private health insurance that has appeared on the school bill

[cungryhatterpillar]

DS is starting at a private school next term. We've just got the fees, and on top of what we were expecting are a bunch of insurance fees, including dental and health insurance.

The dental insurance is cheap so we'll go with that as it's a pain to get hold of an NHS dentist.

The health insurance costs about £60 per term.

I'm thinking - don't we have an NHS??? What is this for? I'm new to this game - is it normal for kids at private schools to have this. What exactly does it do to help things? Can I have some advice from others who've been in the same situation on whether to opt in or opt out. What do most people do?

We have it but dd is on a dance course & it covers physiotherapy etc. the chance of injury is much higher & it means thw school can use a specialist dance physio without waiting lists.

At ds's school they add accident insurance but you can opt out.

I'd rather put the money into a savings account.Private health care is a croc imvho.Yes it's great to have an op when you want but you don't need insurance for that.Chances are your DS won't anything.If you have to wait too long on the NHS(we never have) you just go to your gp and ask for a private referral.My parents do.

If he has an emergency believe me you'll want the NHS with their specialists and ICU.As a private patient who was faced with floundering doctors who couldn't even call an ambulance to get me to the facilities they didn't have at their private hospital I was beyond grateful for the emergency care from the NHS hospital my dh drove me to in the same city.

It's worthwhile for sporting injuries. A&E will patch you up brilliantly but physio etc can take for ever. Private physio can start the next day. Just a thought.

My dd had physio on the NHS a week after my GP gave me the number to ring,you pick your time and date every week.Ditto my mother.

Was it a specialist physio though. Dd sees one who specialises in dancers.

And editing a week would be too long got serious sportspeople.

My dd isn't a serious sportswoman and her injury wasn't serious.

Wouldn't cost a lot to pay for private sessions until your first NHS appointment came through if it was crucial not to wait a few days.I'm sure if it was that crucial you'd be treated as a priority case anyway.

My DS's school took the view that we were paying (almost literally) £1,000 a week to have him there in term time. Why not pay £2.50 a week to ensure that he'd be up and running ASAP (be it from sporting injury, unexplained stomach cramps, recurrent headaches or whatever)?

My DS was not offered the OP. on the NHS at a time that suited us, primarily because all parents want non urgent ops in the holidays. I agree you probably won't use it, and that you won't do better than the NHS for emergency care but in the grand scheme of things when you're already stumping out 35k+ it seems like a drop in the ocean frankly.

I got a tonsillectomy for DS in the Easter hols no problem.Lovely consultant.Tbh if it wasn't crucial(infection risk was my worry) the hols wouldn't normally bother me.

I have to say there is no way I'd ever have my dc operated on in a hospital that wasn't NHS with an NHS paed ICU which rules out Bupa hospitals anyway.

I have checked this with the school and it's optional so I've opted out. Ds isn't at all sporty so physio isn't a huge concern for us. I can barely afford the school fees so an extra 60 quid a term on this isn't very attractive!

I just cross stuff off the school invoice that I don't want to pay.
Never had a complaint.