To expect some reimbursement for this private app

[Flyingwiththekids]

We are going private for an ADHD assessment for our daughter, due to a five year nhs waiting list. We are clearing out our savings to pay for it as the GP and school have told us she will benefit from medication, she is really struggling at the moment. We don’t really have another option as she currently can’t do a full day at school because of her symptoms.

so we booked the app, husband booked the day off work, my daughter missed her last day of school, I chased the school to fill in their end of the paperwork and filled in my end. We turn up and the clinician isn’t there. Receptionist chases the doctor. No response. We keep asking, keep being fobbed off. Two hours later our appointment slot is over and the receptionist apologises but says she’s not sure what’s happened. Tells us to go away and write an email to explain what’s happened. I said I wanted to speak to a manager and my details are passed on and he gives me a call. He said he will ‘sort it all out’, and apologised, then the private consultant calls me and apologises and explains the system made an error so didn’t book it on her calendar and she’s rebooked us for a few days time.

Ive emailed and asked for some compensation for the error. The appointment cost us a significant amount of money. We booked with this company because they have glowing 5 star reviews, but feel all of the inconvenience is worth a part refund?

Is the next appt free of charge ?

No they still have the fees from the first app

Are you also aware that the nhs is unlikely to provide this medication based on their assessment and your likely to have to continue to pay for reviews and meds?

I think it's just one of those things....failure of I.T..... like the entire country is failing on today 🤷‍♀️

I don't think you should 'expect' anything from it either

I think more people need to be aware of this.

NHS wouldn’t prescribe medication which had been prescribed by a private clinic. The meds cost us £300 per month.

The school wouldn’t except the report from the clinic as it did not meet some of their criteria.

YABU

It was an unfortunate error that was looked into and they kept you informed.

It happens. It's life.

Hopefully your GP will agree to shared care and continuity will be assured.

on the missed appointment- it sounds like a genuine error and so just one of those things. Upsetting and annoying but you may just need to get on with this if you want this consultation.

I had a similar situation with a private dentist. I was on my way to the appointment and they called to say they had forgotten to order something needed for the appointment. I think they gave me a deduction on the cost, probably 10 % or so. I didn’t ask, but they offered for my inconvenience.

@Flyingwiththekids absolutely request they reimburse you. Please ignore posters saying it’s a genuine error. It’s still an error!

I get it OP. Organising for these appointments can cause considerable difficulty - as you saying a day off school, a day off work, travelling etc. etc. to then turn up and for it not to happen is frustrating to say the least but also upsetting for your DC who was built up for it - A small good will refund would only be fair just to reflect the inconvenience and loss of income to you.

It was certainly in the system somewhere as the receptionist was expecting you

I once had to take DS to see a speech therapist. When we arrived at 10am with appointment letter in hand they said that it was cancelled and a letter had been written to us - THAT MORNING in order to let us know. It turned up 10 days later postmarked 4 days after the appointment. That was NHS but also had knock on affects for us including loss of income. Fortunately DS was too young to understand

Yes the GP has agreed to a shared care agreement. We can’t afford to continue the costs of the prescriptions. We have looked into this.

yes I understand mistakes happen but to lose a day of annual leave and to have to wait for 2 hours with a child who struggles to cope with a change of routine was a big inconvenience for our daughter too. She was so upset to be missing her last day but it was the only appointment they had that we could do. We’ve had to cancel our plans to make the next appointment as there’s none for a couple of months.

thanks @undeeto yeah I agree, it wasn’t an error on our part. I’m sure if we hadn’t turned up to our app they wouldn’t have refunded us.

If you hadn't shown up you would likely have been penalised by forfeiting part or all of the fee. Same should apply to them for not showing up, they should give you a discount.
As others have said, school may not accept this report, and you may need to pay for the medication privately.
And be prepared that the specialist may not diagnose with ADHD.
You can request an EHCP assessment without a formal diagnosis, and if accepted, it may fast track your daughters assessment as there is a statutory timeliness which an EHCP has to be completed in

I very much doubt you'll get compensation.

Thanks, she already has an EHCP, thankfully. She is still struggling massively. It’s so sad to have to watch. We are doing all we can to try and help make school easier for her.

This was my thoughts, if the clinician had turned up and waited for us for 2 hours and we hadn’t shown up I’m sure we would have had to pay a cancellation fee. The tone of their emails is very much ‘like it or lump it’ so far.

I would cancel and go elsewhere but it would just make for more work and effort and more waiting for my daughter.

It will be down to the Consultant whether they charge you the full amount for your assessment, explain to them how much it has cost you having to re schedule this appointment, but I’m sure there will be something in their terms and conditions. You shouldn’t have to pay twice. My DS saw a private orthopaedic consultant over a few years, he didn’t charge every visit when he realised we were self funding.

But you aren’t paying twice? As long as you are only paying for o e appointment that’s fine.

Just to say this isn’t the case in all areas or with all GPs. I’m a child therapist and lots of the kids I work with have had ADHD assessed by a private organisation and then been able to gets the meds via the NHS.

Sorry - I see this point has already been addressed!

But they turned up to an appointment, and now have to make the time for another. Time is just as valuable as money - more so!

Yes I think a few people are missing the point, we turned up to an app, waited 2 hours with our daughter who has additional needs. Wasted a day of annual leave, my daughter also missed her last day of school. We arranged childcare for her younger sibling. We are having to reschedule. Wouldn’t the fair answer be to award us some sort of discount to reflect the inconvenience and mistakes that they made.

OP I would request compensation too...would it be better to request it after your daughter is assessed. Then you can lodge a formal complaint and request for compensation and it won't cloud your daughters assessment?

I think you should expect a discount. They are doing this as a business venture. You shouldn't be the one to be out of pocket for their mistake.
I'd suggest a 50% discount to them then work from there. Send them an email and if they aren't helpful ask to escalate it.
I'd expect them to be very accommodating with times and dates when you rebook the appointment.

Do you understand that to comply with shared care you’ll still be funding medication reviews whenever needed? This will be monthly, then 2 months, 3/4, then 6 - but it’ll be monthly while a dose is stabilised so say for example she starts on 20mg but it’s not having a big enough impact, you’d have an appt after a month, then get a script for increased dose, come back a month later and if that’s considered to be the right dose it’ll be review in 2, then 3/4 and so on. Every time there’s a dosage change you’re back to that set of reviews, and even if dose is stable you have to pay every 6 months for a private review to comply with shared care. The GP can ONLY prescribe these meds when they’re being overseen by a psychiatrist. That psychiatrist will not be provided by the NHS.

You will also need to pay for your scripts until the dose is stable as the psych can’t fill in the shared care forms until this is done (minimum 3 months if you’re lucky).

You’ll in tandem need to get onto the NHS waiting list and you’re at their mercy for how many years that takes, to be able to move across into full NHS care. But it won’t allow you to jump the waiting list so if the list is 3 years, you have 3 years of paying privately.

If your diagnosis isn’t carried out as per NICE guidelines, you’ll not have shared care accepted by the NHS at all. This in a nutshell means it’ll cost a lot and it’s not a single 2h slot where a psychiatrist hands you a shiny piece of paper diagnosing her. It means MDT team assessments.

If you know this already then the most it’s cost is the time it took me to type…but if you didn’t - this is the reality.

2 x I have been through the process, I know it inside out.

I think you should push them to cover nay extra costs (so the additional childcare for your other child, additional petrol) and then a goodwill gesture on top.