hi ,
I have just received my date for a consultation with the surgeon for 15th Jan which seems such a wait … my cardiologist did mention it might be worth paying for a private c appointment to speed things up , has anyone done this and found it beneficial? It is a lot of money to pay if it will not speed up the surgery which I do not have . I don’t like the idea of que jumping , it doesn’t sit right with me but I am concerned about losing my job due to being off work so long .
That's good you have a date with your surgeon I'm sure January 15th will come round quicker then you think. Have you spoken with your cardiologist to try and bring it forward?? x
it’s not queue jumping in my opinion. You should spend your own money how you wish. If you want to go without a new car or without a foreign holiday and spend the dosh instead on your health, there’s nothing wrong with that surely?
That said, I read somewhere that people are so fed up with queues in NHS that many more people are paying for private care so there could be queues privately!
Dear Lancashire
My experience was that , when my symptoms got really bad, NHS moved really fast, ringing me at home, on a Sunday. So I wouldn’t be unduly worried. For me, uniquely, all nhs cardiology then closed down due to covid. So I had the choice of an unknown delay or trying to find a hospital in which I could buy a place. I decided to “go private”. A London hospital was almost empty as most of their customers were overseas.
But a word of warning. Private care is expensive and you never know the ultimate costs. Mine was £43,000. And that was three years ago.
January will soon be here, do you know what treatment you are having?
It depends how quickly a private consultant can see you. On November 22 I was referred by my heart surgeon to a private gastroenterologist (at a hospital conveniently three miles from me). The earliest that he could see me was December 19. (Not that I'm in that much hurry as I want to see if minor changes in my medication will have any effect.) I did wonder about seeing a haematologist at the same hospital, and could have done so on December 5, though his PA advised that I first see what the gastroenterologist says . I've just had a letter offering me an NHS appointment with a haematologist on March 5. (I suspect it may be with the private consultant who also works at the NHS hospital!)
When I told Hammersmith NHS hospital that I had decided to have a private TAVI elsewhere, the nurse thought that I was very noble in giving up my NHS place for someone else!
One thing to watch out for when going private is costs other than the consultant's. On two occasions I didn't mind paying their fees, but then got a larger bill from the private hospital for the use of their equipment. My recent ECG cost £550. When I'd enquired about the cost of private consultations, nothing was said about these extra fees, which might come as a shock to some patients.
My experience:- You will pay £200 -250 or perhaps a little more for about 15 minutes of a consultant's time in private medicine at a first appointment. Actual costs will depend on who you see and where they are located. Follow up appointments are usually less. You will be seen by someone senior and likely very experienced who appears to take a genuine interest in your situation, rather than an NHS registrar, but since you are paying it is beneficial to prepare and write down any questions you may have as well as providing a briefing note for your first appointment. Any tests, procedures, checks or examinations are always extra, and could be costly. As far as NHS queue jumping is concerned, you are not queue jumping you are paying for a service which you require and in doing that you are giving someone else the chance to come forward in the queue, and that person may be less fortunate than you, and indeed may be more needy of the NHS than you are. As far as your NHS appointment of 15 Jan is concerned only you know how important it is to be seen earlier, but bear in mind private medicine consultants also have consultation waiting lists (two weeks seems about the norm) and we are also coming up to the Christmas/New Year holiday period both of which which may not make much difference to you being seen earlier.
if the clock is ticking at work and decisions might be made at some point soon (employer won’t wait forever) and you can afford it then go for it.
But as others have said with Christmas in the mix you might not get much of a head start but worth at least asking - doesn’t cost to ask.
I paid for one test (£900) to speed things up largely to do with work implications as like you I’d been off sick for long time.
Tip - if you do go private, if the surgeon you were going to see on NHS also does private work might be easier if you see the same surgeon but privately. Avoids any middlemen or issues over acceptance of outcome.
You do what is right for you.
👍
I understand about going privately but sometimes especially when it's important and stressful for any health problem if you can afford it do it.My first appointment to see a cardiologist with T wave ischemia was going to be over 12 months. Because I was so worried in the end I went privately and don't regret one penny of that consultation.
I had all the necessary tests quickly but waited three months for the results on the NHS.
Thankfully I don't need surgery I'm managed with meds, but a friend of mine has been waiting for over six months for her surgery even though she went privately for her first consult.
Sadly this is all a sign of the times we live in and the wonderful NHS being battered financially and sheer volume of demand.
Good morning Lancashire 38. Compared to some people's wait for appointments. January will soon be here and as for work. They can't sack you if you're off sick. And your health is the most important. Sadly in my experience we are just a number I have found with employers these days. So we have to look after ourselves. Take care and hope everything goes well. Brian
hi hope your ok I paid for a consultant cardiologist Saturday just gone it was well worth the money he examined me did an ecg and then went through everything thoroughly that was wrong with me he had written to my gp to sort medication out wrote to a cardiologist that I was under requesting a scan with contrast and he thinks all the tests I have had done are not showing anything up as he thinks I have got Arrhythmogenic that is the muscle in my heart is dying and this would not show up on the tests I have had done going seeing gp tomorrow and waiting to hear from this cardiologist at the nhs hospital I know it’s a lot of money but I felt alot better knowing he was on my side and was doing something for me so hope this will help you to decide what you want to do take care and look after yourself
A few years ago I went privately, when the GP referred me to Cardiology, but the wait was 6 months.
The private Consultant (who came recommended) was pretty off hand and after £600 worth of investigations told me there was nothing wrong with my heart.
Three weeks later I had the first of 3 HAs.
Im not sure what exactly this told me about the NHS vs private care, but just to say private is not necessarily better, but is quicker.
I only use NHS services now, and I’ve been getting excelkent care . I like to support the principal that its the most serious problems that are put to the front of the queue, regardless of income. But I do understand why some people choose to go privately when they can afford it, they are anxious and the waits are so long.
Went to private hospital 
Surprise discovery at private angiogram 
Had my consultation with my actual own consultant 
Cost of private treatment
