NHS refusing treatment to child who attends private school.

[floralcarpets]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/boy-denied-treatment-nhs-hospital-private-school-kingston-richmond-b1231805.html

AIBU to think this is disgraceful? The mum is likely paying loads of tax which goes towards the NHS and pays for state schools, yet her child is this treatment which they sound like they desperately need.

If parents are able and choose to opt in to private education, they are choosing to opt out of the LEA provision

What about the parents who don’t choose to privately educate their children but because the state system and the LEA has opted out of educating their children it is the only option for them or one parent gives up their job to stay at home and educate their child.

For a lot of people private education is not a choice they wanted to make but one that is forced upon them.

They equally can’t opt out of paying for these services.

But the service can take their money and opt out of educating or treating their child

Wonder what will happen when child turns 18 and because they didn’t receive the treatment or education they needed as a child then they cannot work as an adult

@FairKoala the system is already totally crap for families where a DC can't cope with school. Luckily we didn't get to this point but if we hadn't found a school for DS we would never have EHE due to this meaning the LEA would have no further responsibility for the DC.

They aren’t denying them OT. They are denying some of them OT through this route. They can get it via this route if they have an EHCP, and if not they can access it via a GP. Nobody is being denied anything. There are different routes to getting it depending on circumstances.

If the local paediatric OT service supporting children in schools is provided via a contract with the council specified as only being available to state educated children, then it seems unlikely that there would be a duplicate service for other children referred by GPs.

There doesn’t need to be a duplicate service. It’s just different ways of accessing it. And the article clearly states that it can be accessed via the GP, so what you consider ‘unlikely’ isn’t very relevant.

In law, health care provision which educates or trains is deemed to be special educational provision. That includes OT. Not all special educational provision is provided by teachers.

They can access it (as my privately educated DD did) via an NHS clinic setting - its just that the OT won't go into a private school to deliver therapy - it is provided but the child has to go to the OT rather than the OT going to the child.

To be honest even if your child attends LA (mainstream) schools, parents and carers still end up paying for OTs, Ed. Psych, SaLT assessments. Dyslexia and Sensory Processing assessments have been taken out of many LAs 'offer'. This is even with the 'Golden Ticket' EHCP. We had to 'promise' to pay for an out of area specialist NHS clinic before we could go on a year long waiting list. We then had to 'battle' with our LA because it was a "private' assessment (their definition, as we funded it). Even though there was no provision locally either NHS or Private that could assess our medically complex child (their words after sending us to various unqualified people). We even helped the paediatrician fill out the funding request forms to our local clinical commissioning group (as they were called then). They'd never done one before, so welcome for that teaching moment! We were denied funding. We initially decided to keep them in mainstream and rely on the system, we would pay for their assessments (if not available or multiple year waits) rather than pay for private education, assessments and provision ourselves. This was made very clear to us, you go self funded private school route you fund everything. After two years of verbal and physical abuse, our lovely child has been brutalised enough. We're now looking at specialist provision, which means, at least from what we've researched so far a much more limited academic education, which is awful as they were looking to do Geography, two languages (specialist interest) Computer studies along with English Lit. and Lang. Maths and Science at GCSE. Now were looking at provisions that can offer maybe English and Maths GCSE, with other functional courses. Great for some but not for our child and many others! At least they'll leave school without mental illness, we'll have to see about funding tutors and exam fees for the other GCSEs ourselves. *HEAVY sarcasm implied

How you can't believe anything in the papers.

Has it always been so but now more blatant?

Better off with the Beano!

What about home schoolers?

It could be argued that a private school could arrange a contract with a private medical provider, but someone home schooling cannot.

This is the problem with the headlines in the daily mail and other papers ... no facts just the attention grabbing nonsense .. its the fault of labour tax ... noinwont repeat other posters but it's a contracted package nhs vs la and la schools

.... and it's very hard to get for children in state schools also. The school have budgets to spend and provate or state have to decide how to spend it.

Both private and state could choose to spend huge amounts on OT ... or not... or just a little. Its up to them... but they don't.

I'm paying £150 per week for my child to have an OT in mainstream... we need ehcp (currently.in progress) For it to be paid. Trying to get an nhs referral is a no as it's not classed "medical"

I don't get how people can comment rhat its awful and be so appalled without knowing the facts... but i suppose I can when we live in a daily mail world.

Access through the GP. As the article says and as has been pointed out repeatedly on the thread.

The OT she wants is a fraction of the price privately & delivered incredibly quickly compared to what the NHS can give to state school. I suppose that’s why. In most cases the school will also be willing to pay for the therapies with the condition they keep any equipment.