private vs NHS hospitials

[candyflossy]

Apart from the waiting time, is private much more better then NHS, in terms of treatment, service, etc.?

Depends what you are having done.

Not all private hospitals have a crash team so if you are having anything done that has the potential to lead to you physically deteriorating and becoming acutely ill, its a huge risk. It will depend on your own medical history too.

Hotel like facilities are lovely but they won't stop you dying if you become septic, start bleeding, develop renal failure etc.

Depends what you want out of a hospital stay really. My aim would be to be treated safely and home again in one piece.

I've had amazing treatment for Breast Cancer on NHS. Really no question it was the best treatment available at a state of the art teaching hospital.

Why do you ask OP?
Are you thinking of taking out insurance for private care?

we've had private care for 25 years. we've used it loads for all the family- one bonus is that you get quicker appts with consultants ( though you can pay for these anyway if you are not insured) and usually have an op/treatment more quickly.

In hospitals you have your own room, en suite, choice of food etc, and more attention.

However, private care only deals with "nuisance" illness, not life threatening mostly- so if you have cancer or need intensive nursing for something serious like a major heart op, that would be done best NHS as many private hospitals are small and don't have a full staff 24 hours.

Thanks for all your info.

Ameliagrey, I would like to see a specialist but don't want to wait 3 months for a NHS apppointment.

Are you worried about swapping from private to NHS, candyflossy, if it turns out you have something you need more than one or two appointments for? Maybe, if so, you should ask the question whether anyone has paid to see a consultant quickly and then found out they have a problem they can't afford to pay privately to rectify?

(ps if you already have private health insurance, you might as well use it).

When I had a back problem I had a mix of private and NHS care. I went private to get the MRI scan/diagnosis which took a year off the NHS waiting time, which was 6 months to see a consultant who would decide if MRI was necessary, followed by 6 months wait to actually have the MRI. Privately this was completed within 2 weeks. I then went on the NHS waiting list for the operation. Whilst waiting I had a minor spinal operation on the NHS which went wrong and as I needed a darkened room for recovery I ended up in the private wing of the hospital which was fab, but as I wasn't actually a private patient my family had to bring food in for me, but it was a pleasant stay, much nicer than the wards which were terribly crowded.

For IVF I had both NHS and private. The NHS was functional and very caring, but couldn't compare to the private stay in hospital. To compare - post egg collection op on NHS, I was given 2 paracetomol and a biscuit and up and out in 30 minutes. For private care I was given a full lunch and morphine and told to rest for as long as I needed.

amelia, I had a horrendous back problem a few years ago. I could barely walk and had a toddler to look after, yet the wait to see the Neurosurgeon was 6 weeks. I paid for a consult at his private clinic and saw him straight away. He then agreed to treat me under NHS, so in effect I queue jumped, but paid to do so iyswim.