Would you pay for private A and E?

[Albertslittletie]

I’ve had three horrible A and E visits that have left me with PTSD and health anxiety. I’ve got private insurance with BUPA but I was thinking, if there was a way to pay for private A and E, I would.

i hate myself for thinking that because im just falling into the Tory plan but is the NHS ever going to recover? I don’t know.

would private hospitals take the strain and wait times down for regular hospitals or would they just start reducing funding for them and make them shit and then healthcare becomes worse for those who can’t afford it?

curious for thoughts.

Several of the private hospitals near us do have an A n E but I don’t think it’s for serious issues. They wouldn’t have a heart specialist there, for example, but could probably treat minor conditions.

There is not. There is urgent care. Anything life threatening still goes through NHS A&E even if you have very expensive health insurance.

Always surprises me how many people are willing to pay for private medical pay but aren't willing to pay more tax that could fund a better functioning NHS.

Where are the private A&E in the UK?

This systen works well overseas so why not in UK?

I don’t think YOU actually understand what PTSD is! Like a lot of people you think it just applies to veterans and wrongly mock anyone else who uses the term. Well I have news for you-it can happen to anyone who has a seriously traumatic incident-I had one myself and yes the clinical psychologist said it was PTSD . -so shut up and sit down.

Yes I would.
I've just purchased private health insurance for the family after my treatment for a broken ankle with the NHS. If private A&E was available (although I don't think it will be) I would be adding it to the policy.

Hong Kong has what is called private 24 hour urgent care- it’s basically for things like if your dc has a respiratory thing that suddenly got worse or you have a kidney stone attack or you broke a limb or cut your head open and need stitches. if you were run over or had a heart attack or other life threatening thing you’d still get sent to the government hospital but I guess it takes the strain off the government A&E if the more minor cases self pay if they can.

Don't worry private healthcare will never ever provide A&E. Unpredictable serious conditions, 24-7 access it's never going to be profitable. Private hospitals are set up for predictable stuff. If anything goes wrong they send it to the NHS anyway

You need a large private hospital with all the necessary specialisms to make a private A and E possible.
It would be expensive.

@ToxicChristmas there is no private A and E.

Yes, I'm well aware.

The question was WOULD you, to which I answer yes, I would. I also said I don't think there ever will be.

Also, not the point of the thread I know, but if you have a condition that can be treated by an Urgent Care / Treatment center I would really recommend going to one (NHS or private).

They are really very good, average wait time in NHS Urgent Care is usually under 2 hours. They can do ECGs / bloods / X-rays, manage broken bones, non-life threatening cuts that might need stitching, fevers / rashes. They're often attached to hospitals but will transfer you directly to an alternative treatment center if needed so you don't need to go through A&E usually. And it avoids unnecessary A&E visits which makes A&E better generally.

I'd happily pay £5/10 a month into a pot that goes directly to nhs with no government taking it todo as they please. if everyone done that things would drastically improve I should think.

This will never ever happen. Private healthcare is about making a profit and the cost of a private A and E would mean the premiums would be so ridiculously high that only the highest earners in the whole country could afford them.

SlightlygrumpyBettyswaitress - you are not too old ! I am same age as you and I pay £80 a month with £250 excess so not bad at all - although I have no pre-conditions and am not on any medications -

For all those saying 'yes please' well how much do you think it would cost?
My guess would be a couple of thousand for something basic like broken wrist and tens of thousands for something more serious like broken back or heart attack.

@tillyandmilly by your age most people have at least one pre condition, even if it is a common one like asthma.

@tillyandmilly and £250 access means there is no point using it for a private GP visit.

What if the insurance won't pay for the treatment ? Who pays then ?

There's definitely a private A&E in London but outside of the capital, I'm not sure.

Yes. I would, happily. The current system is not working

I'm guessing you're all fit and healthy. My FIL had private health insurance most of his life and, luckily, was healthy and barely needed it. Once he got old, and started developing some old age illnesses his insurance company would no longer insure him and neither would anyone else. So despite paying for private health insurance for decades, almost all of the healthcare he ever received in his life was delivered by the NHS.

@Rumpoleoftheballet it is an urgent care centre. NHS has urgent care centres as well. Broken bones and stitches, not anything life threatening.

@Kendodd People forget they are businesses. They want you to pay more in premiums than they ever pay out.
Most healthcare is in the early years of your life - birth through to five years old, and the last years of your life as you start to get more serious health problems.

A&E is not the problem. A&E is actually one part of the NHS that is still good. The problem with A&E is that there are not enough hospital beds for them to send patients to once they’ve decided that they need admission to hospital. And the other issue is that there isn’t enough district nurse/GP/care in the community that would take pressures off A&E.