Can I expect private eye surgery to run at the booked time?

[user89756]

I’ve had NHS eye surgery in the past and know that the time stated on the appointment letter is when you’re expected to be there and not the time you’ll be called in.

If you have eye surgery which is privately funded (the surgeon does both private and NHS at the same NHS hospital), and it has been scheduled for a particular time, is it reasonble to be called in at approximately the time mentioned in the appointment letter? Or do NHS patients have priority over the private one?

Not had private eye appointment but had private doctors appointment etc . Always been called in on time or even earlier.

YANBU

I switched from my previous private dentist as he was always running around 30 to 45 minutes late. Am pretty sure he was squeezing in £££ emergency appointments. Ok for him, but you can only park for two hours max nearby so I was risking a £60 fine every time.

@00s I've had no issues with being seen on time at non-hospital private appointments.

I was at the hospital half an hour before my surgery time but had to wait almost 3 hours until all the NHS patients had been operated on. I have a chronic illness and was not in a good state when I was finally called in.

Seems crazy thought you get what you pay for ( be seen o n time ) can. You not try a private hospital, with no NHS

@00s that's what I thought too. I'll definitely be looking around for a fully private hospital the next time.

if you were a private add on to an NHS list, then yes, it'd be normal to wait. It's normal to have everyone in for the start of the session for operating lists because that means everyone is seen early, there are minimal interruptions to operating time and more cases get done - unfortunately someone has to go last. An awful lot of patients on eye lists have chronic illnesses.

equally possible though is that occasionally a delay isn't avoidable even if you're planned nearer the top of the list if, for example, there's unexpected kit problems/problems with an earlier patient.

@Greybeardy not sure what you mean by everyone being seen early.

I was in a small room by myself and had no idea how many other patients there were. It was only when I was able to find a nurse to ask what was going on that I was told of the delay.

That’s unusual. At my local private hospital private patients are operated on before NHS patients.

A few thoughts. If you are being admitted for surgery the letter usually gives you the time to arrive for the session. Not your planned operation time.

unfortunately someone always has to be first and someone always has to be last within a session. And sometimes as an anaesthetist I’m presented with a badly booked list where every patient could benefit from being done first. But as I only have one theatre and one team some of them have to wait!

My nhs hospital puts private patients on nhs lists (we need the revenue to subsidise nhs services). We do the patients in the booked order ocassionally changing the order to make clinical sense eg. some patients genuinely can’t fast safely, or sometimes someone buggers up their fasting instructions so everyone else gets moved down the list. Paying or NHS status doesn’t enter into it.

And sometimes there are big unavoidable issues on a list which delays everything else.

As you feel aggrieved why don’t you explore if the time on your letter was an admission time or your actual operation time.

I had eye surgery at a private clinic, arranged & funded by the NHS. Both my pre-op appointment and the surgery itself happened at the stated time. No fuss, no confusion, no miscommunication, no unnecessary waiting around.

My treatment was a textbook example of how the NHS & private sector can & should work together for the patient’s benefit. Universal healthcare delivered efficiently & competently by a well-run commercial organisation which understands that time is money.

My 96 year old mother had private eye surgery last week. Her appointment was at 2pm but we were informed when we arrived that the surgeon had a list and they couldn’t say where she was on the list. She was eventually called at 5.20pm which seemed a bit of a wait but everyone was very nice.

If you are being admitted for surgery the letter usually gives you the time to arrive for the session. Not your planned operation time.
@BeaTwix I said exactly this in the first line of my first post.

I wasn't expecting special treatment for myself, just the courtesy of being kept informed of approximately how long I might be waiting. I was in a room by myself so it's not like I could see how many people there were and how quickly they were being called in.

I've learned my lesson now so I'll be choosing a fully private provider the next time.

Dh had private surgery, it was within 20 minutes of the time on the letter that pre op started (they allowed time for paperwork!)

Lucky him!