To ask is a private gynaecologist any better than an NHS one?

[SinisterBumFacedCat]

Had an ongoing painful problem for over 2 years now, regularly see the local gynae specialist but have yet to be diagnosed or treated, she has just ruling out what it isn’t and trying various things which either haven’t worked or just irritated more. Been scanned and referred to urologist (hah! 9’months wait for appointment and was discharged while coming round from anaesthetic).

I’m now wondering about going private. But if I’m going to be seen by a gynaecologist with the same training/knowledge as an nhs is it worth the money? Is there more access to diagnostic testing and treatments, or will it be limited to what they can provide at that particular clinic? I’d like to get proper help if it’s out there, but also don’t want to throw money at it only to have an expensive gynaecologist shrug their shoulders at me and end up ultimately back at the nhs with no diagnosis and poorer. Anyone else had good or bad experience in private gynaecology, did it finally get you a diagnosis, or was it a waste of money? Also be interested to hear from gynaecologist working in nhs and private. Thanks.

Do it if you can. Hospital care is better with private rooms. You get longer consults and more options. My hysteroscopy was done under ga with no quibble on NHS it would not have been ga and would not have been a good experience. My consultant saw me at rooms near to me for my convenience. If you can access private care it's a different world

As others have said going private enables an increase in choice for both you and the consultant you see. Unlike the NHS, where they are restricted by the recommended pathways - they can get all the diagnostic tests done at the same time allowing a more holistic view of what’s going on - which lets them propose the most effective treatments earlier. Your choice is o who you see, when and where.

@EnlightenedOwl Just to put the other side.... :)
I had a private hysteroscopy and the main thing for me was being given the choice over GA or not. (This was with my gynae who I've seen for years.) I chose not to have a GA and on the day I was offered a local if necessary or abandon it all and re arrange with a GA if needed.

I chose no pain relief etc and it was fine, partly as he is a superb dr and was very patient gaining access!

When I worked for a gynaecologist, the usual thing was that I'd be processing the referrals to send to Appointments and then he'd pass me another GP referral letter and tell me to book her in on the next available appointment - it would be somebody who had seen him privately but he was now adding onto his NHS list (as they have/had the right to do).

Essentially, if they paid to see him, he'd do the first consultation and then tell them what they could access on the NHS - if it was suitable for their needs/wishes, he'd see them there instead and if not, they'd stay private patients.

The other advantages are shorter wait, convenient appointments that actually happen within 5 hours of the appointment time (or at all), not having to deal with Registrar gatekeeping - which largely seems to be in my experience being told there's nothing wrong with you, you stupid woman, you're clearly mentally ill to think that you've got an autoimmune disease that you've been treated for since you were a child, read up on fibromyalgia and go on a diet - then they deign to look at your notes and say 'oh, you have been treated by a consultant for this before. Would you like a steroid injection now or would you like to see the consultant first?' - and no sitting in knackered seating (if there is any/that isn't occupied by non patients) with ten other clinics all running 3 hours behind in the same area, including multiple screaming children, somebody eating McDonalds and three elderly and at best confused patients dumped in the general area in hospital gowns asking random people for help to go to the toilet.

Gynae also tends to share space with Antenatal in the NHS - which means social deprivation effects upon the general atmosphere (thinks back to days where discreetly rescuing scared older ladies and leading them to my office for safety when there were ex partners, GM-to-be and current partners meeting outside the ultrasound room people expressing displeasure over injunctions, care proceedings and 'It's nothing to do with you, you aren't going on the birth certificate' discussions broke out ).

Not that I could ever afford it, but if I could, private healthcare would be my choice. Just to avoid having to deal with the limitations of the NHS at close range. And the inherent sexism of people who wouldn't be like that if their income depended upon treating you as a competent human being.

@MitziK Bear in mind that not all private consultants work in the NHS. Mine used to but doesn't any more and is 100% private. This allows them more flexibility with treatment as they are not bound by NHS 'rules'. Many do split their work, but not all.

I saw a gynaecologist privately after my rectocele repair started to break down - I have private insurance through work. All it meant was that I saw him in a posh clinic within a week - he did NHS work too, I might very well have seen him anyway if I’d waited for the NHS referral. He was no better or worse than the NHS gynaecologist I saw previously - both were lovely kind gentle men.

I had a private gynaecologist for initial infertility covered by DHs work. The difference was it was a lot quicker, we did the semen test quickly at a clinic on Harley St. we paid for that separately and just did everything concurrently rather than being made it wait. They also referred us to genetics for a family genetic issue
Via the NHS.

