Private or Nhs

[Stefk16]

Hi everyone, I am after some advice. I was diagnosed in 2012 (symptoms since age 14) and have been managing well after my only laparoscopy with the prostap injection, HRT and the pill. But since Dec 2017 I have been having a flare up, my original consultant wanted me referred to a specialist. So I’ve been waiting since then to see one. I have had my appointment cancelled twice for the specialists, and now I am fed up of waiting as feel like my whole life is on pause until I am seen. Has anyone been private before or had a similar experience?? Thanks in advance

Steph xx

[princessk09]

I saw a private endo specialist at spire and it was honestly the best thing i ever did. Unfortunately I can’t afford the lap with the gynae 😔 and I’m back waiting on the nhs.

Spire treat you amazingly and really listen. I had an hour consultation with him for £214 xx

[Stefk16 in reply to princessk09]

Thank you for your reply! So glad they were good, did you have to wait long for an appointment? Think I’m at the stage now where I need a second laparoscopy as I’ve tried all the medication and nothing is stopping the spotting/pains 😥 worried I’ll pay to go private and I’ll still have to wait for the operation! Feel a bit stuck right now,plus worrying about work with all the time off waiting to be sorted!

[princessk09 in reply to Stefk16]

I got a consultation in 3 days of ringing them and they would of done the lap within 4 weeks. However the lap would of cost £3009

Now I’m waiting 23 weeks + 😫

[Aisha12 in reply to princessk09]

I had mine done at spire too. Great Hospital. It is expensive if you don’t have health insurance

[Hidden]

I saw a gynaecologist in a private hospital but it was still funded through the Nhs. I'm not sure if it will be the same for everyone but when I was referred I was given a list of hospitals that I could go to for an appointment, with the soonest one being at a private hospital.

I chose the private hospital for the time frame alone but I was given an appointment within 2 weeks and had a lap the end of the next month, It might be worth asking your doctor for a list of other hospitals/surgery's that have open gyno appointments and then seeing if there are any private hospitals on the list.

[Starry]

I also had an excellent experience with a private bsge endo centre accredited surgeon via the spire via my employer insurance. If you can afford to its well worth it.

[Aisha12]

You must be feeling so frustrated. I was in so much pain, kept going to the emergency department at the hospital, only to be sent home with morphine. I Waited 3 months for my laparoscopy appointment to come thought, afterwhich I called the hospital and was told there was a bed crisis and could potentially be waiting another 5/6 months. I was in so much pain, and my pain was just increasing daily. I then decided to go private. I looked at different consultants, and finally set up a consultation with the one I felt suited my condition better. I saw an endo specialist at spire. I was booked in for surgery a couple weeks later and I’m so glad I went private ! I’d be waiting in the same position I was in before had I not decided to go private. The treatment I felt I received was so much better as well. I was seen by a physio and a dietician before I was signed off and ready for discharge.

So to answer your question, if you are in quite a bit of pain and are being fobbed off like I was, then i highly recommend going private. Worked out better for me. I’m still in some pain as I’m only 11 days post op, but just glad it’s over with now.

[Hidden]

I had NHS funded treatment at a private hospital and then treatment in 2 different NHS hospitals as well. What matters is who you see, not how you see them. Don't assume that just because you're paying to see someone at a private hospital that you're going to get the best treatment because this isn't necessarily the case - the bsge accredited specialist I saw at the NHS hospital was far better than the general gynae at the private hospital who couldn't help me at all. Yes, the wait was horrendous, but it was worth it.

The best thing to do is look at the list of centres on the bsge website to find out the names of the specialists and then google their private practices, most of them will have one. It can get very expensive very quickly though so be warned!

[JulesUK]

I had a few bad experiences being treated (or rather not so) on NHS and I thank my lucky stars I had private health care otherwise I genuinely don’t know how things would have gone. My advice would be if you can, try private.

[Tillyfloss]

hi. How are you feeling today? It's a very frustrating process and waiting whilst in pain is awful.

I had emergency surgery at an NHS hospital and they referred me to a bsge centre ( I didn't know I had endometriosis prior to the surgery). They completely messed up the referral and in the end the company my husband works for arranged it, I called the appointment line at 9am and had an appointment that evening at 7:30( spire) it was the best thing we did he was amazing. Due to the complexity of what was wrong with me he said it wouldn't be safe to carry out the operation privately so he put me on his NHS list, due to being very poorly it was done in two months and he was spot on it was very complicated and I needed to be in the NHS hospital.

for me as long as I can afford it i would always try to see them privately as it moves you through quicker.

do your research on the specialist, I'm lucky to have a friend who is a surgeon who basically asked around as to who we needed to see and he was amazing.

good luck 😊 xx

[Sez73]

NHS doctors repeatedly told me I imagined all my symptoms & pain. I battled on for years starting to believe I maybe was imagining everything, even when rushed into an NHS hospital, I was told I had gastroenteritis. I eventually sought private help when I knew something was seriously wrong...immediate laparoscopy where 24+ years of severe stage IV endometriosis was discovered and I was close to losing a kidney, I was then not able to have my own family. Personal experience - I'd not touch the NHS with a barge pole. The downsides...I've paid over £40,000 for private treatment to try and ease my pain...would I do things differently?...nope! Wished I'd sought private treatment earlier. Heard far too many terrible stories re general gynaecologists who think they're experts in endo. They're not. If you can see a BSGE specialist at a private hospital through the NHS then brilliant, unfortunately, that's not always as easy as you'd hope. It is a very complicated illness and, when severe disease is a foot, needs to be handled by a specialist which unfortunately isn't always the case when you get referred through the NHS. All the very best x