To want to hear your views and experiences of private healthcare

[PaddleBoardingMomma]

Posting for traffic.

Having read a couple of posts this week where the OP was seriously unwell and had an awful time in A & E, also reading past threads of massive referral waiting times, GP's being unhelpful and the struggle to even get seen, it's made me wonder about those of us who have opted for private care and how your experiences have differed?

I must admit, seeing so many struggle and have pretty dire outcomes last year I took out vitality healthcare for me and my two daughters but thankfully haven't needed it yet, so can't comment on what the process is like.

I work in an NHS hospital near two medium size private hospitals. Many of the consultants work at all three ( edge of big city).
A couple of our consultants do morning clinics in the private sector so when they come across for their pm afternoon NHS clinics (usually late) there is never enough time to get everything done so we all end up staying late - with patients having to return to collect medication etc next day.
We have had several patients transferred across when things have gone wrong (enough to hit the local newspapers). The private hospitals are reluctant to do surgery on older patients and those with co-morbidities. Plus many have limited medical cover out of hours.
Private very good if you have conditions that are not life threatening and are otherwise healthy

The nhs hospital I work in often utilises a private hospital for some of its surgeries like mentioned above in choose and book. Many of our consultants work there too.

Private care is great for those that can afford it/ insurance. It’s not a bad thing. The NHS is in a mess right now and many people would happily pay for quicker appointments/surgery etc but don’t have the cash to do so ( me included!)

I went private through work medical for mental health treatment - it was excellent.

My GP had told me (twice) that I wasn’t depressed, just “exhausted”… when I saw a Consultant Psychiatrist through work private medical he diagnosed PND and anxiety quickly, got me a prescription and CBT - a lifesaver.

However it does harm the NHS, as it makes better off tax payers feel less amenable towards paying for it, it takes consultants away from time treating NHS patients and effectively jumps the queue. It’s immoral in my view, but with 12 years of Tory funding cuts it’s inevitable that better off people will resort to this. My psychiatrist was an NHS consultant, but did 1 say a week of private work; he’s just upped it to two days.

I'm with Vitality. You have to be referred through the NHS to be able to claim private medical fees on my policy with Vitality, you can't just decide to go private and cut the NHS out entirely, so there's still an element of battling to be seen/be referred. Fortunately, my NHS GP surgery is very good. Private doesn't generally cover emergency care, either.

I've noticed waiting times have gone up for private care too, recently, but still shorter than NHS. I went private for a knee issue and saw a consultant in 4 weeks, rather than 4 months, had a mole removed for biopsy privately and that was quicker, too. My Dad had cancer treatment privately and I don't think he'd be alive today if he hadn't as his cancer was Stage 3/4 when he was operated on and if he'd had to go by NHS waiting times for his surgery I think his outcomes would have been very different. I think he also found it a more bearable experience than he would have done otherwise - private rooms, nicer environments to recover in etc. Staff were still harassed and overworked, though.

Overall, the peace of mind it gives me means it's among the best £85 a month I spend and I wouldn't be without it, especially not with the state the NHS is in these days. I feel fortunate to be able to afford it.

I called my GP last year when I couldn't walk due to knee pain. He refused to see me, diagnosed a sprain and told me to ice and elevate. I called BUPA which I get through work. They said I could self refer to a physiotherapist, authorised 6 initial appointments and gave me the names of 3 local people.

It turned out I had tendonitis. I was 90% better after 6 sessions. I called BUPA back and they authorised another 6. I only needed 2 of those.

If I'd relied on my GP I probably still would be immobile.

10 years ago I developed a lump in my throat, problems swallowing, it would be bad for weeks, then resolve, then start again. GP adament that it was psychosomatic .
Very luckily for me my brother is a very high earner and was so worried that he paid for me to go private. Within 3 days I had investigations and was diagnosed with a reoccurring infection of the thyroid. 6 weeks on antibiotics and all cleared up.

This sort of story really is much of my entire problem with the NHS. It is essentially - and especially for those of us who pay a lot of tax - a very expensive type of health insurance which we don’t have any choice about paying for, to fund a system which can, at will, decide somebody is imagining their pain or discomfort, or refuse to treat somebody’s medical issues if it doesn’t think they’re important enough, regardless of how much they’ve paid for the service to be available to them if needed.

In no other capacity would you pay thousands of pounds a year to have a service available, only to be left at a dead end and have to accept its decision not to give you the service with nowhere to challenge it. It’s a racket.

