Surgery - going private

[Curiouscucumber]

Has anyone paid privately for surgery? What was the time scale between seeing a consultant and getting the surgery? Could you choose when to have the surgery? What was the aftercare like?

I haven't had surgery privately but did see a surgeon privately. Generally the time scale is quick I could of had surgery within 2-3 weeks and the price would have included aftercare.
I would have gone privately but don't have the ten thousand pounds to share. I am now waiting to see the same surgeon on the nhs. It's been 10 months and I haven't seen him let alone been out on the waiting list. I would definitely go privately if I could afford it.

I’ve had lots of operations done privately and the wait has been between a few days and a month.
Aftercare has always been excellent.

Yes I could choose, we worked around my holidays and other commitments.

Hi op, l’ve done this twice. I always pick a senior NHS specialist and try to have the operation in the private wing of an NHS hospital. Care and recovery excellent both times.

Once the wait was 5 days, the other about a month

Does having private medical insurance count.

DH has needed a lot of consultations and medical procedures over the last few years. Most specialists and consultants are available to see at a day or twos notice. We have sometimes waited an extra day or to to see then at a local surgery rather than travel into London (most work at different locations on different days each week)

Procedures/surgery available to book as soon as you like. Sometimes need to wait a few days to get a second opinion especially when the 'presenting problem ' crosses across specialisms.

This is fine while I remain in employment. I suspect the NHS is being run down so it can be sold off to US investors. I'd much prefer the social insurance model that Germany or France use.

Dh had surgery in the nhs hospital private wing 2 weeks from seeing the surgeon. Room nice, food normal nhs menu, no aftercare, no follow up letter sent, had to fight to get take home analgesia, post op nurse, pharmacist and pain team didnt bother seeing him despite being guaranteed they would.
I had a teeny cyst removed in a private bupa hospital as a half day case and got treated like royalty.
I think it also depends on what surgery you are having and what emergency services they have if you nerd them.

I suspect the NHS is being run down so it can be sold off to US investors.

I work in healthcare in the US and keep seeing this on MN. It makes no sense to me. Why would an investor want to own a broken NHS? It's a money pit with unhappy patients and staff.

My father in law ended up paying for heart surgery (stent) some years ago, because he was in hospital for weeks and weeks waiting, and the problem is that the NHS will not have anything to do with any follow up or anything connected to it now, even a few years later.

In my experience the surgery can be a lot quicker than the NHS. You don't have total choice - if your surgeon operates on a Monday, that's your day and you won't get a Friday.

To have the best aftercare - choose the hospital they usually work at, NHS or private. They will know the staff and the staff will know how the surgeon likes things done. Ask for personal recommendations, eg ask your GP who they would have do the surgery. They'll know local. Don't fall for the best being in Harley St.

If you're self paying, get a package where you can or a detailed quote as the costs can very quickly mount up. It's some time ago - I worked for BUPA. Assume the hospital bill to be about 2-3 times the surgeon's and the anaesthetist about 2/3-3/4 of the surgeon's

I had a tummy tuck privately; the wait was about 9 months but only because of lockdown and the ban on non-essential procedures.

The aftercare was awesome; I had an infection and was seen 2/3 times a week for as long as needed at no cost.

I've had a vein removed and an ablation done privately.

Quick turn arounds but I didn't have much choice on the dates.

I did get to choose the consultant though. For my ablation I only wanted a female surgeon so this was very important

It was 2 weeks for me, and well worth it. Aftercare was only a quick check in (laparoscopic surgery) but I healed well and was overall very happy with the experience

The current NHS purchases medical equipment and medical drugs from manufacturers as a single entity. As a large purchaser, it has a lot of clout to drive down the price it pays for drugs from those manufacturers.

Many European (and possibly other, I only know about European) purchasers negotiate prices as NHS plus x%.

If the NHS were broken up, it would no longer have this kind of power to drive down prices. Manufacturers would benefit because the overall cost of medical equipment and supplies would rise, not only in the US but across all the countries who use NHS plus pricing.

Breaking that kind of market power would be very attractive to investors who include medical manufacturers in their portfolio. Costs in the USA are significantly higher than in other countries. Anyone who buys travel insurance knows how much higher cover is required for the USA.

HTH.

Hysterectomy - 3 weeks.

@MissConductUS

Sorry, forgot to tag you in my answer above.

I had a (cartilage) labrum repair and I saw a consultant within a month, 5 days to MRI, then I chose the best date for the operation to fit in with me, aftercare excellent as I did have a problem. Cost 8K including MRI

If I was having it on the NHS it was with the same consultant and the wait time was two years.

Twice.
Took around 2 wks from consultation to surgery.
Expensive, yes...but...private room with ensuite, no "visiting hours" as such, amazing meals, lovely friendly staff who had time to talk to you and explain stuff and came running if you hit the buzzer.
If I need planned surgery again, I'd always go private - worth every £

If the NHS were broken up, it would no longer have this kind of power to drive down prices. Manufacturers would benefit because the overall cost of medical equipment and supplies would rise, not only in the US but across all the countries who use NHS plus pricing.

Prices in the US are in no way tied to what the NHS is willing to pay. The only American companies who would have any experience applicable to running something like the NHS are the big hospital chains, who would suffer from rising prices. A medical device manufacturer or pharmaceutical company (or someone who invests in them) that would benefit from rising prices would have no notion of how to run the NHS and would then own a massive money-losing operation regulated by a foreign government that they can't walk away from. I'm not sure the UK could give it away, much less sell it.

This also presumes that somehow your government can sell part of itself to an overseas investor. It still seems wildly far-fetched to me.

@MissConductUS

would have no notion of how to run the NHS

There is no suggestion that any investment companies would be running the NHS. The whole point is that the NHS would be dismantled. There would be no concept of a NHS and its returns to scale would be lost.

Medical services would be available to anyone who can afford to pay at US cost levels and would provide brilliant service. Those who cannot would, well, queue.

Costs overall would rise toward US levels.

It's not really a question of the government selling parts of the NHS to investors. The NHS is run down leaving space for ever more providers to move into the gap created by lack of NHS provision.

The providers who move in have higher costs and hence charge more than the NHS would cost to the government.

As illustrated by this thread.

@MissConductUS

From referral to surgery - about 2 weeks and excellent aftercare. It would have been quicker but certain scans needed to be done first.

I had an op on insurance.

Waitlist on nhs was over a year for what I was having done, going private my op was done within 5 weeks

Not quite the same, but I had cataracts removed because the NHS wait was two years. I had a phone consultation in August, an initial consultation a week later, a consultation with the surgeon the week after that and the procedure the week after again. After care was three follow up visits and lots of eye drops.

So your fear, as stated previously, that I suspect the NHS is being run down so it can be sold off to US investors is not actually a concern. If the NHS were "dismantled" what would happen to the parts? Would all of the hospitals, surgeries, labs, radiology centers, etc. simply shut down and let go of all of their staffs?

Post dismantlement, where would those who could not pay privately queue for care?

As evidenced by this thread, you already have private medical providers in the UK, who presumably have lower costs somehow than US providers. If they can do a knee replacement for 10k quid, why would someone pay 15k to have it done by a US based provider? If American companies can't compete in the UK market, they will fail. If they can compete, you're better off by having more choices.

It's not because of some nefarious plan on the part of US investors or healthcare companies that the NHS is underfunded and has bonkers waiting lists, which creates a need for private medical care.