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…)

@ancientgran you are not taking away from anyone on the waiting list as he is not seeing you in NHS time. So no she did not leapfrog NHS patients - she used some of her money to see a doctor privately. People make all kinds of individual choices about how they spend their money.

@speakout

My GP suggested I go private to have a breast lump investigated. The waiting list to be seen on NHS was 6 weeks, and I was a bundle of nerves and anxiety. I contacted BUPA ( I have no health insurance), and was seen the next day at a One Stop Breast clinic- one fee £399. Thankfully benign, I think my GP was acting in my best interests.

I agree with this too.

My husband had suspected bladder cancer 14 years ago. He had insurance, but went NHS. The NHS messed up and he was triaged to the bottom of the pile at the hospital. GP sent the paperwork through again, but also suggested we start a private claim and see who came through first. Surprise, surprise it was the private referral that arrived first and all of his many years of treatment was done privately. Very successfully too.

This. I work in a surgery and it's pretty standard now, with the NHS waiting lists so long.

That’s my whole point though.

Many people on this thread are saying it’s logical and a practical remark because the waiting lists are so long.

BUT

As others have pointed out, it didn’t used to be the case (I’m not talking about covid).
It didn’t use to be the case that if you want to be seen within a decent time frame, you have to go private.
And it didn’t use to be that it was the norm to fall back onto private healthcare.

Now I imagine that the situation is different in different parts of the country. But where I am, the level of poverty is high. So asking about private insurance can easily be tone death too.

I think it's great. It's far too difficult to access private medicine in the UK and people deserve choice. I wouldn't let the NHS care for my goldfish, let alone family.

@MissyB1

On the issue of Consultants doing private work. They have to fulfill all of their NHS sessions, and yes in our area they have to be full time. Full time is counted as 10 PAs, they are not allowed to register for private work unless they are on a 10 PA or above contract.

The day of the week makes no difference whatsoever. My dh is contracted to do 11 PAs but in reality he works 12.5 (doesnt get paid for the extra!). So he's doing beyond what the NHS actually pay him for. He also does one small private clinic a week in his own time.
What anyone does in their own free time is their own business. Lots of people work 2 jobs.

Missy, in that context, what does PA stand for or mean, please? I’ve never come across that term before. Thank you.

"Self employed people get the same out of work benefits as anyone else."

Do they? Do they pay the same amount of national insurance then?

@Arewethebadguys

Chill out. It's just a question not the demise of everything you hold dear!

'Killer question'

Was that for me?!?

If so please read again.

My issue is the state if the NHS and the fact many many people will never receive the care they need.
And those people wont be the many people on this thread giving their experience of going private and how it was the best decision. Because these are people that can obviously afford the cost or have a good enough private insurance (DH ash for example but it wouldn’t cover cancer if my condition…..).
My heart sunk for other people. For the dire state the NHS is in.

For me? Well yes that’s crap but then I’ve been dealing with my condition for long enough to be able to deal with a lot of it myself. And we can afford me not working. I know too many people who wouldn’t. Then what?

No, @ancientgran, I paid a consultation fee for immediate treatment to relieve a complex weeping ezcema covering my entire torso after breast cancer and radioththerapy. Then I went back into the NHS on the same schedule as anyone else, accelerated a little by an urgent referral from the breast cancer clinic and oncology surgeons.

No, @ancientgran, I paid a consultation fee for immediate treatment to relieve a complex weeping ezcema covering my entire torso after breast cancer and radioththerapy. Then I went back into the NHS on the same schedule as anyone else, accelerated a little by an urgent referral from the breast cancer clinic and oncology surgeons.

I can't see what you are getting worked up over OP.

To me, it sounds like a simple and straightforward question.

It would have wasted your GPs time if, half way through doing some referrals , you'd suddenly piped up that you had insurance.

It's clearly just a GP being efficient and wanting to direct you to the right person/place and asking a simple question.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Self employed people get the same out of work benefits as anyone else."

Do they? Do they pay the same amount of national insurance then?

Do self Ep played people get SSP?

I’ll have to see how to claim for my last 3 months out if work then…
Or maybe, it doesn’t.

Fwiw I’m pretty we now pay the same amount of NI. Sunak made sure if that before covid.

Ok, say it in another post.

PA = paid activities

Thank you

"So asking about private insurance can easily be tone death too."

