I require a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and biopsy which will all be done at the same time under general anaesthetic.
I have Adenomyosis and possible Endometriosis along with low iron levels.
I require a gynaecologist as well as a bowel surgeon to be present during surgery.
Has anyone had the above treatments done in a private hospital? How did you find going private? Can I ask how much you roughly paid? Did you stay in 1 night?
Basically I have never gone private and don’t really understand exactly what happens however I am going to see my GP tomorrow.
I am getting nowhere with the NHS (as wonderful as they are we all know they are stretched), my date isn’t coming through and I need to start living my life again.
Any advice would be appreciated x
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AllthatGlitters
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Hey, I've had all the above you've mentioned done privately - like you my NHS stuff was taking ages.
I think you've already read my post - if not, have a read:
"All this effort does pay off - my story - hope it helps !"
It'll answer some of your questions.
I've also responded to another endo sister on here - search for "Should I go back and see my GP? Or should I go private?" That may answer your costing questions and how to go about finding info regarding payment / insurance etc.
GPs won't usually have an idea about how private works as they don't see much happen - you choose a private specialist based on your research, book a private appointment, then tell the GP you'd like to be referred to...., they send your current notes through, you have treatment privately and letters are sent back about results etc. So it all stays on your records but the GP doesn't actually see the records held privately.
We've talked lots before so as usual feel free to message me any questions / queries you may have, happy to answer on here too. Anything to help out and make it less daunting
Hello farahziya thanks for your message, I can’t seem to read your story, I clicked on your name but nothing comes up apart from old posts? It’s probably me doing something wrong! 😮
Most larger private hospitals do have an ICU (mine was Nuffield Health Cheltenham Hospital), if not they're usually on call with other private A&E centers / specialists. I've asked the same with the secretary of my specialist. They have a good support team so the idea is they prevent the need for intensive care through proper pre, during and post op care. They won't do anything without additional help / surgeons should they need it. So they'll either take a little longer for your op while the on call specialist surgeon continues the procedure or they'll do what they can (if they're concerned it may be more risky) and let you know later what they couldn't do and why. As you'll have your own room they monitor you there - they may move you to a room on an intensive care area but essentially nurses are there all the time and they adapt your room to your needs post op.
I found they really take the time to explain stuff with you right from the start through to when you leave, so if you're not sure email / call / pop round to the hospital / centre you're thinking of - you can't be the only one with that concern.
It's both; my consultant is private as part of The Gynaecology Group, works with the NHS (Cheltenham Hospital Endometriosis Department), works at a specialist center (Spire South Bank) and a BSGE accredited specialist - he doesn't work at a BSGE center.
The BSGE is an accreditation - British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy - they have clinics as sometimes it's easier for patients to see specialists there and sometimes it's the only clinic that specialist works at.
You can either look up the BSGE center or your local private hospital specialists. You may need to cross reference. Usually specialists have their own page on all the hospital / center / insurance websites. Search for mine "Mr Philip Kaloo" as a guide to help you see what I mean!
So I went private in Oct as I saw my gynae on NHS and his diary was fully booked up to nov 19! Then went private and had surgery 10 days after intial appt so do expect it will move quickly!
I had endo on my bladder with Adenomyosis so had a laporoscopy with a urologist in the room on standby in case of complications. It depends on your consultant and location for cost. I live in kent and my gynae has extensive knowledge and interest in endo. My intial consultation fee was £185 and the surgery was £3500. Then I had my follow up last week and it was another £120. I have been discharged now as my progress is going well(so far) but am likely to have another surgery in a few yrs if it grows back. So far my life has improved only get pain a little bit which my gynae thinks is the surgery scarring. I did stay overnight so could have got it cheaper but my operation was delayed due to my gynae having a late emergency on NHS.
The main difference I found is you get to spend longer on your appts to discuss options. This just shows how much the NHS are struggling as they have to keep it short and sweet! No fault on the drs but their targets and guidelines. You will also get your own room normally with a care nurse focussing on your care.
All you have to do is speak to your GP explain how endo is affecting your life they will then make a referral. They will ask what hospital you want to go to and most GPs will not recommend hospitals. So it may be worth looking on google etc. I was really comfortable with my NHS gynae so went to his private surgery he works from.
Remember that you have a lot more say when you go private and although most staff have worked or still work in the NHS you get the same care but it is just more focussed. That has been my experience anyway.
You will not normally be allowed to have surgery until it is fully paid or you have a finace agreement with them so watch for that as well.
Anyway best of luck and if you have more questions then please do ask. Hope you get the relief you deserve xx
Treatment that you get with nhs depends on region. For instance if you are in England you might expect to wait 6 months for an operation (a bit longer with multidisciplinary as takes time for them to consult with each other and discuss your case).
I’m in Northern Ireland - wait time about 18 months.
Have been through private here, same as yourself concurrent adenomyosis and bowel involvement. The surgeon underestimated the problem and suggested I go private to skip waiting times. Surgery was scheduled within 6-8 weeks. The cost per night is minimal about £285 I think, I had two nights. The major cost is for hire of theatre and medical team, this is in the region of about £4,500 - £6,500 for what I had done. My total bill was circa £6,000.
