Appointment with GP - heart sunk

[MarriedThreeChildren]

Had an appointment last week with my GP. I’ve had a bad flare up from a chronic illness.

Went through everything, agreed to be referred back to hospital consultant. And then came the killer question

Do you have an insurance and want to go private or are we going NHS?

With the clear feeling that really the ‘right’ answer was going private :(:(

Since when is the NHS pushing patients to go private? Not so long ago it was such a big No-No. No GP would ever ask that question as a routine question. Rather people would ask if they knew they could get quicker/see who they wanted to see.

But here we go. The system is so fucked up that GPS are now trying to push people to go private rather than NHS.

I find it extremely worrying (I mean which insurance will ever cover me with a chronic condition that has been there for 15 years anyway??). Is it now the only way to get some decent medical support?
I have no idea when I will be able to see the consultant. GP ‘wasn’t aware about the lead times’ (last time I went to see them the wait was about 1 years. It was pre covid etc…. So I suspect…. much more than that…)

Is it now the only way to get some decent medical support

Sadly, I think it has been for quite some time, but is way more expensive than it should be.

In my area, the wait time is 102 weeks for some specialities!

I think it's a very sensible question and if you have private, it's sensible to choose it to offload some pressure on nhs itself. No need to feel like its anything but helpful. It's not an option for many, but many with private wouldn't think of asking either unless suggested to them. It's a shit situation but a good way short term to deal with it...

Our immunology department has a 3 year wait even urgent is a year. It could be GP knows how long you will be waiting for treatment.

I think I'd be annoyed, too, OP. Wouldn't someone with wads of spare cash, or an insurance policy that covered pre-existing, long term conditions, say they wanted to go private. Or seen a private GP in the first place.

I thought it was a standard thing to ask - I’ve been asked this for years and years and years.

I had a similar experience needing physio for an ongoing issue and was told outright by my Dr that if I could afford it to pay for private physio as the wait on the NHS would be over a year.

@ancientgran, in 2014 l was having horrendous problems with my periods. My gp referred me to a gynaecologist but accidentally sent me for a private consultation. I had an endometrial ablation three months later on the NHS. My intention had always been to remain an NHS patient but my gp, on apologising for her mistake, commented truthfully on the fact that I had been able to have treatment several months earlier than would otherwise have been the case. The operation was a complete success and I have never regretted the private consultation, however it came about.

Hollow laugh for the "world renowned service". The NHS is only just a small bit above Ukraine, outside of wartime. Really, it's excellent at crisis situations, and the very routine, like vaccines, but in everything in between it's pretty threadbare.

For context if waiting for surgery - I presented data at a senior meeting today that demonstrated compared to pre covid 11 month period we are 43% less admissions for elective surgery

For routine surgery you will wait 2 years on NHS now on average so if you have private healthcare this clearly reduces your wait

It’s utter crap I agree- going private doesn’t necessarily mean you have insurance. You can just pay yourself privately which is what we’ve done when we’re desperate. Generally £500 first appointment then £300 after not including treatment!

I just think that GPs know the pressure in the system and the likely wait for an appointment, so therefore just check about insurance. I really don’t think there is any implication that you should go private. We have cover for some things via my husband’s employer, and it’s good to have that prompt if that route might be possible. Plus there are those who might be able to pay for one off private - so why not check that too. Anyone who can go private eases pressure on our NHS.

My heart sunk because such a question is the sign of how poor the NHS is nowadays. It’s a sign that, despite so many people saying the NHS shouldn’t be privatised, it is, for all intent and purposes.

It’s having to go private, hoping that the patient can go private etc at the GP.
It’s surgeries becoming private
It’s whole hospital departments becoming private.

It’s the frog in boiling water. As long as the temperature increases slowly it doesn’t realise it’s getting boiled.
We are the frogs there.

@VerbenaGirl you do realise that the whole talk about ‘it’s great to go private because it eases the pressure in the NHS’ is exactly the sort things that actually encourages going private?
Because not only people are not grumbling that it’s expensive, they are paying taxes for it etc…
But actually they are welcoming it!

(And please no talk about the fact there is no magic money tree. There is. If the last two years should have taught us something, it’s that there is a magic money tree to buy stuff that haven’t been used or were abysmal like the T&T
The government wanted it, they would find the money. Just like they did for all the contracts given to their friends.)

@MarriedThreeChildren they’ve asked me since I worked basically.

@Dundonian

I think I'd be annoyed, too, OP. Wouldn't someone with wads of spare cash, or an insurance policy that covered pre-existing, long term conditions, say they wanted to go private. Or seen a private GP in the first place.

not necessarily, some conditions are best treated on the NHS but perhaps the GP wanted to give the option.

I don't know why anyone would expect the NHS to stay the way it was ( however that was) . It's remit in 1948 is a far cry from what it is expected to do today. I have seen amazing work by the NHS in hospitals in the last 6 months and before Covid - the staff are amazing, the procedures and protocols are carried out according to the letter. I have friends who have had various things done recently - a heart bypass, a brain haemorrhage, rectal surgery , hernia, digestive surgery ( must be my age that all my friends are falling apart) and all have been NHS - some were emergency, some were 2 week rule and others as dictated by the list. Today everyone expects too much of the NHS. Now let's say we all have an Income Tax raise to pay for a better service - say to 25% tax. Would people be happy with that? Perhaps we should move to a system like Ireland which is a combo of NHS and paying for treatment with a Health Card for certain groups or insurance. You need to accept that there are things in life that you need to pay for - pensions and health treatment being two of them and yes they may have to come before that latest pair of trendy trainers.

