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.

This would be in the Standard, run by George 'austerity' Osbourne who, with his sidekick David Cameron sent us hurtling down the path the the massive shit hole we are in? Who admitted that austerity was more of a philosophical aim than actual need? Yes, would not believe them if they told me it was Monday today.

I knew there would be. Thankyou for clarifying it in the first post so I didn’t have to read the full thread 😂

It seems to vary a lot by area. Where we are in Wales, my son (home educated) gets NHS SALT and NHS OT and currently weekly private OT funded by the council in his IDP. I know home educators in England who can get no community NHS SALT or OT and the fight for an ECHP is long.

Health services should be provided by the health service. If a child needs SALT or OT or physio then the NHS should provide that via their community services. If the LA wish to pay to commission services so children in state schools can have quicker access then that is great but it should be separate to the NHS service.

Private schools can either be fantastic for children with additional needs, or (more typically) really awful. They do not have to meet the needs of the children in the same way. I know of private schools that have OT provision, but it is parent self funded! Of course children in state schools get access to state funded OT but it’s EXTREMELY hard to fit the NHS criteria to actually get it. And so most actually just don’t. It’s only the ones with the highest level of need.

You probably couldn't and that is awful but it bears no relation to this case

The issue is the OTs cannot provide that service AT the private school. Privately funded OTs would be able to. The mothers best bet is requesting her child be seen in clinic or at home but something like hypermobility falls so so low on the priority list for funded services the waitlist would be astronomical.

it is. They do.

oh goodness someone who knows what they are talking about. I have said this several times already

I wish we could pin some posts under the OP

Really helpful Twitter thread here explaining the situation, which was created by the Children and Families Act 2014 (when Cameron was PM):
https://x.com/monkemma/status/1931657489272971546?s=46&t=agd2fYHaobfu454D6v_seg

excellent idea....except how are you going to get the people who kneejerk to the chainjerk posts misunderstand to read the pinned post?

Not sure if this has already been answered, is this applicable to home schooled children? Are they not entitled as they don’t go to state schools?

"Paid For by the Local Authority or anyone else, it’s still a non-education public service that the local authority is only providing to those that go to state schools."

Occupational therapy is considered educational provision in many cases. Likewise Speech and Language Therapy.

RTFT I alrerady answered this

My DC are home educated now (previously in state schools - one in special school, the other mainstream).

Some services are a pain in the arse to navigate because the process is to go via the school.

For example, DD was officially diagnosed as autistic aged 10, but I think she's also ADHD. Her paediatrician only diagnoses autism, not ADHD (which is ridiculous anyway - but this is the NHS). The ADHD pathway is different and HAS to go through the school. Apparently the referral won't be accepted or opened until there's a report from the school and the child has to have an EHCP/My Plan+ or equivalent. As a home educated child, there's no school report and no EHCP etc (we had just started the EHCP application when she was in school but didn't pursue it).

I imagine there will be some kind of pathway but it usually takes a whole heap of arguing/persistence. In our experience, referrals are often rejected without the admin person actually looking at the reasons why.

In the battle between state and private schools, home educated kids are often forgotten.

GPs don't often want to help because they think it's up to the school. They get a bit pissed off when there is no school to facilitate referrals. Some things you can refer to directly - like speech and language therapy, and in some areas, OT. Other things need a GP referral, or you have to battle with the provider directly.

The aspects of OT practice that are provided in schools are related to education.

Lots of posters still giving great detail about why, due to funding and labelling of the services, this is legal… doesn’t really answer the question of whether private school kids have equal access or if it’s fair though.

It's wild to me that an educational choice could have a health implication, no matter the mechanism for delivery. Why on earth would an NHS service only be available to particular schools? It's not an educational service.

FWIW school nurses go into private schools to deliver vaccinations.

Also, lots of people pay for private health care, but still access NHS services where necessary/appropriate. Imagine if we start saying that no one with private health insurance is allowed to phone 999, for example, because "well, you can afford to pay for the whole lot then, can't you".

Because the local education authority funds it and access is almost always through school. OT, Physio, Speech etc from them do not go to private schools.

NHS service will be available to the child, just not through the local education authority because the parents opted out of it.

They do. They can go to their GP.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/faqs/occupational-therapy

www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/occupational-therapy/

Yep... My DC had a private OT sensory assessment done and the OT stated that she had "significant sensory modulation challenges".

To even see an OT on the NHS for that, I would need to:

1. Watch some videos online,
2. Document for three months what strategies have been tried and if not worked,
3. Give the above to the school and ask them (again, why them??) to make a referral,
4. If accepted, go on waiting list for a 30-minute call with an OT who would give you advice,
5. If advice has still not worked, go back to the school who will then re-refer,
6. If accepted, then go on another waiting list to see someone....

So if you go to the GP with joint pain and you are a child and you go to a private school, the GP can’t refer you to the relevant service?

They do, just not through their school.

And also worth mentioning that trying to get seen by services in a state school can be a real lottery anyway. Only a fraction of the kids who would benefit from an OT assessment (or any other specialist service) qualify for a referral.

I remember when my DD needed an assessment by an Educational Psychologist, the school had "used up" their credits for the year, so we had to wait for April until they were refreshed. They could have bought more credits from the LA but had no spare money.

The whole system is a bit of a nightmare. Imo, the worst thing they did was start to channel medical referrals through schools.

I have also really struggled with the idea that choosing a private school for my DC (and thereby relieving the state of providing for their education) is also deemed to be me opting out of certain ancillary health services.

I have a DC with permanent hearing loss. In a state school they would be entitled to twice yearly visits from an Advisory Teacher for the Deaf, who goes into the school, speaks to my DC and observes them in class and then advises DC’s teachers on accommodations needed to help them. Said person will also visit private schools, but only if we or the private school pay. I really don’t get this - it’s the same person, doing the same job? Why should it matter where the child goes to school?

In fairness, I should also make clear that we do get NHS support for the other things DC needs - regular hearing tests, updates to DC’s hearing aids etc - and that that has been consistently good.

If private schools want the same service, they can negotiate with the NHS and commission it themselves, or find equivalent private provision.

When you opt out of the state system, you opt out of all of it. You can't just cherry pick the bits you like.