My wife and I don't have health insurance but we do have an ISA which we reserve for health needs. We are very lucky to be able to afford regular savings for this, and now it's time to spend the money. The NHS took 4 months to provide a CT scan which shows I need an urgent angiogram and probably a stent, and now I have a 2 month wait before I am given a date for the procedure. I'm guessing I might have to wait several months. I am aware that the NHS's own facilities are used by consultants to do private practice so it's a case of either waiting for the NHS while others jump the queue, doing the same as them, using a private hospital, or going abroad.
I might choose to wait my turn. But if I decide to pay, choosing a provider is really hard. In the UK there are individual cardiologists who run their own websites, a few private hospitals, and lots of "aggregators" - websites which get medics to sign up and then parcel the work out to them. Some are well-known like Nuffield, others look less reputable and I suspect they are just fee scalpers. Some of the aggregators link to overseas hospitals. The fees quoted are much higher than I was expecting and leave open lots of room for "extras". If anyone else has experience of navigating this minefield and can make suggestions I would be very pleased to hear from them.
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Ventricle
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Hi Ventricle, I'm in a very fortunate position as I get private healthcare through my workplace, and it has been amazing to use it recently. From my own experience, it has really sped up the whole process. However, something to keep in mind is that although you have been given a diagnosis, the private cardiologist will likely want to repeat the tests themselves. This means you will have to pay for the additional testing on top of any surgery.
I went through Nuffield Health and found that the waiting times at my local Nuffield were quite long. I'm not sure why, but I ended up traveling further afield to be seen, which I didn't mind. Another useful aspect of Nuffield is that you can see detailed information on each doctor, so you might find a consultant who specializes in the area you need.
Maybe a starting point for yourself is to have a consultation with a private consultant this is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £150-£300 but at least from this youll be able to understand the process you are likely to follow and how much its likely to cost
I got a private consultation -- with my own NHS cardiologist in his private practice -- to speed up the wait for a face to face session and referral for treatment. It seemed to me that it would make best use of my private session by coming prepared with up to date echogram results, which I also had done privately. Like you, I saw there was a profusion of private providers and was concerned not to choose a dodgy one. I phoned my cardiologist's private clinic and asked if he would only accept results from a particular private provider. The answer was no; any echogram would be acceptable.
Hello Ventricle, i decided to go down the private route after very unpleasant encounter with an NHS cardiologist. Yes you are right, it is a minefield trying to find one. I did a lot of research and it is possible to read individual consultants profiles and specialities so you should be able to find one that specifically meets your needs.
I went out of county to York ( I will pm you his name if you want) . You could look him up. His fees for consultation are reasonable as were my tests at the time.
I also got a quote for a surgical procedure from another private hospital and was shocked at the difference between what insurance companies pay and a self payer. Apparently, health insurance companies pay much less as they have arrangements with the hospitals. Us self payers then end up paying an awful lot more.
I hope you manage to find a good cardiologist who can help you.
We have private health insurance with limitations. So my first appointment with the cardiologist cost £450 because it included echocardiogram ECG and blood tests. These were needed to have an informed discussion. By coincidence I saw the cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic near Victoria station in London. It is 3 years old and is the most efficient hospital I have ever seen. When I talk about my op I start with the surgeon and hospital. The follow up is also superb. Hope this is of some help.
I can completely understand why you’re feeling frustrated. It’s a strange situation — you’re being told you need something “urgent,” but then being made to wait months. Unfortunately, in the current NHS system, “urgent” often just means you’re moved up the list a bit, but it doesn’t guarantee fast treatment. I was in a similar situation last year where I couldn’t get clarity or speed from the NHS and ended up going private.
One thing I learned is that most private procedures here are done by the same cardiologists who work in the NHS. The difference is how quickly you can get seen and the extra flexibility.
It sounds like you’ve worked hard to have something set aside in your ISA for health needs, and if you’re now at the point of needing an angiogram and possible stent, you’re really deciding whether the wait is worth the extra anxiety and risk.
If you do decide to go private, my advice would be:
• Stick to known hospitals and named cardiologists (Nuffield, Spire, Bupa, etc.)
• Avoid the “aggregator” websites — they usually add unnecessary cost and complexity
• Contact the consultant’s private secretary directly — they can usually give you a proper fixed-price package without surprises
I found that once I spoke to a consultant directly, it all became much clearer and less stressful.
Whatever you decide, I hope you get sorted quickly and can get back to living your life without this hanging over you.