Have limited experience so far but I would say:

Pros of private:

• Choose who you see
• Always see a consultant (make sure they are NHS and private, generally better regarded than people who are “private only”)
• Much faster diagnosis
• Much faster treatment, no waiting for appointments etc

Cons of private:

• If you need surgery the private hospitals are often actually not as well set up with latest equipment etc as the NHS ones (may not be true across the board but has been in my case)

FWIW I do think it’s worth going private for quick diagnosis and you can then either get treated privately or use the diagnosis to show your GP what the problem is and get NHS treatment you need

@JinglingHellsBells Yes, I do forget that, as I dealt with the consultants who had both. Thinking about it, some of the referrals he handed me were from colleagues at his private practice, so it could still be possible to be referred back into the NHS quickly where it was necessary.

I had to have a few tests that the NHS probably wouldn’t have sprung for and he said the relapsed rectocele wasn’t bad enough for surgery and would almost certainly get better on its own if I lost weight. Which was true (have lost 2 stone and rectocele no longer an issue). If an NHS gynaecologist had said that, I’d have worried it was a money saving decision, but as the private gynaecologist knew I had insurance who would happily pay for surgery, I found it reassuring that he didn’t suggest having it operated on.

I have seen both a private and an NHS dermatologist. It was the same man.

Often the same person as others have said, one thing I have found is that tests happen quicker as the appointment can be made there and then. Bloods can be run immediately. There seems to be a smoother simpler system in private hospitals, the consultants secretary can immediately access theatre slots to book you in, where as in the NHS it has to be referred to a central booking department.

If you have a local private hospital, ring & ask if they have an NHS contract for gynaecology, if they have it means you can be referred by your GP there instead of AN NHS hospital, you will be treated exactly the same as a private patient but the NHS will foot the bill, it is done to keep waiting lists down, gynaecology, orthopaedics, general surgery are the main ones that have big waiting lists & are contracted out. If you need any scans or tests these are done at the private hospital, much quicker than having to wait to be seen at the NHS, often the private hospitals have newer equipment as well & will be doing new surgical methods before the NHS, minimally invasive surgery. When I had my hysterectomy 10 years ago, very few women got it done laparoscopically on the NHS & most women were in hospital a minimum of 3 nights, mine was all done & dusted from being admitted to going home in less than 16 hours.

The gynaecologist I saw privately also worked for the NHS. The differences were -

• I could choose which consultant to see from the insurer-approved list (so I chose one with a 'special interest' in my problem)
• I saw her within two weeks, rather than the four months it would have taken on the NHS.

My appointment lasted about 40 minutes and cost £200. She scheduled the surgery I needed there and then. It was great, but I couldn't have afforded it if I hadn't had medical insurance through work.

,@JinglingHellsBells This is the same in the NHS. If your unable to tolerate local 9r no meds for hysterescopy, you get booked an appointment with GA

OP I think if you have the money, go for it. However, you can also ask for a second opinion on the NHS. Just all to be referred to another hospital. Yes longer waiting times perhaps but if you get answers, then fine.
For eople don't they see consultant on private and then get fastracked on NHS, the consultants should not be doing that as it's ethically not right to fast track someone because they've paid you separately. As it's unfair for those who can't pay.

I was referred to a gynaecologist and did the self booking thing. Ended up going to a private hospital and had all my treatment there through NHS. It was the same person I would have seen had I opted for my local NHS hospital.
I’m currently seeing a knee consultant again at a private clinic via NHS. 1st appointment 5 days after seeing GP, at 8pm, gas xray, exam, consultation, then had MRI in the same place 3 days later (Saturday at 7pm.) have booked my next consultation for this Saturday afternoon. She said at my initial appointment that I’ll probably need surgery and she’s be able to do it by the end of January. All on the NHS.

Gynaecology is a wide area so seeing someone with a special interest in your particular problem is key.

Some conditions are very tricky to diagnose and treat so the NHS doctor may be absolutely correct in their approach.

However the speed, or not, of all of this can be utterly unacceptable. I saw my GP for an issue last May, appointment finally arrived to see consultant in November. She ordered an MRI which was done quickly but the follow up isn’t until Feb. That’s just to find out if we have any diagnosis at all.

In the interim I saw a private consultant who gave me an injection which was initially very successful. Unfortunately I needed to continue with the NHS in the longer term because private investigations and repeat appointments become very expensive.

So do your research, find someone with your issue as their subject and see them privately. Then if possible take along all scans etc you’ve already had (request from NHS hospital). It should at least speed up this painfully slow process.

A large majority of private consultants will be the same than those in the NHS. There will be some who don't, most likely to be in London. You then need to sip through those who could be dodgy, those who got kicked out of the NHS, those who are only after the money.

You normally get diagnosed quicker because it means more money if it then leads on to needing surgery. Many patients assume that the ultimate end to their issue is surgery. It often isn't.

