TootsieWantsToRelocate, TBH, I am not looking for sympathy - was just hoping to find moms who's recently had ELCS at CWH on either side to understand if it is worth spending a big chunk of our savings on private operation or not as I've developed a serious anxiety of NHS failing me again and am now trying to weigh my fear against £15k that was very hard to earn.
I do not feel I am "bashing NHS" (or at least that was not my intention) - rather just sharing personal experience that was very-very bad.
E.g. I was with a const 40C fever for 2 weeks that would not fall a notch after paracetamol or ibuprofen, const headache that made me want breaking my head with a hammer, confusion, inability to understand what my family were asking and to answer them clearly, light sensitivity, pain in all body, cough that made me vomit, and extreme const nausea. So, first my NHS GP said it was "just a flu" when I saw him on day 3 of symptoms and then that A&E Dr made me wait for 7 hours and then asked if I ever had headaches after drinking too much and happily and confidently concluded that it was a migraine on top of some respiratory virus.
Ironically enough, as I was in terrible state I've asked my cleaner to come with me to A&E, and while we were waiting she said "You know what? I think you've got a pneumonia. I can't think of anything else that would make you so sick and cause such cough". A cleaning lady from Eastern Europe knew better than an accredited UK doctor!!!
And the Dr refused to do CRP and ESR blood tests - just done a rapid WBC test, which does not show anything in lots of cases, not to mention an XRay and swab for bacteria/viruses.
Thanks goodness I did not listen to that CWH A&E Dr and convinced my insurance that I needed to see a Neurologist for that killer non-stop headache (as I've thought after reading on-line I had a viral meningitis).
So Neurologist overheard me coughing in his waiting area and said "I think you've got pneumonia. Forget about migraine and go straight for X-ray".
Then I ran to the same NHS GP who sent me home 12 days ago with my X-ray on hand (as Neurologist was only supposed to see me and the image in 2 days time) and he said that he did not believe it was pneumonia - in clear denial of his initial miss.
Then I arranged via insurance to see a Respiratory Consultant same eve - and he said it was a very advanced atypical pneumonia that had almost gotten to my heart and the root of the lungs (the one that requires several powerful antibiotics due to resistant to conventional amoxicillin).
I was treated by him at Cromwell with lots of appointments, blood checks, heart and lung scans, etc. that cost £10-20k. And it took me 3 months to recover and left me scared for life of any respiratory illness.
My little son who caught my infection went to see A&E Paed at CWH and a very young Dr said he was "100% confident it was just a normal children's bug" and sent him home. - All after being told my ongoing story.
So, again, I ran next morning to private Paed via insurance and he sent my DS straight for X-ray and bloods. And guess what? - same pneumonia as mine but caught very early, so no risk for heart or lungs stopping working as in my case.
A week before my misfortune began, husband spent half-day with tummy pain and after he's told me his exact symptoms and developed fever, I told him "go to A&E - it's appendicitis". (I am not a Dr and never had one myself but heard from 2 friends who did).
And again, some Jr Dr failed to recognize all the classic symptoms and kept him for 28h w/o surgery or any investigation even. I had to call in panic private surgeons to find somebody who could just get up and gain access to operations theater and to carefully convince our insurance that it was not an emergency (which they don't cover) but a need for consultation that just happens to be available straight away and take it from there. So, husband happened to have the largest appendix on record that that Surgeon Prof. had ever seen and it did rupture - thanks to NHS negligence. Instead of laporoscopy and 1-3 days in hospital he ended up with a massive cut, and 2-week hospitalization with drainage, nasty leaking wound and insane amount of different antibiotics.
Phew, that was quite a long reflection.
Sorry but felt like laying it all out straight after being bashed for "bashing the NHS";)))
I am convinced that I have my right and reason for feeling let down by them and damn worried about upcoming childbirth and any future A&E admissions.
Re insurance: I always attempt to see a private consultant same or next day now in case of any worrying symptoms. - You just have to be careful with how you phrase it to GP and insurer to make sure they don't tell you to go to A&E instead. And hospitals like Cromwell, St Johns and Elizabeth and several HCA hospitals have lots of in-patient facilities should you require hospitalization.
Unfortunately though my currrent UK insurance does not cover pregnancy and labour while it is actually a time when you need continuous qualified care since there are just so many things that can go wrong for either you or your baby. Having lived in other countries where I had full pregnancy and childbirth insurance coverage (but no kids yet) and where seeing a Dr every couple of weeks with blood tests and scans as well as having a Dr led delivery is a norm in both state & private hospitals, I feel very stressed and vulnerable now.
To finish, I am definitively happy for those whose lives were saved by NHS but I was not one of those lucky people so far.