The Private/NHS relationship is indeed a complex one to navigate. My wife sees a private cardiologist who is also a NHS consultant. When she first consulted with him, he said that she needed a 14 day holter monitor. As we were in a Spire Treatment Centre, he could have asked Spire to arrange it. As we were self funding the consultation, the holter monitor was booked by him directly with a specialist company at about 50% of the Spire price.
The holter monitor results revealed the need for an Implanted Loop Recorder (ILR). Ever the pragmatist, the consultant told us that it was the collective view of all his NHS hospital colleagues that the cost of ILRs should be covered by the NHS. The logic being that he would normally refer a patient back to his/her GP with a detailed report which the GP would pass on in a NHS cardiology referral indicating the clinical need for an ILR. This was a waste of NHS time.
We were offered an alternative pathway. If we agreed to pay for the procedure (people costs), hospital staff would come in before their shift start time to carry out the 15 minute ILR insertion. As no theatre facilities were involved, no NHS patient was being disadvantaged. My wife had serious misgivings about this but she was eventually persuaded that she was not taking up a NHS treatment slot. The procedure was completed by 8.15am - well before the first clinic start time.
FWiW, a month later I took my wife to our local A&E. A heart event was picked up by the ILR and she was admitted for an emergency fitting of a pacemaker as an NHS patient.
That's interesting. I'll bear that in mind. Sorry your wife had an emergency. I must find out what an ILR is! This is all very new to me. I always knew I had a heart but my knowledge really didn't go any further than that.
It is a chest implantable heart monitoring device that records heart data in a continuous loop. The device reports back to a monitoring service each day . It alerts clinicians when an event has been recorded. For example, my wife was suffering from temporary loss of consciousness. Heart stoppages in excess of 4 seconds would generate an alert.
I had an angiogram and then a stent fitted in the Peninsula Heart Clinic which is part of the Regents Park Heart Clinic and am very satisfied. The consultant I use has his outpatients surgery in the Nuffield and am very satisfied with the service
I went privately after years of getting nowhere in the NHS. Our local hosp only has locum consultants who never followed what the previous consultant said so nothing ever improved (I got put on some very dodgy meds by a locum on a telephone apt whilst she was in Dubai!). Anyway, I did a lot of research on which type of cardiologist I needed (an EP for my arrythmias). The one I saw also worked in the NHS at the major hosp, but my local hosp would never refer me there. At that stage I had an atrial flutter ablation at the Circle Health hosp and it was brilliant. I was self funding, but it was worth it. After a year my atrial fib became worse. I was referred by my GP to the local hosp who again refused to refer me to the major NHS hosp. I contacted the EPs sec and explained my situation, He saw me (after a 8 week wait) in his NHS clinic and advised another ablation. However the waiting list for this in Glasgow is 18 months to 2 years. I decided to go privately again as I'm a carer for my disabled daughter and needed to be able to care for her which I couldn't do because of my atrial fib. From arranging the private appointment to the ablation (which I'm having on the 3rd) has been 4 weeks. It is costly (£18,500) but I can't put a cost on my ability to care for my daughter.
It's a heavy decision and not simply just 'queue jumping' , sometimes quality of life is very important and the way I look at it, by me going privately I'm freeing up a space on the waiting list for someone who can't afford it. Good luck
I empathise with your experience. I feel very sorry for those that can’t make financial choices. I was told it was a nearly 2 wait in London in 2024. I hope this procedure does the trick for you. They are consistently improving the techniques and it’s worth it if you are successful.
I know it’s no consolation but Glasgow prices are cheaper!
After reading all the other comments there are a few other issues you may want to bear in mind
Private hospitals do not all have the onsite 24hr cover by an anaesthetist and surgical team for out of hours emergencies which is provided in NHS hospitals
As an ex-nurse who has worked in both sectors I would prefer the security of onsite, 24hr emergency cover, particularly after any major procedure
Please do your homework thoroughly before making a decision
Thanks, yes I'm aware of the 24hr cover factor although I am suspicious that in our regional hospital they can't actually cope with demand. I am certainly doing a lot of homework.
I got “lost” in the NHS system during COVID. My AFib became persistent and I decided to go private with the NHS specialist I was likely to have eventually seen. I would recommend Oliver Segal from my experience either for a consultation or a procedure if you have the money. Having a successful ablation at short notice is hard to put a valuation on. Although the private hospital fees were very expensive restoring my heart back to NSR was invaluable for my physical and mental health.
Thanks. I have to be careful what I say about the way Covid was dealt with. Actually I can't say anything, it's too risky. Thanks for the personal recommendation.
