Private AND NHS consultant??

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Looking for some advice. GP referred me to see a consultant, I saw the consultant privately. The treatment he’s suggested he has a private waiting list of 4 weeks+ for until he can see me. I went private naturally because I was anxious and wanted to do evrything as quickly as possible. However, the NHS wait for the same procedure is 6 weeks. SO I called my GP and apparently I now need to go through the entire process again on the NHS so I have to see my GP (2 ww) then be referred to an NHS consultant (approx 1-2 month wait) then the NHS consultant has to refer me for the treatment (6ww)... I assumed that if you saw a consultant private or not and they suggested treatment that was honoured by your GP regardless of how you obtained it, surely?? I didn’t mean to go down this route but it’s all gone a bit tits up and I don’t want to waste 2 months on the nhs waiting to see the GP and consultant Just to get back to where I am now if I don’t have to? I’m getting different info from my GP surgery, online and from the private practise.

Anyone got a clue how all this gubbins works??

The reason I’m asking is because he treatment is bloody expensive. I was willing to break the bank and go ahead for peace of mind as I’m going out of my head... but when they turn around and say the waiting time is similar the NHS I can’t see the point. I just want to know if I really have to see two consultants to hear the same thing, it just seems rediculous

I’m slightly flabbergasted by this

You went privately for consultation and now you want to springboard back into the public sector past people referred via the NHS processes simply by virtue of having had the initial work up privately?

If you consult privately why not have the test privately too?

FWIW, for the future, anything worthy of a 2WW referral is far, far, far better done within the NHS. Usually way faster and has all the safety checks of a full supporting team. God forbid it actually did show a cancer then there are processes and pathways to ensure the result isn’t list and you get to treatment in the pathway required timeframe. The same simply does not exist in private health care.

Ok I’ve read this before on this mn, but it’s is not what happens in our area. Here the private Consultant can arrange for you to join his / her NHS waiting list without going back through the GP.

but it isn't the same wait at all, is it. Not now. It's 4 weeks vs 14(ish) weeks.

You can't mix private and NHS. Otherwise, people who can afford first consultant appointment would go for that, then ask to be referred back to the nhs for diagnostics/treatment and cut in front of those still waiting to see the consultant in outpatient.

Your situation is a bit different as it is unusual for diagnostics to be quicker under the nhs than private but it means you want the best of both. You can't do that and rightly so.

Ok I’ve read this before on this mn, but it’s is not what happens in our area. Here the private Consultant can arrange for you to join his / her NHS waiting list without going back through the GP
Just to say that some consultants do that but it is against the rules of the nhs, and I think even illegal. If they get caught, they do get a telling (and possibly more) from the commissioners or NHS trusts.

I went private and saw a consultant and both my gp and the consultant said I could have further tests on the nhs if necessary but they weren’t.
Myhubby also went private to see a consultant quickly because he had a serious condition, the consultant now sees him on the nhs

To say you can't have both NHS and private care simultaneously isn't quite true.

You can't mix and match, I. E. Have an NHS hip replacement and pay for an implant only available privately.

The tenet is that what you do in one sector shouldnt benefit or prejudice the other.

So you could have your private initial constation then be referred for a scan on the NHS and followed up there with the results. Or seen, and then added to the NHS waiting list.

Christ there’s always people on here ready to pounce aren’t there. I hadn’t actually even considered that it was ‘jumping the que’. After a lifetime of heart conditions managed brilliantly by the NHS this is the first time I’ve ever gone private and was simply querying how the process works, Helspopje try understanding the full situation and background before you look for a reason (clearly any reason) to have a go at someone.

It would be a 14ww+ yes if I have to wait to see another consultant, so my only reason for asking any of this is do I have to do that. If that’s the case then that’s how it is and I’ll decide which path to take, as I said I haven’t done this before and it’s quite confusing. The consultant I’m seeing also works at my local NHS hospital so there’s a chance I could land up seeing him again in the same scenario in 2 months time which just seems odd.

As I said I’ve had a lifetime of using the NHS but just on this occasion I’ve gone private and wanted some info. Thank you to those who’ve had productive answers x

And like I said in my original post, the treatment is extremely expensive and we aren’t exactly loaded. I’m just trying to way up the options.