DS went private for surgery last year. We did start with a NHS referral, but 6 months after the GP sent it off the urology secretaries couldn't see anything for him, outpatients kept saying he had an appointment - it was his regular diabetes clinic appointment and the GP was as useful as always.

I found the private secretary number for the Dr he would have seen, after calling on a Thursday afternoon we were in front of her first thing Monday morning, and had the booking team call in the afternoon to schedule the operation date for the next month. It could have been sooner but we decided to wait for the school holidays.

He had a private room and his own nurse, the same nurse also did his pre op and was absolutely amazing. From distracting him during having preop bloods taken to meeting us in the car park on admission. After promising to remove the cannula as soon as he asked on waking, she then tracked down the anaesthetist on his lunch to prescribe anti sickness meds to be taken orally. His lunch arrived on a trolley with a silver dome and they made him a special ice cream.

We have since gone private for DDS knee where the level of care was astounding.

Fine for speedy referral to consultants and minor surgery but I'd be very wary of major surgery in private hospitals where there is limited cover for complications.
I was also given 2 MRIs and seen by two different speciality consultants for a back problem that was eventually sorted by an NHS physio.

I have a situation where a year ago my GP referred me on the two week pathway for a dodgy mole. I said I could go privately and was advised NHS was fast and excellent. It was had one removed with cryotherapy and another that had appeared at the follow up apt. Letter said I should be re-referred under the same pathway if another arose.

Another has arisen. The CCG has changed the pathway and I can't go to the original dr/hospital. GP didn't mention this. I visited the GP on 31st March and he got round to making the referral on 14th April. By the time I was advised I had an apt on 17th May the quickest private apt I could get was on 16th May. The mole has got v itchy and GP thinks apt is quick. The apt says its a maximum of 10 mins and I'll be invited back for further treatment.

Taking all that as read to see GP again and establish date of apt, took 4 calls, a very difficult receptionist call and 45 minutes of my time. I was eventually made another apt with the GP at 5.30pm. To make it I had to leave work at 4.45 (when I could have worked for another three hours) and half way down the A3 the GP phoned me because he thought a phone call would suffice. (Wasted two hours of my time).

This week (work pressures) I have had to change the 17th May apt . The NHS booking site is down. I had to ring the number on the letter where I was told they couldn't book because the booking site was down. I had to ring the CCG. The wheels of doom and circular telephone messages took me an hour to navigate.

Not only do I pay high levels of tax for an appalling service but the same service has no compunction about wasting my time.

I don't pay monthly for private, but after going private several times after giving up on NHS waiting times (GP, and physio) I now save about £100 every month so I can access it again should I need it. Physio is 100 times better privately. More time, more sessions and probably a lot less people to get through I suppose. I've probably spend close to £1800 on physio due to post spinal surgery problems which the NHS brushed off as nothing. Worth every single penny.

i went private to investigate recurrent miscarriage and sub fertility, because it would be quicker (in theory) and I could afford it, but it wasn’t worth it. A waste of time. My lovely GP wrote to me after around visit three to say that the evidence base for the treatment they were suggesting was not there and suggested I would be better off waiting to see a local NHS consultant, which I eventually did. This NHS consultant was the one who diagnosed and fixed me in the end.

I would never say never to private treatment if it was really necessary, but for quality of care I would stick with consultants who are working for the NHS.

I agree about the difference between private and NHS physio. I suffered an ankle injury last year - fractured foot and torn ligaments in foot and ankle.

My NHS physio appointment was 7 minutes long, he barely looked at me (kept typing on the laptop), described 7 exercises I was to do (no demonstration or letting me try them out). I had no idea what to do.

I self funded a private physio appointment, which was an hour long. A detailed history was taken, thorough assessment of the problem, ultrasound treatment, some manual therapy and clear demonstration of exercises to do.

5 private appointments cost less than £300 and it was worth every penny to me. The NHS treatment would have got me to a barely functional level. The private treatment got me walking properly again.

My GP refused to refer me for private physio because I could and she knows I have insurance.

Frankly one to one physio and pilates has been of incalculable value in keeping me moving with two fractured vertebrae. The NHS appears incapable of working out that spending a small amount keeps people in work and paying taxes and off benefits.

Paediatric things are difficult to get done in private hospitals, as they are mainly adult hospitals.
The cleft lip and palate pathway has to be NHS, for example. We occasionally get irate parents wanting to transfer to private hospitals, if their child is delayed for theatre, and the answer is, that you can't.
One of our spinal surgeons did paediatric work in a private hospital, the hospital offered our staff a lot on money to look after his patients as their staff had no experience. That arrangement didn't last long, and he pulled out of that hospital.