I didn't get "lost," but I had a hellishly long wait. My regular cardiology check-ups had been suspended due to the pandemic, so I had not had one for four years. At the time that was all right; I had very infrequent paroxysmal AF. After catching Covid I went into persistent AF and asked for an urgent referral to cardiology. I was sitting next to my GP when he phoned to ask for this, so I know he did not forget or downgrade. Cardiology offered me a telephone appointment -- six months away. I booked a private consultation to speed things up, and finally had an NHS ablation 10 months later, so a total wait of 16 months.
It is shocking. It is frightening. I do not believe it is due to indifference, sloppiness or "inefficiency" in the NHS. We are being fed propaganda that private healthcare following the US model is the answer. Well, in the US, the no.1 cause of personal bankruptcy is medical bills. This has been true for years.
I went private after long waits on NHS. I found an NHS consultant that's does private work so they can do the op in a better equipped NHS hospital, not jumping queues, but taking a private slot. Then they can refer you back to their NHS list when you can't afford the follow ups or its not nessecery to go private.
My last pacemaker change was done NHS booked by my private consultant, then I had follow ups with both for peace of mind. It just means you can ask what you need without being rushed in appoint and get seen fast. Also they will tell you if they are good/nice whet they can refer you back to NHS for.
So in a nutshell look for NHS consultants that do private work to so you can speed up when you need to. Good luck x
Update - I have just come off a very unsatisfactory conversation with, I think, Genesis in Bristol, following my completion of Spire's online form. The person who was trying to deal with my case was not competent to do so and would not give me any indication of costs until I had seen a consultant. But once one has chosen a consultant it seems hard to change so one is committed to a provider without knowing the cost. I cannot afford to sign a blank cheque. At my time of life if costs exceed resources there is no way to recoup the excess.
Question: Is there a database of consultants so that I can speak to one or more consultants to get an idea of what the costs will be if I select them?
Two years ago I asked the NHS consultant at my local hospital how much he would charge for a TAVI (new heart valve inserted through a vein). He quoted £75K in a London NHS hospital. I opted for one at the John Radcliffe Hospital (NHS) in Oxford at £42K that went ahead on the day NHS junior doctors started a strike. (A neighbour had one at a London hospital for £60K, paid for by private insurance.)
So in my case there were standby facilities in the hospital if anything had gone wrong. My surgeon (obviously) had access to records about my heart, but not to blood tests made by the local hospital and my GP when I developed fatigue post-op. I made the two-hour journey by public transport to see him, had a basic ECG for £550 (way above the average fee, I gather) and a brief examination. I would need to pay around £700-800 a year for a routine check-up, so had my after-care transferred to my local NHS hospital and consultations with a haematologist and cardiologist - who, unlike the private surgeon, could access a series of results for blood tests.
My GP and surgeon disagreed whether I needed to take Lansoprazole, and in asking the latter I went through his excellent PA who relayed his very concise advice: I didn't need to. I still wonder why I don't, when taking it is recommended for other patients on Clopidogrel. I had the perhaps unworthy suspicion that he would charge a fee for explaining!
Double the average, I think. The NHS cardiologist I saw reckoned that an ECG would cost a bit over £100 at his private hospital. The nurse who gave me an NHS ECG said she got paid £50 for administering one privately. At Spire I got charged £285 for a test to detect urine haemeosiderin (a pigment formed from hemoglobin breakdown); another private hospital quotes £177.
One of the top high tech private hospitals in Ireland charge 50euro for an ECG and 150euro for a stress ECG. The consultants fee is 170euro so £500 is totally ridiculous. The full cardiac testing including echo, bloods, consultations and the whole works is capped at 560Euro. Thats less than you paid for your ECG??. Bloody hell.
Update 2: Received a call from the admin for a group of consultants. We got her number from the local Nuffield. One of her consultants has spoken to the NHS Doctor who was going to take my case and he has agreed I can go private. The consultant has seen my CT scan and read the NHS correspondence. He has confidence in the nurse practitioners who have dealt with me and accepts their recommendation for treatment. He is willing to see me in advance but he says there is no medical reason to do so (thus saving the cost of a consultation). I am booked for an angiogram and if necessary a stent placing on 14 April. Cost is eye-watering (to my eyes) and means other plans have been cancelled, but it seems the right thing to do. Interestingly the consultant's fee is very reasonable, the majority of my money will go in hospital fees, so while I am certainly a queue-jumper I appear to be contributing to the local NHS budget.