The GP probably wouldn't say it to a poor person though. I'd hope not anyway because it's really crap to know that as a tax payer you will be bottom of the queue.

My issue is the state if the NHS and the fact many many people will never receive the care they need.

But your first post didn't say that!

You are making up a very subjective response [the 'right answer' he wanted] to what comes across as a very simple question.

Many more people are using private insurance so your GP was simply checking what you had/ didn't have.

Honestly, you are worked up over nothing.

I had a call re contraception today and was "reminded" that I can now buy the pill over the counter. Or, you know, get it prescribed for free, by the nurse I was talking to, so why would I want to do that?

Very concerning if this is becoming standard practice.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Self employed people get the same out of work benefits as anyone else."

Do they? Do they pay the same amount of national insurance then?

I meant "out of work", i.e. unemployed (which was what the post I was referring to was implying - he'd never be able to do that job again, so he'd be unemployed), not SSP. SSP, as far as I understand, is an in work benefit.

If a self employed person becomes unemployed then they have the same rights as everyone else, based on their NI records (as it is fir employed, or unemployed, people). But one type of JSA is not related to NI (there are two types).

I think they do pay the same NI anyway.

It didn’t use to be the case that if you want to be seen within a decent time frame, you have to go private.

How old are you?

It's been like this as long as I can remember and I'm talking of 60 years, including my mum scraping together a fee for her mum to see a gynae privately/ quicker.

@Gwenhwyfar

"So asking about private insurance can easily be tone death too."

The GP probably wouldn't say it to a poor person though. I'd hope not anyway because it's really crap to know that as a tax payer you will be bottom of the queue.

How on earth does your GP know if you are a "poor person"?

Also, how do they know that you don't have medical cover through work? Unless they ask I guess......

@OnceMoreWithoutFeeling

I had a call re contraception today and was "reminded" that I can now buy the pill over the counter. Or, you know, get it prescribed for free, by the nurse I was talking to, so why would I want to do that?

Very concerning if this is becoming standard practice.

How much would it cost you? I know that the NHS dispenses baby aspirin and it costs them a fortune as opposed to the pence it costs in a supermarket.

@OnceMoreWithoutFeeling

I had a call re contraception today and was "reminded" that I can now buy the pill over the counter. Or, you know, get it prescribed for free, by the nurse I was talking to, so why would I want to do that?

Very concerning if this is becoming standard practice.

For those with a prescription pass or for whom they're free, this makes sense.

However the OTC costs might be worth it for some who might not want to attend in person appointments and take time off work.

@AllOfUsAreDead

It's shit op. The NHS is now shit.

Put it this way, I know I'm likely going to need hip and/or knee replacements in future. I'm getting health insurance to go private as there's no way I'll get treatment quickly on NHS, if it still exists by then.

But the problem is, because the UK doesn't have a properly regulated private sector like other countries in Europe due to the existence of the NHS, private health insurers will put up your annual insurance fee or quote you a more expensive cover if you have any medical history at all of knee or hip problems.

@Gwenhwyfar

"So asking about private insurance can easily be tone death too."

The GP probably wouldn't say it to a poor person though. I'd hope not anyway because it's really crap to know that as a tax payer you will be bottom of the queue.

How do you think she knew whether I am poor or not though?

Telephone conversation.
She didn’t see me, has never seen me before
Knew nothing about my work or rather inky that I had to stop work.
Knew nothing about my marital status, if I’m receiving disability benefits etc….

So did she know?

No, SE people cannot claim SSP?however you should have healthcare in place for eventualities of not being able to work? Nothing wrong with GP asking if you were going private or NHS. We have an aging population and lack of investment so if people do have private care can use it why wouldn't they?

You have the option to pay for a private consultation OP even without insurance.

Fees vary but are around £250.

Depending on the outcome of the appt, if you need medication, the consultant can write to your GP and recommend it on the NHS (although the GP is not legally obliged to agree.)

If you needed surgery, the consultant would be able to advise on the waiting list in your area or even suggest you have it done somewhere else with a shorter waiting time.

Since when is the NHS pushing patients to go private?

Purely subjective response from you. It wasn't pushing. It was asking a question.

Not so long ago it was such a big No-No

How do you know this? Where is your evidence?

No GP would ever ask that question as a routine question.

How do you know this?