I got a referral to orthopaedics on the NHS. When I logged in to make the appointment, I was advised the wait would be 63 weeks. I carried on to make the appointment, but the system said there were none available.

I’m having to go private (I can’t afford it- I’m borrowing money from my dad) because I can’t be in this pain for another year, and I know that joint replacement works- I had one done on the NHS pre-Covid and it was a life changer. The arthritis in my joints is relentless though.

I’m gutted- I believe in the NHS, but it’s being chipped away at by the Tories .

I am in Scotland too and never been asked if I'm going private. I've never had a long wait for any treatment. However I am prone to tonsillitis and had it 6 times in 6 months from September 2019-march 2020 with the last time ending up in hospital really unwell. I begged the out of hours doctor to remove them and he said the rigmarole of referring an adult to have them removed is ridiculous and basically it would be 50/50 to whether the clinic would take them out. So I went to my private health care and had a consultation and was due to get them out April 2020 but covid struck and I've never had it done but never had it since. I've never used my private health care however I'm glad I have it just incase I get it free through my work and I know many people who use it and I've seen 1 use it for cancer ans was in 2 days later having an operation for skin cancer. It's not ideal but I think if you can get private then it may be a worthwhile investment especially whist the NHS are so stretched and strained

I recently went to my GP about some issues post-hysterectomy. The GP told me my options were either to see a private gynaecologist, or wait and see how things go. I’m old enough now to know that means there’s no chance of getting any investigation or treatment on NHS. Joy.

I've just gone private to have a cyst removed from my ovary. It's been causing lots of pain and I couldn't get a definite reassurance that it wasn't cancerous. My GP wanted to refer me straight to the gynae unit at our local NHS hospital but the gynae unit refused to do anything until id waited for 3 months to see if it magically disappeared by itself. I ended up having it removed last week where I was told the cyst had attached itself to my bowel and my pelvis and my fallopian tube had attached itself to it and was filling up with blood and could have ruptured at any time. The wait for the gynae unit of that had agreed to see me was around 12 months. I luckily had funds to pay for my surgery. I sincerely feel for people who aren't lucky enough to be able to do that and are at the mercy of the nhs at the moment.

@PlainJaneEyre
Is expecting to be treated for cancer in a timely manner expecting too much then? Or to have a hip replacement because the pain stops you from walking?
Or to be seen in A&E to just, you know, avoid death?
Fwiw the last one doesn’t happen just now. People are dying from heart attack etc.. because they en DUP waiting 12~24 hours in an ambulance before they can be seen.

I’m not sure that’s expecting too much really.

Also yes things have changed, the biggest being that people live longer and therefore need more care.
But many other countries in Europe have excellent healthcare system and do not require an increase of 25% in taxes and no extremely expensive private system (which is what we are heading towards). So saying ‘it can’t be done’ is quite defeatist and very negative. It also assumes that if we haven’t been able to do it then no one can…
As it happens experience shows us it’s totally possible to have system that cares for ALL citizens at a decent price for all.

But you need to want to do it!!

@Kelp23 yes.
That’s a two speed system.
If you have enough money or are lucky enough to have a company that offers a decent private insurance, then you can see a specialist and be treated.
If you don’t…. Well tough really. You can be in pain, threatening illness, die. What can we do 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

It doesn't sound like the dr was pushing you into private care, I think it's a case of more people are going private because of covid, and the waiting lists are doubled with back logs. Dr was probably asking as they may need to write a different referral letter if it was to be going privately, sounds maybe you're being a bit too emotional/ sensitive.

[quote MarriedThreeChildren]@PlainJaneEyre
Is expecting to be treated for cancer in a timely manner expecting too much then? Or to have a hip replacement because the pain stops you from walking?
Or to be seen in A&E to just, you know, avoid death?
Fwiw the last one doesn’t happen just now. People are dying from heart attack etc.. because they en DUP waiting 12~24 hours in an ambulance before they can be seen.

I’m not sure that’s expecting too much really.

Also yes things have changed, the biggest being that people live longer and therefore need more care.
But many other countries in Europe have excellent healthcare system and do not require an increase of 25% in taxes and no extremely expensive private system (which is what we are heading towards). So saying ‘it can’t be done’ is quite defeatist and very negative. It also assumes that if we haven’t been able to do it then no one can…
As it happens experience shows us it’s totally possible to have system that cares for ALL citizens at a decent price for all.

But you need to want to do it!![/quote]
No these cases are not expecting too much but I really didn't want to get into the specifics of health care as some procedures are seen as essential while to some they may think they are not. I am sure we all agree that those ones are essential to life. However many people expect to get treated for all kinds of things on the NHS - breast reductions, breast augmentation, endless IVF treatment, sex reassignment, treatment for foreigners who seem to be able to relocate here to have their multiple births and many other cases. How much does the NHS cover? Choices are made every day by the NHS. We are an ageing population with less workers to contribute to taxation. How do you suggest the money is raised for all of this if we don't have a taxation increase? Are you opposed to paying more?