Private scan - NHS treatment?

[TheBewleySisters]

I've just been reading another thread where a poster paid for an assessment privately and would be going back to her GP with the results and it got me thinking as many replies were that it didn't work that way.

I've been waiting for a CT scan for many months and was beginning to research getting one done privately as the clinic will see you the same week. They then send the results to your GP.

But of course, I'm now realising (duh) that just because he will have the results doesn't mean I'm going to be treated any sooner. I'm still going to be on a waiting list to fix whatever the scan shows up. So is there any point in getting a private scan? I suppose it means I would at least be on the waiting list for the treatment sooner than having to wait for the NHS scan to show up whatever the hell is wrong with me.

Surely you'd need to see a consultant to actually authorise the CT firstly? Or do you mean your GP has written a request for a CT and you are then taking that to a private CT place to have it done?

I know a few people who have had scans (MRI, CTs) privately with results sent to GP. Even though you will wait for referral you’ve cut out the wait for scans, so accelerated the process a little, in my opinion.

worth bearing in mind that the consultant you see would likely need to see the images not just the report so it would be sensible to ask how the golden nugget image links/provides copies of the pics that will work at which ever hospital you join the queue at.

DH had back pain. Saw a private consultant at a cost of about £200 and had a private MRI. Showed he
needed surgery. Took the results to GP. GO said we had three options. He could refer to NHS consultant. Wait would be about ten months for initial consultation. Secondly he could refer to pain clinic. Wait for that would be several months. Thirdly he could advise us to pay for the private operation. We did the third

Yes, the clinic requires a referral from GP, which he is doing.

I saw a private consultant, had tests privately then an MRI. Results went to GP who immediately ordered an NHS MRI on the two week pathway.
MRI + private tests were enough to make the GP refer me to NHS clinic/consultant.
The NHS wait wasn't less because of the results but the GP did the NHS referral sooner (rather than wait and see what happens next), and, I knew what was probably wrong with me and could put some things in place to help. Luckily I didn't need ongoing treatment at that point.
So for me I suppose I got peace of mind for what was wrong and didn't have months of GP treating symptoms without getting to find out cause.

6 years ago I paid to have a private MRI scan as my GP said my symptoms wouldn’t warrant having one on the NHS.
I simply booked one at a NHS hospital near me, paid when I got there and had the scan. No involvement of GP, consultant or otherwise.
The results were emailed to me 4 days later. It showed some very serious issues that needed immediate attention.
The next day I spoke to my GP, was referred on the 2 weeks cancer pathway and 5 weeks later I had major abdominal surgery in an NHS hospital.
Without a doubt the best £450 I have ever spent!! 😁

If your results come back requiring a 2 week suspected cancer referral then it will be worth paying

@Cat1504
it certainly was for me!
My 50lb ovarian tumour amazingly turned out to be completely benign but there was absolutely no way of knowing that until it was removed and had a biopsy done on it.
(and loosing 3 stone in 5 hours of surgery did wonders for my diet!) 😆

@TheBewleySisters the company I went through didn’t require a referral from my GP

I paid around £300 to see an Orthopaedic consultant (North) after two years of constant pain and being pushed through the NHS physio dept to do endless exercises that hurt even more after doing them (also saw private osteopath and private physio and nobody could help-diagnosis guesses were varied). He saw that i was paying privately and said he'd put me through his NHS clinic as i'd ben in pain for so long, and that the NHS are dreadful at sending people for imaging. I was scanned about a month later and about 12 weeks after that i have had an X-ray guided nerve blocker injection done in my C6 area. Too early to tell whether it works but just to have someone understand your frustrations was worth very penny.

This clinic says because it's abdominal they require a referral. I don't know if it's just them or if this is the norm.

@TheBewleySisters
Mmmmmmm, that’s interesting.
Mine was for my back but the mass in my stomach was picked up by ‘accident’
Thankfully the young guy doing the scan noticed something wasn’t as it should be even though my abdomen wasn’t on the planned area to scan