For those who have accessed private healthcare, do you find there is a big difference in speed and quality of care compared to NHS?

[Yappydogs]

I recently decided to book a private GP appointment owing to some ongoing health issues I've been having. It's the first time in my life that I've accessed private health treatment. It was regarding something that's been impacting my quality of life for a while. I was having tremendous difficulties getting an appointment with my NHS GP. At the practice I'm registered with, you have to jump through hoops backwards and blindfolded to even have a chance of getting an appointment. You can only get an FTF (face-to-face) appointment in what they deem to be exceptional circumstances. You also have to deal with receptionists gatekeeping you (and heaven forbid if it's an embarrassing problem, or just something you'd prefer to only discuss with the GP directly). They seemingly have an obsession with telephone appointments. I believe this is the norm now in England, but some practices seem to be worse for it than others.

With all of that mentioned, with the private appointment I had, the difference in how easy it was to make an appointment, and how I was dealt with upon attending, was night and day compared to the NHS. I booked a 30-minute appointment which gave me ample time to explain what my issues were. With the NHS it's a maximum of 10 minutes per appointment, and I've found that in reality it can often be less than that. I get the sense that they can't wait to get rid of you, and there is a sense of a revolving door when attending appointments. The GP I saw privately was very patient and understanding. I actually feel like I am getting somewhere now after being fobbed off for so long. I'm aware that it may well get expensive quite quickly as I don't have PMI, but I was prepared for that. I've been saving up for this appointment and subsequent ones that I might require. Do you think the old adage of "you get what you pay for" applies to healthcare as much as any other service or commodity?

I have heard a lot about people using it in the last couple of decades, not because they want anything fancy, but people who are going into debt to use it because they feel they must. I think it's awful that children who need certain healthcare can't get it on the NHS. My friend has a deaf child, and he suffers awfully from tinnitus at night. The hearing aids the NHS give can only be worn in the day (so she says, forgive me if I'm not an expert in this but I am sure this woman wouldn't lie). There are some that can be inserted and used 24/7, but the NHS refuses to give these. Without them, he is suffering all the time and can't sleep properly, affecting how he does at school and making him too tired and upset to see friends.
So though she's not rich, she has to pay for healthcare, so my answer would be that sometimes, it's vital.

Almost certainly.

There’s massive variation by area - sometimes for good reason, but often it seems not based on good justification and more on the ‘Thats the was we’ve always done it’ or reluctance to change, or short term budget management that results in a widely variable service.

But just do it via econsult rather than an appt. Or call the private GP connected to your private healthcare and they will do the referral to the consultant. That's how it works with AXA and Bupa.

For me the best thing was being able to choose a consultant and have some consistency of care. I was seen same week and immediately referred for scans. In NHS while you are under a named consultant the clinics are run by a number of doctors and it is random which you see on any given day. I was told I would have urgent appointment within three weeks but when chased it was likely a minimum wait of three months. By the time an NHS appointment came I was already six weeks after the private treatment. NHS Physio was not hands on, running through exercises rather than treatment. For me although the diagnosis and plan was similar, private treatment helped me feel as if I was recovering rather than stagnating in pain.

Vast difference! I actually got my eye operation (not cataract) and not more waiting. 18 months and nothing from NHS. It was likely to be another 18 months. Private - 3 weeks.

There are some things you can’t get privately though……

Ambulance
District nurse for example

I also think that if treatment starts privately then the NHS shouldn’t have to do the follow up parts. For example a patient has cosmetic surgery in Manchester for example but needs dressings etc in Cornwall then it should be included in the price they’ve paid and provided by a private provider in Cornwall not the GP surgery or district nurse

DS had shoulder surgery a couple of years ago. If we had gone through NHS he would still be waiting as he could function perfectly every day but would not have been able to play his sport.
The initial consult was quick as was the MRI although we had to travel for specific MRI. He still had to wait a month for surgery because the surgeon is very busy. Unfortunately he probably needs surgery on his other shoulder but it means six weeks minimum with an immobilised arm and he’s in the middle of uni so not a good time.

