To ask if any medical people about

[SouthFrance11]

I have had a persistent cough for quite a few months now .Aware that probably nothing untoward and I’m not a smoker but if I was to pay privately rather than wait on nhs to have my lungs checked , what do I ask for ?Is it an X-ray of the lungs , or a scan
( regarding checking if there are any lesions)
Excuse my ignorance!

If you are in the UK, you need to start with a GP even if you intend to go private. They will refer you.

Have you been to gp yet? I was referred after a chest infection for an asthma assessment then xrays and scan on nhs. Seemed to be fairly quick.

Thanks so far . I haven’t been to gp yet
I was just assuming waiting would be months !

Chest x ray is normally a go to the gp, get a form take it to the hospital during working hours and wait job. Depending on the hospital it's often a walk in service.
Go to the gp and see what they say before worrying about private.

Go to the GP and see what they think might be going on. If they think it’s something sinister (such as lesions) then they’ll make you a referral in which you have 2 weeks to be seen by someone at the hospital. If they think it’s likely nothing to worry about but you need a referral you will obviously be waiting longer but at that point you could think about having any diagnostic tests (x-rays etc) privately

yes, go to gp.
they will probably listen to your chest and refer you on if neccessary. either 'just' for an x-ray or for further tests.
pretty much the same if you go private.

I am in no way intending to frighten you as the likelihood of there being anything wrong is very small, but The “Be Clear on Cancer” NHS advertising campaign suggests that anyone who has had a cough for longer than 3 weeks should see their GP. They will in all likelihood send you for a chest X-ray as the first investigation. I wouldn’t bother to do anything on a private basis at this stage.

I had a cough for about 2 months. I went to doctors they sent me straight to walk in centre the same day had an X-ray and had the results in a week (nothing luckily). Your health isn’t worth hanging around for :)

The usual route would be to go to your GP first and get them to refer you on for X-ray or consultation with a specialist etc (NHS or private).

If you have difficulty getting a GP appointment, some private hospitals also run a GP service where you can be seen and referred on - if you are considering going private, presumably you could afford this?

Thanks for the replies The only reason I was thinking of going private was for quickness ,
but from reading the above posts, it seems that the nhs may not take as long as I thought
I’ll go to my gp in the first instance and see if she thinks it’s anything to worry about