Benenden health

[LovelyBath]

Hi can anyone recommend this scheme (or not) or have any experience of using it?
I understand it's meant to be complementary to the NHS and say if there's awaiting list more than 4 weeks they may then get you seen quicker.

I have just spoken to a mum who is a GP at school this morning, she says she has seen more patients using it and has been filling in forms for it recently. She wasn't sure of the outcome however although said a couple of patients had given positive feedback.

I am attracted to it for the price as much as anything. Can't afford private insurance but would like a back up if ever got stuck on a really long waiting list.

We've had it for years - started it through DH's previous employment and then carried it on when he left. We have never used it, although nearly did last year when DH needed his gall-bladder out. They agreed to cover him if the NHS wait was more than 6 weeks.
The down side was that they will only operate either in their own hospital (which I think is in Kent) or certain designated other centres - the ones we were offered were both about an hours drive from where we live. Also, NHS told DH their waiting list was 6 wks, so we thought we'd go with that. By the time the NHS had kept us waiting 8 weeks and counting, we would have had to wait up to another 6 weeks for a date for the op through Beneden.
Also there are a lot of things that Beneden won't cover you for, but equally some things they do cover that you wouldn't get on the NHS.
It's like any other insurance - great value if you claim on it, but not so great of you pay the premium for years and never use it.

We have personal experience of this scheme it's very restrictive if I were you I'd be looking at Bupa and Aviva we no longer use them

Hi thanks for the replies. I suppose if you got the referral through and it said more than 4 weeks you could apply at that stage though?

I would try for private health but they won't cover pre-existing conditions unfortunately. I agree though it sounds better in some ways for 'new' things.

I have heard mixed things about the Benenden hospital. I think you only 'have' to go to it if you live like within 60 miles or so though. In our case it would be a different one but about an hour away which would be fine.

Hi. I have it for myself and my parents and would highly recommend it. Like you said it's very reasonably priced and I think the best use is the fact that you can be referred to a consultant privately for tests and diagnosis up to £1500. I have used this a couple of times and it's worked very well. I think that at least if you get prompt diagnosis you can go back on nhs list for treatment.

We joined beneden a couple of years ago.

Last year I had some neuro problems, and I got seen at beneden almost immediately, after a referral from my gp. I think the first appointment was within a fortnight. The same day as I saw the consultant there I also had an mri scan, and had a follow up appointment really quickly.

They were very quick and efficient.

However, as I live in the SE I had to go to their hospital. It's deep in the countryside so is really only accessible by car/long train journey. I think outside of the SE you can go elsewhere.

For me it's worth having for peace of mind. But it's a hassle to get to, especially if like me you need about 5 appointments.

Great - that's really helpful. Especially as the GP mum i spoke to was saying that in her opinion, the NHS in our area is so over stretched it's only really dealing with life threatening and serious operations, the local hospital is constantly on 'red alert'. That the people she sees having trouble are those with chronic or persisting conditions stuck on waiting lists...

So in these kind of situations Benenden might come in helpful. It says on the website it all depends on how the condition is affecting your life, and with small children it's important to get things sorted quickly isn't it.

I also have the other kind of urgent medical condition, which I'll have to rely on A & E, surgeons for.

best wishes to everyone with using it.

Also like the way it seems to work with the NHS- so if you get the tests through quicker then based on those results, you can then use for NHS treatment etc.

I am in it and used it about a year ago to accelerate a diagnostic test. They were nice on the phone, covered the test and reimbursed the invoice promptly.

I go most of my premiums back in that one episode.

It's not as comprehensive as full private health cover but a useful back-up/supplement when the waiting is a problem. I would recommend.

I'd do it for cheapness. It's not medical insurance but it's better than nothing and so cheap! £7 a month?