Whenever they opened me up they discovered bowel involvement worse than anticipated. Most private hospitals do not have an intensive care unit. And they cannot do excision on bowel without ICU incase things go wrong. Besides they didn’t have full multidisciplinary organised nor access to call anyone in last minute as it was private and not nhs.
So what happened to me was that they opened me up and thought wow this is a mess, didn’t have access to icu and other specialists on hand. So closed me up with minimal work and I paid £6,000 for the privilege.
Thankfully I had stayed on nhs waiting list so had a follow up surgery there about 6 months later.
For initial consults and diagnostic laparoscopy/laparoscopy for straightforward endo. I would say private is excellent for speeding things up and getting answers quicker.
For more serious surgery unless you check for icu and same level of organisation (differs greatly regionally) it’s probably best to stick with nhs x
wow mine was different - Cheltenham UK. they did my diagnostic with hysteroscopy and biopsies, found endo, removed as much as possible with just my specialist doing my lap. He left the endo on the bowel as it needed a specialist colorectal surgeon - he did explain that he would leave anything requiring a specialist and see if my symptoms improve and then it's up to me to have the second lap. So had that lap about 7 months later.
My first lap was £2500 ish with one surgeon and a day case. My second was £4500 ish but included an additional surgeon, slightly longer op (higher anaesthetist fee), and an overnight stay. Mine seems to be according to the individual feels on a case by case basis - broken down invoice rather than a lump sum for a procedure.
I noticed your post but you may already have the answers. I have just joined the forum today and searched for users near my area and I noticed you are and you queries about private healthcare.
I live in Aberdeen and just recently used the private Albyn Hospital.
I have been on a very quick journey over the past month. I had symptoms for years but my GP did nothing about it. I had a second failed IVF this past October and went to the GP certain that something was not right. All IVF tests came back normal and we had unexplained fertility issues. I had severe pelvic pains, spotting before periods and severe painful heavy periods.
I went to the GP November to state I was not happy with the previous advice and GP and I wanted an internal investigation and wished referral to a gynaecologist. The GO was hesitant and then I mentioned I had BUPA cover and she quickly referred me! The next week I had an appointment at Albyn with a consultant. I got to choose the consultant and I researched online and went with Lucky Saraswat who is the head consultant in Aberdeen and specialises in gynaecology. She seemed perfect.
I had my initial consultation and an internal exam, she quickly identified I had thickening with suspected endometriosis. This was my first diagnosis, all previous exams and internals had dales to spot anything. I felt reassured she had found something so quickly and was a specialist. She told me she recommended a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy with biopsies. She gave me two possible dates, one was 10th December, only 2 weeks later and the other 9 weeks later. I went for 10th December.
Therefore I am currently just under 2 weeks post surgery. On arrival at Albyn I found it very welcoming, efficient, professional and clean! I was welcomed at reception and taken to my room which was large, clean and welcoming. My arrival was 12 at the hospital and my laparoscopy was booked for 3pm. The anesthetist and Endo consultant came into my room, met my husband and I and adequently informed me of what to expect. I was able to ask questions and I found them both very friendly and relaxed. The nurses came into my room a couple of times to book me in and relax me!
The porters came to my room 10 mins before my surgery and wheeled me in my bed round two corridors to the pre surgery room. Within the small room I met a nurse and anethetist who reassured me, spoke to me for a few mins before putting me under general.
I awoke in the recover room two hours later and had a nurse attending solely to me. She gave me three doses of morphine to settle my pain and took me off oxygen quite quickly as I came round. As soon as I was ‘with it’ the porters came and took me back to my room where my family were waiting. The consultant had already been in the room and briefed my husband and she came back into the room as soon as I got there to inform me the surgery went well and I had mild Endo which she had burnt off. She booked me in for a follow up six weeks later and stated I would need 1 night in hospital.
I stayed the one night and found the nursing staff very attentive. I was given toast and tea quite quickly and it went down well. A couple of hours later hey have me a freshly made chicken sandwich and I made my order for poached eggs on toast for the morning. I found the food at restaurant level. I found the staff very comforting and professional. The night at the hospital was surprising quieter than I had suspected. The next morning I was seen to by the nurses and booked out very efficiently and was good to go home by 9:30am, along with my pain medication!
I have no previous experience with private care however I was very happy with how it has all went. I am recovering well and am very appreciative at how quick the private option was for me. The GP told me I would wait 8 months until NHS consultant would see me for an initial consultation. However I have had my surgery within a month of my GP visit! The true benefit of private is the timing, super efficiency and professionalism. I was treated as an individual and given the time for my procedure. I would 100% recommend private care if you want to go down that route. I have no negatives to detail about my experience with them.
If you need any further information, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Best of luck to you x
Hi,I've had all that done in private hospital n the service there is amazing. Waited nearly 2 year with NHS n in the end I was told to wait even longer. I contacted private hospital and everything was done within 3 weeks. So it's worth it. I hope u get it sorted soon. Take care
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