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Original poster

Can you have a private gp?

24 replies

battenburgHatday · 22/02/2022 17:17

That’s separate to your nhs one ?

Do you legally have to have a gp or can you deregister and just attend out of hours services if need medical care ?

OP posts:
resipsa · 22/02/2022 17:20

You aren't required to have a GP who works for the NHS. Or at all. Just a private one is fine if you are happy to pay and he/she has back up when away etc.

AnnaMagnani · 22/02/2022 17:30

You don't have to have an NHS GP at all.

However a private GP will not link you to any other NHS services such as District Nurses, physio, OT, dietitian, diabtes nurse etc etc etc.

They will also be referring you to private secondary care.

If you are fit and well and just want someone to check out your chest infection or UTI that's fine but if you need everything else that's GP linked it won't be.

lennybruceisnotafraid · 22/02/2022 17:30

Yes, keep your nhs one though, they won't know or care. You just pay each time you see them.

My NHS GP friend is a private one out of hours for virtual appointments (before Covid etc)

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Original poster
battenburgHatday · 22/02/2022 17:49

@lennybruceisnotafraid

Yes, keep your nhs one though, they won't know or care. You just pay each time you see them.

My NHS GP friend is a private one out of hours for virtual appointments (before Covid etc)

So you can keep it separate ? As in you could go to a private gp for an acute issue and they wouldn’t feed back to the nhs gp
OP posts:
Original poster
battenburgHatday · 22/02/2022 17:50

For example tonsillitis / eczema/ referral to somewhere and could just pay each time

OP posts:
MrsMoastyToasty · 22/02/2022 17:53

DH and I have private health care through his employee benefits scheme. They offer a private gp service.

Daenarys · 22/02/2022 17:53

Yes you absolutely can do the above but unless you have strong reasons to not let them share info with your nhs GP, I think its best to share info incase important for future care. Your GP wont be upset at you using a private GP!

mynameiscalypso · 22/02/2022 17:55

Definitely keep your NHS GP - they coordinate a lot of services. I think, for example, if you weren't registered with a GP then it was difficult to get Covid jabs originally. I use a mix of both. You can normally get same day or next day private GP appts easily and they can refer you on. They can write to your GP so it's all on your medical records or you can refuse them permission to contact them so it can be totally separate.

TooWicked · 22/02/2022 17:57

Yea, DH and I have a private GP. It costs about £25 an appointment iirc m, and they write to our NHS gp after each appointment to tell them why we visited, what they prescribed, who they referred us to, etc.

yorkshireteaspoonie · 22/02/2022 17:57

Yes you can keep them separate. I saw a private GP in lockdown for a missed miscarriage and continual bleeding when I couldn't get physically near a 'normal' GP. It was bloody lovely. Worth every bit of the £220 (tests are extra) for the peace of mind it gave me.

it was weirdly relaxing and like being in a posh hotel.

Bells3032 · 22/02/2022 18:08

I have an NHS gp and used private GPs when I couldn't get appts or felt ill over the weekend etc.

There's a few round here. No need to quit your NHS gp to use them.

britnay · 22/02/2022 18:22

Remember that any prescriptions from the private GP will have to be paid for at private rate. Some people get quite a shock at the pharmacy!

MyDcAreMarvel · 22/02/2022 18:24

@britnay depends which one , push doctor for example is normal nhs cost.

AnnaMagnani · 22/02/2022 18:29

Yes but tonsillitis/ezcema - you would be paying for a private script

Referral on somewhere - it would be a private not an NHS referral. So you would pay the GP for the referral and then pay for the appointment. Might as well just find a consultant and self fund from the off, unless insurance is covering everything.

It's easy to forget what the NHS is paying for.

I now have a job where occasionally I deal with the super rich who have never had any contact with the NHS - they are in shock when they discover there are some services that just don't exist in the private sector at all and they have to slum it and register with a GP for the first time.

red321 · 22/02/2022 19:07

Yes, I have a free private GP service through my AXA PPP health insurance. It's been a bit of a godsend as you can usually get video appointments that day or the next day.

From memory, I had to give consent for them to share any details with my NHS GP. So I believe you could withhold that consent if you wished.

red321 · 22/02/2022 19:08

Should add that the private referral system from the GP is quite slick, they send it directly to AXA electronically.

MichelleScarn · 22/02/2022 19:11

So you can keep it separate ? As in you could go to a private gp for an acute issue and they wouldn’t feed back to the nhs gp

Is it more about trying to conceal medical treatment then so it's not recorded?

Original poster
battenburgHatday · 22/02/2022 19:26

@MichelleScarn

So you can keep it separate ? As in you could go to a private gp for an acute issue and they wouldn’t feed back to the nhs gp

Is it more about trying to conceal medical treatment then so it's not recorded?

If you want to look at it that way then yes - I want some privacy and to get treatment when needed without judgement. I have the financial means to do so and just would like to be able to be treated well
OP posts:
AmberLynn1536 · 22/02/2022 19:45

I want to do this, I really dislike my GP and the practice, it would be so nice to see a GP who isn’t dismissive and doesn’t treat me like an idiot wasting their precious time on the very very odd occasion I have to visit him. Sadly I can’t find a private GP where I live.

MichelleScarn · 22/02/2022 19:50

By conceal I meant more of a doing it in order to hide something like a health condition or treatment you'd need to disclose for your job or something- is that not what the lorry driver re cardiac issues did in the horrible incident in Glasgow, which is wrong, just wanting privacy, of course thats different!

Original poster
battenburgHatday · 22/02/2022 19:53

@MichelleScarn

By conceal I meant more of a doing it in order to hide something like a health condition or treatment you'd need to disclose for your job or something- is that not what the lorry driver re cardiac issues did in the horrible incident in Glasgow, which is wrong, just wanting privacy, of course thats different!
Goodness no not for any reason like that ! I just feel judged by my nhs gp and have had enough of it !
OP posts:
MichelleScarn · 22/02/2022 20:17

Could you just change GP surgery or just ask to see another GP? But sod judgy GP do what's best for you especially if you can afford it!

yorkshireteaspoonie · 22/02/2022 20:24

I once paid to see a consultant rheumatologist through bupa as I couldn't get any consistent care from just one consultant through the NHS (after my original consultant retired I was allocated a series of locum type consultant doctors) which was a nightmare.

The doctor I paid to see privately in a bupa hospital also worked in my usual NHS hospital 5 minutes down the road (2 days private, 3 days NHS) when I explained my problem and lack of consistent care he had me transferred over to him within the NHS and I never had to pay to see him again. He's been my consultant ever since.

AnnaMagnani · 22/02/2022 20:45

If you feel judged by your NHS GP just change surgery. Or see a different GP.

Or honestly nowadays you don't see the same one each time so for a random problem might not see them again.

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