What you can do though is ask your NHS consultant to be referred to a specialist NHS hospital if they can't reach a diagnosis or know what treatment to offer. This would be a tertiary hospital, so most likely in the main cities. In some instances, GPs can refer directly to them, but in most cases, you need to be referred by a local consultant.

The wait can be long though as only a few of them. In this instance, it might be worth finding out who they are through your normal consultant and then seeing if they offer private clinics to. However, as already pointed, it can get very expensive if it requires surgery. Private consultants are not entitled to fast track their private patients to their NHS clinics. Some do, but more and more, this is being challenged and hospitals are at risk of not being paid for it, so hospitals are much more scrutinising this activity. A patient seen privately shouldn't be accessing NHS surgery quicker than someone who didn't have the funds to see the consultant privately for the initial consultation.

@MiniMaxi Your comments about equipment are far from correct. In fact the opposite is usually the case. Someone in my extended family is having scans (ongoing) after having cancer and has been told by their oncologist (who works both NHS and privately) that the equipment in the NHS is (often) outdated. Private hospitals, especially those in London, invest in the latest technology. In fact there was something in the news only a few months ago about NHS hospitals being told to replace their 10 yr old outdated MRI and CT scanners. I agree that not ALL private hospitals are the best- there is a huge variation- but the bonus of private health cover is that usually you can go anywhere in the country- you choose your dr and the hospitals.

Generally they are NHS consultants doing private work.

I needed to see a Rheumatologist quickly, so used my private medical insurance to see one quickly and not wait the 3 months it would have taken.

He heads up the Rheumatology Dept at our local hospital, but does private work. I got my diagnosis from him quickly and then flipped back over to the NHS, but still see him now.

My mother also paid to see a consultant and he is an NHS consultant too.

No experience with gynaecology but this is my experience of going private:

Most consultants work both NHS and private. You actually want to see one who does both as a consultant who does private only is likely to be weird.

Going private - you get to choose who you see. Or at least we did as we are self- funding. Spend a lot of time researching who you want. So for example I wasn't getting seen at all for my severe migraine - going private, I saw the head of the migraine clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology with in a week. I was never ever going to get to see him on the NHS.

You get seen much much quicker although they do of course have holidays, they are still human beings!

They have very helpful and accessible secretaries.

If you need scans/surgery etc the wait is minimal. DH waited 18 months for supposedly urgent surgery on the NHS. Privately it was 3 weeks and they apologised for a wait which was absolutely beyond their control.

You get seen in weird clinics where there is always a coffee machine, and an array of posh magazines - Vogue, Tatler, Conde Nast Traveller. Instructions in the loos may be in Arabic.

You pay for everything. Depending on what you are going for, it can get very expensive, fast. However everyone we have ever seen has acknowledged we are self-funding and not taken the piss. A lot of piss-taking goes on if you are on insurance with unnecessary investigations, referrals and followups to boost up the money - I am a doctor and numerous consultants over the years have told me how the game is played.

Sitting in a waiting room once we saw an elderly lady explain how her lovely consultant still wanted to see her every 6 months to check her hip was OK - even non-medical DH whispered 'I bet he does, kerching!'

The ideal self-funding condition is one with minimal tests, and minimal follow up that once it's fixed you are done. A lifelong condition is spendy. However the bonus compared to the NHS is you see the same consultant each time, your appointment is never cancelled or postponed, you always get the right tests - you may think this is worth the spend.

Finally you aren't limited to what can be done in that clinic. They work in networks so you might see the consultant in one clinic, have a test somewhere else, and operation somewhere else and so on.

I had NHS and private (via work BUPA). Getting to a diagnosis was hellish and mostly private. The private guy referred me to a specialist gynae who only worked in the NHS. She told me that the time may come when I would need to the surgical route and that when that happened I should make sure I got a referral to a particular surgeon as he was local and one of the best in the country.

When the time came, my GP wouldn’t refer to him on the NHS. The GP was v old school (now thankfully retired as definitely one of those who didn’t believe in “women’s problems”) and said he would refer to whoever he felt was appropriate and it wasn’t up to me! Anyway BUPA stepped in and I got the referral that had been recommended.

So all in all, I would say private gives you choice, shortens the wait and will get to a solution rather than keep pushing you back to the GP if it isn’t obvious. But that choice is difficult to make without specialist knowledge.

Yes yes and yes!
Private doctors will have ‘access’ to medical treatment and medication that simply isn’t available on the NHS. Not to mention the super quick wait times. But yes, totally worth the money

You will get most likely get everything done quicker. I went private for a hysterectomy as I couldn’t stand my condition any longer.