In contrast DH is now on the list for knee replacement via NHS. He was first referred 12 months ago and has only just seen consultant. DH has been reluctant to have knee replacement so the slow progress of the referral has suited him. He has had time to process the procedure. The surgeon used him as a model at a seminar he was doing, DH now feels confident in the surgeon and the seminar was fascinating ( I’m a health professional so went into full health geek mode ). We would have proceeded privately but DH has underlying health condition which are better served in a hospital with ICU. Having had a stroke it will be an increased risk during surgery. Despite the bad press the NHS receives, our local hospital were brilliant when he had the stroke.

If DH was fit and well we would definitely consider private route although it would be with the same surgeon who specialises in reconstruction of knees injured in sports. DH is lucky that every other leg joint is fine. He has traumatic arthritis as opposed to age related arthritis so will see a significant improvement after surgery. With degenerative arthritis often multiple joints are involved so fixing one doesn’t always solve the overall problem.

We don’t have health insurance, but we have a savings account that we have built up over the years for the same purpose. We do have pet insurance though because there is no pet NHS and dog surgery is probably more expensive than human surgery. It has paid for itself several times over.

You can get a private ambulance
I got one to get DF out of hospital, and home to die. After the nhs failed to bring him home and I thought they’d either delivered him to the wrong place, or killed him.

I’m sure you could get a private nurse that does the same as a district nurse

These days you don't need a GP referral to get a private consultants appointment.

I was told this by a medic friend - so when my Adult dd was bounced around between pharmacy and GP - who told her on the phone to go to A&E - who told her to see GP. I went online found a gastro consultant who did video consults - she did a video consult that same evening. Was told that her symptoms warranted an urgent clinical exam. She saw her a couple of days later in the local NHS hospital clinic, endoscopy showed a number of large ulcers.

I think I paid under £200 for the video consult, in person it was £300 IIRC. But all we needed was for SOMEONE to actually listen to her symptoms. She had been in pain for weeks.

The logjam in the system is at the GP level in our area. If you can get to a consultant then the NHS is often great after that point. Unless it's hips, knees and backs..... bones seem to involve an endless waiting list. If I was in severe pain for anything skeletal I would definitely find the money to go private.

Pistachiocake,yes that's correct. I have NHS hearing aids. You can now get special completely inner ear aids, they have to be fitted by a specialist and cost roughly £4k each. I also suffer from tinnitus, following Covid, which caused nerve and eustachian tube damage.

I bloody love my private healthcare for me and my family. Private healthcare is just so much less stressful, staff are polite and efficient, the doctor actually has time to speak to you, you're not left hanging around for months waiting for anything to happen. They find the issue quickly and get it sorted long before I would even have seen my NHS GP.

I think something needs looking at, I book a same day private virtual GP appointment, they refer me to a relevant specialist on the spot. I look up which specialists are well reviewed, call their secretary to check availability then ask the insurer to authorise. I'm usually in front of the consultant within a week, any MRIs etc are done within a few days, with a follow-up a few days later.

It also makes such a difference having a private room, kind, compassionate and unrushed nursing, and decent food when you or your child are admitted.

It's also nice to know that medical decisions are not being made based on cost cutting.

Does anyone have experience of private emergency elderly hospital care, or critical care? How was that?

I have private healthcare through my work, have used it for my DS with a sports injury. The treatment was first class BUT I called my GP last Tuesday, was seen that day. Was referred to the local hospital, got a phone call on Friday to say they could see me today. Was seen and treated in outpatients and was home by 11am.
Every person I saw, gp, gynaecologist and health care assistant couldn’t have been nicer or more professional.
Luckily I’ve not had to use nhs in a long time but I certainly couldn’t complain about the level of service and care I received

I haven't really used any medical services much for years apart from I had a basal cell carcinoma removed on the NHS and it was 3 months which isn't bad as they are generally cosmetic, I thought I may have to go private for that as sometimes it can be a year or two wait and it was catching and irritating a bit.

DH though has used private healthcare a couple of times through a workplace policy and it was very quick and efficient.

We haven't got private healthcare now as we are retired but we would probably pay out of savings if we needed something non urgent doing that had a long wait

Yes massively.

Went private this year for my 1 year old’s surgery and diagnosis. Had the surgery done before we could even get seen by NHS ENT initially. Plus our NHS GP incorrectly brushed symptoms off as nothing so needed private for a second opinion.

