and rectocele no longer an issue). If an NHS gynaecologist had said that, I’d have worried it was a money saving decision, but as the private gynaecologist knew I had insurance who would happily pay for surgery, I found it reassuring that he didn’t suggest having it operated on.

@JinglingHellsBells Yes, I do forget that, as I dealt with the consultants who had both. Thinking about it, some of the referrals he handed me were from colleagues at his private practice, so it could still be possible to be referred back into the NHS quickly where it was necessary.

Have limited experience so far but I would say:

Pros of private:

• Choose who you see
• Always see a consultant (make sure they are NHS and private, generally better regarded than people who are “private only”)
• Much faster diagnosis
• Much faster treatment, no waiting for appointments etc

Cons of private:

• If you need surgery the private hospitals are often actually not as well set up with latest equipment etc as the NHS ones (may not be true across the board but has been in my case)

FWIW I do think it’s worth going private for quick diagnosis and you can then either get treated privately or use the diagnosis to show your GP what the problem is and get NHS treatment you need

I had a private gynaecologist for initial infertility covered by DHs work. The difference was it was a lot quicker, we did the semen test quickly at a clinic on Harley St. we paid for that separately and just did everything concurrently rather than being made it wait. They also referred us to genetics for a family genetic issue
Via the NHS.

I saw a gynaecologist privately after my rectocele repair started to break down - I have private insurance through work. All it meant was that I saw him in a posh clinic within a week - he did NHS work too, I might very well have seen him anyway if I’d waited for the NHS referral. He was no better or worse than the NHS gynaecologist I saw previously - both were lovely kind gentle men.

@MitziK Bear in mind that not all private consultants work in the NHS. Mine used to but doesn't any more and is 100% private. This allows them more flexibility with treatment as they are not bound by NHS 'rules'. Many do split their work, but not all.