I was on NHS waiting list for a cataract operation. I was told there was a 60 week waiting list (now increased to 82 weeks). I'm West Sussex. Went private, all done with seeing Consultant and operation in just over 3 weeks. Worth me paying for definatly.

When the Labour government set up the NHS in 1948, the doctors refused to give ip
privare work. That’s why they work on both sectors today.

It would help the nhs if all doctors had to work for the nhs for at least 10 years post qualification and could not go abroad to work. That might increase the workforce and pay back their £25,000 plus pa training to the nation. Few employers train people and then see them leave in doves without imposing a financial penalty.

Many people who pay for private health cover are paying higher tax. So they are paying privately and for everyone else too. Some people pay little tax, except vat, but get health care paid for by others and that’s how it works. I think the nhs needs a big shake up. Setting priorities and more efficient working would be a start. Learning from some other European countries would be a big improvement too.

Dh has had a couple of non-urgent fairly minor ops done privately. We thought it worth it to get them done quickly,

OTOH we both had a possible skin cancer at the same time. (Both turned out benign.) He went private, I saw exactly the same dermatologist on the NHS 10 days before he did! This was some years ago though, doubt it’d be the same now.

OK, slightly OT, but a sister in the US once cut a finger very badly. I said, ‘Well, at least you’ve got insurance to cover it.’
She said, ‘You’re joking - there was a $2000 excess!’

If people want 'better service' from the nhs they have to be willing to pay for it and not vote tory.

@TizerorFizz

What do you mean by more efficient working?

I've also spent (and continue to spend) a LOT of money on post spinal surgery physio. I got 6 sessions on the NHS, and was told that 'well, this is all we can really do, and this is probably the best outcome you'll get....' I get a lot of relief from hands on physio services, so it's worth the £40 a time for me, a couple of times a month.

Interestingly, I had my first spinal surgery in a private hospital, but on the NHS, through a waiting list initiative. I liked my surgeon, I had a private room, better food, Sky TV, and it was adequately staffed with HCAs and nurses (this was the biggest thing I noticed!) I found that I got more rest, and could have visitors whenever I liked, and for however long I liked. I had to go about 60 miles from home for that.

My subsequent spinal surgeries were done in the specialist NHS hospital, also about 60 miles from home. The surgery went well, and staff were attentive. The biggest differences were being in a shared ward, and not getting much rest; the food was TERRIBLE (I had a friend stop by the M&S nearby on almost a daily basis, as you were only allowed 1 veg/1 fruit with each meal!); visiting hours were somewhat awkward, given the travel time for family/friends; and the waiting time for a physio/medication/discharge documentation was interminable.

Unsurprisingly, after three spinal surgeries, and numerous other procedures, I can't get a private healthcare company to insure me..... Even though I now need a hip operation, I'm told I am too young/waiting lists are ridiculous. I'm seriously considering taking some cash out of my mortgage, and just paying for it.

Private is great. You get seen quicker and the facilities are more comfortable.
Yes you need a GP referral for most things, but I’ve always found that if you tell your GP you’re going private they are happy to refer you because it isn’t coming out of the NHS budget.
if you are worried about lack of emergency facilities you can have the procedure carried out in an NHS PPU (a private unit at an NHS hospital)
for certain things insurers will allow self referral.
you also don’t need insurance you can self fund, Bupa used to have an option for this if you weren’t a member, they will do the booking and source the hospital etc and you just pay them.

I'm 50 50 on it.

I think it is of most value when you already know you need a consultation or treatment, and the NHS wait times are long and you can skip by going privately.

I do think however, private consultants often try to offer you additional things you dont really need. We saw a private paediatrician for one of our kids once and they insisted on a pretty pointless test, prescribed about 3 things we really didnt need at quite high expense and directed us to their "preferred" pharmacy to get them (i.e the one they got a kickback from).

The doctors working in the private space aren't necessarily any better than those in the NHS. Some are worse.

I had a very quick cancer diagnosis and initial surgery via my husbands cover. However I need to be on the drugs long term as the cancer is incurable. Insurance would only cover 6 months so I had to move over to the NHS. The consultant (same for private and NHS) said it was better to move all scans etc over to avoid confusion even though insurance would still have covered that side of things.

Facilities are better and you get more one to one care but I need the drugs!

Oh and the radiologist missed something on one of my scans. As it didn’t go to the NHS MDT it delayed them picking up some progression so there is that side to think of too