Your GP is able to refer you to the named consultant in the NHS hospital. They do it by sending in a paper referral rather than the electronic referral.

I was referred like this when a private consultant wanted me referred back to the NHS to be treated by a specific colleague. I didn't jump the queue and I joined the waiting list but for a specific dr. Can you not ask the GP to do that? At least you will see the same consultant?

Yes it's a bit messy if you mix it, unlike say dental treatment which often people will pay more more say a silver filling or a whitening treatment.

I think it's a postcode lottery or what happens but a good 10 years ago things tightened up to stop people effectively jumping the waiting list. The thing js though, I'd private practice is managed right it's not jumping a line. Because you should attend outside the normal hours so it just makes the waiting list shorter for those waiting really. But I think too many corners have been cut and the NHS has cracked down on it.

Waiting lists are shocking here (Wales) so if I had the money Honestly I would consider paying. Otherwise you looking at several months down the line. In my area they use lots of tactics to add time to waiting list so while it's been "processed" with admin isn't counted and both my children's referrals were se t cam with missing information and it was all there, but they do it as they can move you back down the line again. It's so frustrating.

Hope you feel better soon OP.

‘So you could have your private initial constation then be referred for a scan on the NHS and followed up there with the results. Or seen, and then added to the NHS waiting list.’

Fixthebone that’s basically exactly what I wanted to know x I wish I’d have been intelligent enough to think I could’ve fasttracked the entire system by having a private consultancy then using their referral to go private but fortunately I’m not that intelligent or conspiring! Although I’ve now found myself in this position and I’m not sure where to find the correct advice? My GP surgery are saying I need to start from square one...

Oh Weetabix I didn’t know that was an option? I’ll definately do that. I liked him so would like to stay with him however I can x

Thank you mummy... feeling v. Emotional atm. I’ve lost almost 2 stone now since October and have barely had a nights sleep, I just want to get back to normal soon can focus on my little girls again, I feel like I’m a bit lost right now and I’m trying to be there for them but when you’re hurting 24/7 it’s hard to concentrate on much else. Thank you x

No it’s not illegal or against any NHS rules - believe me my dh is a bloody stickler for rules! If he sees a patient in the private hospital who needs investigations or treatment in the NHS he then refers them to the correct department / to another specialist / to his own NHS clinic to be put on the list for whatever it is. It would be a terrible waste of the GP’s time to send the patient back there. The GP will of course receive a letter explaining what is happening.

This is also what happened to me when I found a breast lump. I saw the breast surgeon privately who biopsied the lump, a week later I was told it was cancer. He then referred me for my MRI scan on the NHS and the rest of the treatment was all NHS.

I’ve seen plenty of private consultants. Who have the. Has the tests or whatever through their nhs list. Has never been a problem. I’ve also had private treatment and nhs treatment

My daughter saw a private consultant. My old MHz one actually. Who then advised she needed a certain operation. For which HAD to be done at the nhs hospital. As it needed some kind of instruments. I remember when I rang up to put her on the wait list the secretary was so upset as she said you do realise their are children who’ve been on this list for 6 months. Problem was. I didn’t even know that and it wasn’t up to me when she got her operation date....so why she was shouting at me.

It used to be true that you could not mix private and NHS services. This is no longer the case and your private consultant could perfectly well (and should) transfer you to his/her NHS care or refer you directly to another NHS consultant. It is a waste of time (yours and your GPs) to cover this ground again.

Thank you for this, I’m wondering why they haven’t offered? I spoke to his PA this afternoon to clear everything up and she said we will have to go back the GP and start the process again which is such a waste of time for everyone, it’s also a waste of an NHS consultancy sm onsidering they’ll just say exactly what my consultants already said. I get the impression he has spread himself quite thinly across various hospitals private and NHS etc and maybe this is just a bit of extra hassle they don’t want to deal with. Perhaps because this doesn’t benefit them financially anymore they won’t put anymore time into it, I’d hate to see it like that but maybe that’s the reason or maybe things work differently in different parts of the country, I just don’t know... I suppose it’s back to the drawing board for me now