If you go private... how different is the "experience"?

[emkana]

I'm seriously considering going private to get more/better treatment/investigations for ds. Also I'm really hacked off with the consultant - snotty cow . (Details on SN board)

So what will it be like if I do go private with him? Any experiences?

I thnk general consensus in UK is that private not necessarily better,merely quicker.
Have had varicose veins done privately and also some ante natal testing and dh seen with a bad back.
Nicer waiting rooms and no wait basically.

Much faster, pleasant staff probably because there are more of them and they are not so harassed and overworked. Food better and the consultant usually licks your arse lol.

DS had minor surgery when he was 3 and we went down the private route, simply because he was dealt with quicket from start to finish.

I feel the treatment we received was far, far better than what we would have had on the NHS. The operation was done first thing in the morning, so no waiting around (the surgeon then did his stuff at the NHS hospital later on in the day). We were invited in the week before so DS could see where he'd be and meet the staff who'd be looking after him. Because we were to be there all day, the parents received meals at his bedside too.

And he got a teddy at the end too. Not that this swayed me

and the consultant phoned us the following day, and 2 weeks later to see how DS was.

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DS had his tonsils out when he was 4 privately. We would have had to wait 18 months on NHS so that was a plus. Also the consultant used a new procedure which was less invasive which wasn't being done on NHS at that time. Own room, cleaner, good meals and good follow-up and the teddy bear all made it an easier experience.

We have gone private for various things..

Pluses for us:

• pleasant & helpful staff when making appt
• significantly less time waiting in waiting room
• drinks & clean toilet facilities available
• for ops nice clean hospitals, good food, good nursing

• consultant who is qualified on the subject as opposed to some random junior doc
• doc taking time to explain things to you, you just get more of their time

Never gone private for anything, but wanted to praise our GP for being so concerned about dd when she had horrible rash a month ago. Gp wasn't sure so referred her immediately to paediatric assessment unit where she was seen straight away, although we had to wait 2 hours for dd to provide a urine sample! Last week GP wrote to ask how she was as she hadn't heard anything from the hospital. Was very impressed with the personal care we received.
My grandparents go private 'such nice rooms, it's like being in a hotel'!

emkana - from what I can gather private can be good for getting things fixed quickly - eg one off operations. I've also been told it can be good for chronic long-term things - where you need regular care and you need someone you can talk to when you need to - someone who'll return your calls. I wonder if the right approach for you might be finding the right consultant and then working out if you need to go private or not to have that consultant. (this approach was recommended to me, but have never pursued it). Are there specific sites where you could get advice from people in similar situations who can tell you about/recommend consultants to you? also if you're not happy with the current consultant your first port of call should maybe be your GP - I think within reason you can ask to be referred elsewhere. good luck - hope things are ok.

I was just going to say the same thing as hat.

Choose the consultant you feel has the best chance of having the experience you require and then proceed from that IYSWIM.