to think that the NHS could learn from private helathcare?? (mosschops fantastic experience)

[mosschops30]

I know people will say its about money ....BUT ....

after being butchered by the NHS, by being subjected to what amounts to abuse by some power hungry midwife and being constantly ignored by people, but getting PTSD and having therapy and oodles of support from my Gynae I plucked up the courage to have a hysteroscopy and mirena under GA.

Those of you that are familiar with the story will know how hard it was for me to make that decision, and how terrified I was about being a patient again.

So in I went yesterday and it all worked perfectly I was shown to my room, then my nurse introduced herself, my anaesthetist came to see me, explained what he was going to use, I asked if I had to be intubated and he said he could manage my airway if I prefered, which I did (he knew about the PTSD but said he wouldnt mention anything on the day). Then my consultant came to see me, did consent form and then i walked down to theatre with dh, my nurse and theatre nurse (in my robe and slippers provided lol funny to me as an NHS worker).
The anaesthetic was so quick I didnt have time to escape (all part of the plan he told me later), cannula was in and drugs given within 60 seconds I would say. Then I woke up in recovery about half hour later.

Now I know the room was clean, and I had my own bathroon, the menu and food was lovely, I loved the flat screen tv and robe and slippers.

But most of all I liked that everyone did what they said they were going to do, no one had forgotten how scared I was, no one questioned why dh was there with me, my nurse was constantly checking my pain levels and had no problems in getting drugs signed and administered within minutes. It was all stuff that should be done all the time by every hospital.
Every member of staff who looked after me yesterday played a huge part in my recovery (mentally and physically) they have restored my faith in the medical and nursing professions.

It was perfect

Private healthcare isn't wonderful. They will happily take your money and give you a hotel like room to sleep in and fawn over you a bit more because you're paying for it but the care isn't necessarily any better.

Are you aware that private hospitals spend less per head on patient care than the NHS does? Also they don't have to follow any safety guidelines at all.

Does anyone remember the scandal in 1999 at the Portland Hospital? A 31 yo mother, Lara Touche, died after giving birth to her twins via caesarean simply because she didn't receive basic nursing care. The hospital staff didn't bother to carry out any post-operative checks on her after the birth. They just dumped her in her room and left her for two and a half hours. She developed high blood pressure, no one found out until it was too late and she died of a bleed on the brain. She was transferred to the national hospital for neurology and neurosurgery, an NHS hospital but it was too late. If she had been in an NHS hospital she would have been checked every 15 minutes after surgery. I'm sure Mrs Touche's husband and 11 yo old boys think that the £6000 they paid for the private treatment was well worth it when they don't even provide basic nursing care as part of it. I wonder how much extra basci care is on top of the £6k.

You had a bad experience with the NHS and that is a tragedy. I've had a few health issues that the NHS has had to sort out and I have to say that you wouldn't get treatment like I've had free, anywhere in the world. They have ben wonderful.

Also, private hospitals are regulated through the 1984 Registered Homes Act, which puts them on a par with nursing homes. There is no obligation on them to match the clinical standards of the NHS. 90% of private hospitals are unable to provide adequate intensive care backup.

Private hospitals are under no obligation to have anyone more senior than a junior doctor on site and that many of the nurses working in private hospitals are unused to dealing with emergencies.

Give me an NHS hospital any day.

Mosschops, glad it went well. I have followed your posts with interest as I am also an NHS HCP who experienced shite maternity care.

Being treated like a human can make you come over unreasonably grateful when you have tried the alternative - pain relief being given, in decent doses, when you need it, goes a huge way to make the experience less unpleasant. Hope your recovery goes well.

Mosschops, so glad it went well.

On the general issue, yes some people in some parts of the NHS could do far more to support patients. But private healthcare can be ruddy scary. A1980's post isn't the only example of appalling care at the Portland. Google will find a few others.

And my Godmother has been left permanently disabled after crap nursing care post-surgery caused a serious pressure ulcer. AND she had to pay £12k for the privilege. At least if the NHS screws up, they don't raid your bank account while they are at it.

I'm glad it all went well and you were looked after sensitively.

But for critical care I would always always want to be in an NHS hospital.

Without going into it in too much detail, my husband's mother is waiting for the results of tests that could diagnose cancer. She has suffered for 2 years when a very fundamental piece of information was missed in her notes and was given drugs which have exacerbated her illness for the last 2 years.

My mother was sent home from hospital with 2 broken bones which had not been set correctly and would have left her with a permanent limp if she had not demanded a second opinion.

I has a nasty brush with MRSA after a small skin graft, and was left with more scarring than if I had not gone into hospital at all.

I also had an EMCS which, along with the labour and subsequent recovery had numerous issues which would have warranted formal complaints if I was so inclined. For example - I had my spinal block run out while the doctors were trying to figure out what they had cut that was bleeding so much. There was insufficient nursing care to accompany me to see my new baby, so when I was taken by family I was cable-tied to the bed by my catheter tube when I returned by ward staff in order to prevent me from straying again without their permission. And so on.

OTOH, I have also had some good run-ins with the NHS over the years. I've highlighted the above situations to show that while you can find awful private situations, you can also find plenty of examples of poor NHS treatment too.

However, what this thread was originally started as was a statement that the NHS could learn a few things from the private sector. Not that the NHS should copy the private sector in every way, or that the NHS is rubbish, but that there are aspects of their operation that the NHS could improve if they adopted some of the attitudes of private healthcare.

YAY! I'm so glad it went smoothly.
It sounds just like my hysteroscopy experience. So much communication and care and that amazingly speedy anaesthetic. Don't suppose you were at the Portland too, were you? (They rock, IMHO).

On the question of private v NHS , I actually think the NHS does a pretty good job. But IME when you go private the staff have a lot more time to talk to you and treat you like an individual, which I think makes for better care (in terms of the softer stuff iyswim). The NHS can be a bit sausage-factory like at times (due I expect to pressure on resources), even if the clinical care is often very good.

op misses the obvious fact private health select pts.nhs cannot

the risk transfer is therefore less.deterioration in presentation returned to nhs if they cannot fulfil clinical needs

private health scheme can assess,review and determine whether or not to accept

nhs cannot