Also hired a private physio for DC1 to help him walk because of the long NHS wait.

@camelfinger I have nhs experience of emergency care of my elderly mum and her “care” in hospital for 7 weeks. Utterly woeful and heartbreaking. If private was available anyone would be mad not to take it. Thank God for a private care home afterwards. Obviously private hospitals cannot do emergency and critical care but they do shorten waiting lists for everyone else and some of us waited a long time for what we needed. My friend was due to have a heart operation in September - cancelled. Two more dates - cancelled. Now January. We shall see. Striking doctors don’t help either.

I've had two instances of needing to see an NHS GP this year and both times the care has been excellent. Seen within a couple of days (not urgent) had blood tests, scans etc with follow up appointments and calls. However, after the investigations were complete I was told I'd have to wait 18 months for an operation to be done so I paid. Had it done within two weeks. In fact, the operation took place in an NHS hospital (paid by me) so no bells and whistles. The surgeon and anesthesist were paid privately.

You can’t get a private emergency ambulance can you?

You can’t get a private nurse to come out in the middle of the night if you have a blocked catheter like a district nurse would or have an SPD that’s alarming

I think that is very rare if available at all. I’ve had patients have ops in private hospitals, emergencies have arisen and they’ve had to be blue lighted from the private hospital to NHS as the private hospital did not have the facilities to deal with the level of care the patient needed.

You can get private emergency services (I suspect not everywhere but in urban areas they exist). You can also buy private nursing provision which includes urgent call outs. Larger private hospitals also have intensive care and emergency capabilities.

More saliently you often cannot get NHS emergency services when needed. I don’t know where you live that you can call out a district nurse in the middle of the night but around my way its solely a planned appointment service only. This is not a new situation or even recent but has been the case for many years.

When I worked overseas I had private medical care as part of my employment package. It was such an eye opener.

I could just walk in and get an appointment to see a doctor, and then if needed, move immediately to the next stage. When I fell and injured my shoulder I had an ultrasound and X-ray straight away. When I had a hearing issue I went straight to a ENT specialist. The longest I ever had to wait was about 10 minutes in the (beautiful, spacious, comfortable) waiting room.

It was a bit of a shock to have to return to the NHS. However it must have cost an absolute fortune, I'm sure that I couldn't afford to pay for that level of care myself.

Yes I’ve also worked abroad and have family in countries which have state backed health care but generally through insurance models. It is, as you say, quite an eye opener.

I am a district nurse - our service is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. We are called out regularly over night for blocked catheters (if we weren’t they’d end up at a&e). Same as end of life patients, we often go out and give additional medication over night or if they’ve got issues with their SPD - this has been the case for decades

During the day we have additional unplanned calls. This is standard for any district nursing service throughout the UK. Though I suppose unless you’ve needed the service you wouldn’t know. I’ve had people surprised that district nurses still exist

I used to live in an area with private ambos, A&E and ICU at a large private hospital. It was great -particularly because the nearest NHS hospital was in special measures and terrified everyone.

Emergency care is the massive flaw in the system - we fund as much as possible privately but last time my DM (who has terminal cancer) went to A&E it was 11 hours in a hard waiting room chair before she gave up. The NHS cancer nurse had told her to come in because of suspected sepsis, but she was parked in amongst 100 other patients to with no infection control. My DH (medic) managed to get her isolated, but then overheard a nurse tell a HCA to give DM 2 paracetamol so she could be discharged when her temp dropped - and without checking her bloods - so he tore a strip off her. I appreciate they are overworked, but FFS. We’ve made a PALS complaint, for all the good that will do, but if DM had actually had sepsis, she’d be dead.

I wish a private provider would set up an A&E where you just turn up and pay for whatever is needed, but with a computer system that actually “talks” to the NHS equivalent. I’d have quite happily paid a couple of grand to get DM treated like a human, with the basic fucking antibiotics that a chemo patient with no immune system and a burning fever clearly needs. It’s terrifying.

I haven’t noticed difference in quality or treatment offered. The waiting room is nicer.

The reason for going private for me is a huge difference in timescale.

I haven’t had a big emergency or cancer treatment but I think I’d go NHS for these.