I’ve never booked a surgery or procedure privately, only cardiology appointments with a private cardiologist who works for the NHS. I would use that to determine who to go for, we went with Spire and found a cardiologist who works for them and the NHS. He was the only one I came across who had reviews online from patients saying how lovely he was and how he had made them feel comfortable prior to their surgeries etc. That decided things for us and I’m glad we went with this cardiologist as I believe he’s saved my husbands life and got him into the system and onto the right meds. Bedside manner is so important but rare. We now see him on the NHS but can pay if it’s urgent and book via Spire. Good luck!
“So in a nutshell look for NHS consultants that do private work “
I would agree with Samphoto.
I would simply look at the consultants career path and experience. If they have found themselves a placement at a respected hospital and have a good background they will look after you. It is more valuable than a glitzy website with reviews or recommendations from websites that are earning fees for directing traffic/ customers.
Not a great fan of reviews as you cannot validate their worthiness.
The cost is always a downside but good treatment and recovery is the real priority.
I went privately for a different condition. The consultant seemed good but she didn’t do anything — just recommended more tests.
Anyway, I really liked the consultant at Harefield who drilled the calcium out of my artery and inserted the stent. I liked him because of his personality and attitude. So if I was going to go to a private cardiologist, I’d consider him — like all of them, he does private work. Hence, one way of choosing a private consultant is previous positive experience with them on the nhs.
Hi I'm in NI so process might be different. We only have 2 private hospitals with option to also go down south. Hubby needed CABG and flagged urgent, but was going to take minutes of 9 mths. We fortunately had recently taken insurance so mentioned to consultant we would check out if ins would cover. He also stated that he worked privately, but the team moved to the private hospital once every 2 weeks and operated at weekend. ICU only had 2 beds so patients vetted for the less risky.
Thankfully ins covered it. To ease my guilt we found out that consultant visited morning and night before and after his NHS shifts, so not impacting NHS patients. All tests had already been done on NHS. I know that hospital is very expensive, but was only option for us. Insurance paid but put our premium up over £100 a month. Which will now be a struggle but will worry about that later
I do not think anyone should feel guilty about queue jumping. There seem to be a huge number of specialists who are happy to work a shorter week for the NHS and see private patients at weekends or in the evenings. Yes their fees are more like an hourly rate. The greater cost is all the technology and staff time providing the necessary back up, the NHS don’t provide this for private patients. Sorry fishonabike but there are now a lot of private hospitals that do have all the facilities of a major NHS hospital. I held similar beliefs to you and it was my cardiac surgeon, because he wanted me to go to a completely private clinic instead of one attached to an NHS hospital who put me right on that. I had open heart surgery there and it had state of the art facilities one to one ICU and most importantly a lot of staff on duty to care for me. And frankly I was most struck as to just how many of them (nurses, physios) were working part time there and also doing NHS shifts. This was in central London so there are lots of places to work. I did not have private health insurance and never expected to pay for life saving surgery, but the NHS seemed to abandon me when I needs it most and two years on I have no regrets
Hey buddy, NHS saved my life when I was first diagnosed with acute heart failure. I also had two surgeries and had to wait a few weeks. But they never took any risk with me at all. Now my heart is going back to normal size and I am back at work living a full life thanks to NHS. The consultants looking after me work in private sector too So I still got the best that there is on NHS. NHS has more updated equipment and researching studies always going on. Most upto date knowledge too. All free
Yes the NHS can be very good. But I waited 4 months for my scan, and the earliest they think they can give me a date for the angiogram would be 6 months after my heart attack, and that's not the date for the actual procedure which they think might be 8 months. Meanwhile my particular condition is described colloquially as the "widdowmaker" which is kind of stressful. It is actually my wife who is insisting I go private, and it's comforting to know she'd rather have me than the money!
My husband had the widow maker heart attack, I wouldn’t take any chances and get seen to ASAP. My husband had his angiogram as an inpatient immediately after his HA and then had an MRI a few weeks later whilst still in hospital, have you been given a stent or anything? I hope they’ve put you on medication at least
Definitely buddy. I get you. I am surprised that they haven't given you an angiogram as an emergency and stent you at the same time. That is standard procedure. Mine was heart failure but I got emergency angiogram and echo. Definitely go for it mate. I totally get you. It is a disgrace you have to wait. Sorry if I offended wasn't my intention. Please speak with your GP too this don't sound right.
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I did it !!! My private doctor got me a referral to a nhs doctor to be considered for for surgery. 
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