AIBU to consider a private gynaecology consultation while waiting for NHS referral?

[Sunglade]

I've already been referred to a gynaecologist at the local hospital due to long term pelvic issues and more recently fertility issues (been trying 10 months, but the symptoms added to this make it more concerning- endometriosis is strongly suspected with bowel involvement).
I'm wondering if it's worth getting a private consultation and whether or not they can refer back to the NHS for treatment? I know I should wait my turn but the list is 3-4 months long just for the initial appointment, and I'm worried that I wouldn't even get to see the consultant after such a wait.
I know no one can give definitely answers, but does anyone have experienced of this or anything similar and were you able to speed up your process by paying for your initial consultation with a private consultant?

I dont think a private appointment will refer back into the NHS effectively jumping the queue. I'd be prepared to either continue with the treatment recommendation privately or have to go through the NHS process for assessment as well.

I did this for fertility treatment. The wait for a gynae appointment in my area was nearly 3 years so I seen a gynae privately and he referred myself and my husband to the nhs for fertility treatment, I wouldn’t feel bad about doing it if anything it takes pressure off the nhs and these things can be time sensitive!

I've definitely rang the hospital to find out which consultant I've been assigned and looked to see if they also do private and booked in with them...

I think your proposed course of action sounds

entirely reasonable, OP. Whether it is allowed, I don’t know.

On a cancer pathway, someone I am close with was in a bottleneck waiting for a biopsy. If that was positive they would need NHS surgery. The surgeon for both procedures would be the same. He said they could have the biopsy through his private practice and be referred directly for surgery with him on the NHS if necessary.

That seems similar to what you are asking about, but it was a few years ago so perhaps rules have changed.

Best wishes with everything.

It’s worth trying, but keep in mind, it’s not just a private consultation at £250 each, it will be an ultrasound and possibly a colposcopy or hysteroscopy and possibly some bloods and anaesthetic if you need it for any of the above and then one or more follow up appointments at £250 each again. Then a referral back to the NHS.

Dh went private for some sinus issues. And it was well worth it, but it’s not a one time cost. It was maybe about £2000 in total, plus cost of private prescriptions, which were like £50 each as not covered by NHS. I think if you want to do it, you have to be prepared to see it through til you get an answer, which will mean paying for all the investigations privately as well.

I did this and then when I finally got my nhs appointment it made things quicker as had already had bloods / investigations privately

I saw a private consultant via the NHS, he then said he couldn’t operate on me due to the extent of the endo and referred me back to NHS

YANBU but remember that you won't just be paying for the consult but any scans required, potentially a laparotomy and any prescriptions.

If you are self funding the costs can rack up very quickly.

Do it. My husband saw an ear consultant for £309 then referred back to NHS ... no brainer!

Yanbu Ive done this a couple of times. One was fairly serious (not immediately life threatening but could have developed) and sent the consultation notes to my GP and the hospital appointment contact I'd been given to chase if I hadnt had my first consultation appointment through in 6 months. I had a call a week after with an appointment for the procedure which was actually quicker than the private consultant could have done it. Shame we have to think about doing this but needs must!

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences or ideas, I'm still not sure it would be worth it, as they might just write back to my GP who likely won't be able to do anything other than the NHS referral they've already made. I do think I might be looking at a laporascopy as it's the only way to diagnose, this problem has been going on for more than 10 years and I've been seen so many times (GPs) who haven't done anything. The reason I feel such a hurry now is I'm 34 and have been TTC for almost 10 cycles now. My symptoms have actually gotten even worse in this time and I'm getting pelvic burning nerve pain outside of my period. I'm just so worried and I do feel there is a problem which is stopping us conceiving. I'm also so fed up of the pain now that I pretty much have confirmation it's not normal, I'm honestly at my edge now.

Honestly ring the hospital department that covers referalls, find your consultant, call the secretary. Tell them how concerned you are, how its getting worse. Your worries about TTC. Ask if they have a short notice appointment list and ask if you can be on it. If they say no, ask if you can ring next week and see if anyone has cancelled. Be absolutely polite, nice to them, but emphasise you're concerned.

