To think Bupa membership should mean avoidance of adding to a&e pressure?

[flabbajabba]

DH has bupa through work, which covers me too. I've never used it before, and find it a bit baffling. After injuring foot, I called the Bupa helpline. They said call the Babylon GP service. The Babylon GP said I need an xray but they can't refer me for one - I have to go to a&e or speak to my own GP to get a private referral for diagnostics. I then got an appointment with my own NHS GP and they said they could give me the referral but it would take a week, so if I want an xray sooner I have to go to a&e. So, I am going to a&e, but can't help wondering a) why babylon can't do the referral and b) why the NHS GP's referral would take a week. Surely this is just adding to a&e queues unecessarily for a (hopefully) minor injury?

If you have Bupa, have you been able to get basic diagnostics for minor injuries?

The NHS referral for xray takes 1 week because there is a queue of people awaiting outpatient xray services and as these are routine, rather than emergency, it takes longer.

I find the whole system so complicated. I'm sure if we just had normal GPs and A&E it would be easier.
I experienced the 111 GPs a few weeks ago and nurse phone calls and sat there wondering why they werent all just in a surgery. To be fair I then had to sue a Babylon to sort that problem. But it's beyond a joke.

I think it might depend on the level of cover perhaps? We have Bupa lifeline gold and have never struggled with authorisation / referral for anything - in fact for most things (scans, consultant appts) a referral hasn't been necessary x

Private health insurance almost always excludes emergency or urgent health needs.

It's great for planned or medium term health issues and ones that are painful but lower priority in the NHS, like back operations, joint replacements etc.

It's always been the case that emergency or urgent care needs the NHS.

A week for an X-ray via private referral is pretty reasonable to be honest, OP.

GP referral for xray doesn't have to take a week, my son had a referral from GP the week before Christmas done at 4:30pm on a Thursday to go first thing Friday morning.

That’s weird, I have bupa and the Babylon gp would normally write a referral letter, then bupa would send me details of clinics and I can book directly with them. I’ve had CT and Dexa scans this way so I don’t see how an x-ray would be any different.