Can a private gp refer to an nhs specialist?

[Bloomed]

In the ongoing saga of my ruptured hemorrhagic ovarian cyst and possible endometriosis etc etc, am thinking of asking a private gp to refer me to an nhs specialist. Rather than doing the wait and see dance with my nhs gp. Is this possible?

Hi I'm not sure it would move you up the waiting list faster than seeing an NHS GP. He maybe a bit more through with any tests they carry out but you would need to pay for these.

Seeing an NHS gynaecologist privately would be the better way to go.
Most Gynaecologists do private and NHS work.
Best way is to make an appt with different GP in your practice and ask for private referral/consultation and then go back on NHS list if any further treatment is necessary.

Yes they can refer to an NHS Consultant. It is in BMA guidelines

Thanks Mary: I'm not yet on any waiting list which is a bit of a problem.
Thanks Butterfly: I'll investigate costs of private consultations.
Thanks befairdontjudge I'll investigate private gp options too.

PM me if you get stuck. Happy to help.

Agree the way forwards is to book a private consultant with the gynaecologist of your choice. Usually costs £150-250 and you should be able to get an appointment within a few days. They can then add you to their nhs list for any further investigation or treatment you need. A private GP appointment would be a waste of money.

Thanks welshweasel. I'll investigate who has a good reputation locally as I've not lived here long.
Thanks befair. Will pm when I know more.

Does anyone know if a private consultant would have access to my scan images?

My consultant didn’t have access to my NHS scans, so I paid for them to be put on a disk. I just contacted the scan department, think it was £20 for all of them including radiology reports

Oh that's interesting. I'll see who I need to contact.

It depends! Where I work they would, because you can see a private doctor in the same hospital as they do nhs stuff so they can see all your results. Generally though, they wouldn’t be able to. What sort of scan? If it’s ultrasound just the report would be fine. MRI or CT you’d need to apply and pay to get the images on disk.

My private endocrinologist worked in our local NHS trust and he looked up my previous CTs when he went into work and had access , he couldn’t look at them from the private hospital computers , although he did ring up and speak to someone about my previous blood results during my first consultation .