You'll often get a quicker appointment as you're on their mind.

DH is under Cardiology and he often sees the Consultant privately (it's £200 per consultation) and then he moves him sideways onto his NHS list for treatment. At least you get diagnosis dealt with swiftly - I think the blood tests, scans and ECG's were around £600 in total on top of the Consults). You see the same Consultant, it's rare for them not to have a private list. And the Cardiologist's private secretary will forward things to his NHS one so it's very efficient all round.

The op he needs however is £26k privately, hence going into the NHS queue (been waiting nearly 14 months so far and it's urgent).

This might help, I did something similar previously when I needed my neck scanning years ago and they had a cancellation list. I'm not sure if I would even be assigned to a consultant yet as I'm early on the waiting list if you see what I mean, but I will ring and ask if I've been referred to someone specifically.

I think this works well when the tests are relatively affordable for many people but unfortunately the only way to properly diagnose this issue is surgery. I have already had an ultrasound which didn't see anything, but apparently it very rarely shows up on scans.

Completely via the NHS, my diagnostic path was ultrasound/MRI/laparoscopy, with plenty of other 'must have a chat in order to go on the next waiting list' appointments in between.

If I was you, I would wait for the first appointment and then ask the consultant if any private work would speed things up. Anything pre-emptive would have a solid chance of being a waste of money imo.

Thank you for sharing. It's interesting that you mentioned MRI as I was considering this rather than the consultant appointment. The reason being deep endometriosis affecting the bowel is more likely than other forms to show on an MRI scan, and also I imagine that having the scan done might speed up onto the next step. A pelvic MRI is only a bit more expensive than the consultant appointment, perhaps that's the way to go. Although endometriosis often doesn't show on this too, but maybe the NHS consultant would take a look at it either way?

The attitude of the consultant at the time was "probably won't show anything but must tick the box". And indeed, it showed nothing.

But as every step takes weeks, cutting out the 'waiting for an appointment to agree on an MRI, waiting for an MRI, waiting for an appointment to discuss the MRI results' steps could definitely save you time.

I think the only way a private initial consultant appointment would bump you up the NHS treatment queue is if they decided after seeing you that you needed to be re prioritised as more urgent.

This did actually happen for DM when she was waiting for an appointment to look at her arthritic hip. At the private appointment the xray showed her hip was almost dislocated so was put straight on the urgent operation list. Her GP hadn’t believed her about the amount of pain she was in so downplayed her symptoms in the referral letter.

I had an MRI with Buscopan given and it was enough that they held an MDT meeting as from the MRI it showed I needed 2 surgeons

Ultrasound July 23, MRI was July 24, MDT December, surgery in May so almost 2 years and that was with me pushing as I nearly lost my job due to pain

This was my MRI results so they got a decent idea
Findings:
The anteverted uterus demonstrates changes consistent with diffuse adenomyosis.
There are endometriotic cysts in both ovaries, 14.2 cm on the right and 5.7cm on the left.
The ovaries are
in a kissing position, is here and to each other and to a dense desmoplastic change on the posterior serosal surface of the uterus.
There is also some focal fibrous adhesion to the anterior surface of the upper rectum
Conclusion:
viscera appear clear.
Deep infiltrating pelvic endometriosis, with prominent bilateral ovarian endometriomas and adenomyosis

I'm so sorry to hear about your journey it sounds so hard, especially being in such pain you almost lost your job. Did you find much relief after your surgery?
The pain has been really bad for me the past week. My period actually finished a few days ago but I have this severe burning that's actually causing nerve pain throughout all my most sensitive bits. I have had flares this bad before but I had almost forgotten how bad they are..
Did you say which provider did you MRI? Was there any special prep involved? I am leaning towards this now.

No prep, ended up being done by the NHS. They gave me Buscopan on the day
my worst pain was never on my period, and the flares were very random, often needing morphine or in a&e with gas and air

since my op (I had a mirena fitted too) no pain at all, no flares

I’ve been waiting 5 months already to see a Hanse specialist.

I did similar. It definitely helped