going private

[MayM95]

Hi everyone, recently joined this community. I’ve been considering looking into private care with gynaecology as the two gynaecologists I have seen have been awful, and I know waiting lists are long, especially for surgery. Has anyone had any experience with private care instead of NHS, and if this has been any better??

[Linley]

I went private but that's when I was covered at work. I couldn't stand the pain anymore, the waiting times for a NHS appointment were not as long as they are today. Saw the Gynae 2 weeks after booking, had op and treatment. Word of warning NHS GPs do private appointments so be prudent to check if the 2 Gynaecologists you saw don't do the same thing😉

[MayM95 in reply to Linley]

yeah I’m not sure I’d be covered at work (would need to check!) but it’s got to the point now where I don’t know what else to do and I just need help. Wow that’s so fast! And NHS waiting times are so much worse now since Covid. Thanks for the advice ☺️

[parleystopaz0e]

I asked my GP to refer me to NHS Gynaecology this time last year and waited weeks before I got a letter that said I’d been added to a waiting list. And that was just to try and get an appointment for a consultation, wasn’t even for surgery. Looking at the waiting times on the internet I felt like I’d have to wait more than a year to see a specialist, and then probably the same amount of time for the operation. So I went private because I was worried about the additional damage endo would cause in that time. All in all, from initial consultation to operation day, it took about 5 weeks. I have medical insurance through work though which helped massively. If your employers offers something like this it’s definitely worth checking.

Other than waiting times I can’t draw a comparison between NHS and private because this was my first laparoscopy and I’ve not got experience with how they handle that on the NHS.

[MayM95 in reply to parleystopaz0e]

thank you for sharing ☺️ I definitely need to find out if my work can help at all because that would be great, but I still think ultimately, I will need to go private. I just hope to find a good gynaecologist that is understanding and empathetic because I have yet to find one!

[Luc81]

Dr Shaheen Khazali, try to contact him, he's on of the best for endometriosis in uk, hope that helps

[MayM95 in reply to Luc81]

thank you 😊

[Pitchperfec]

hi, where in the UK are you? The Priory Birmingham has a specialist Endometriosis Clinic lead by Mr Afifi. If you are suffering with endometriosis you would definitely benefit from seeing a specialist rather than a general gynaecologist and in my experience diagnosis and treatment has been far quicker seeing someone privately. If you have private healthcare or can afford to pay this is definitely the way to go for Endo treatment, you could be waiting years for an accurate diagnosis via the NHS.

[MayM95 in reply to Pitchperfec]

Hi, I live in Glastonbury, Somerset so have been looking more at Bristol/Bath in terms of gynaecologists. Birmingham would be a little too far for me! But I’ll definitely look into seeing a specialist then rather than a general gynaecologist, I didn’t even think of that, so thank you!

[Propgirl]

I have been private for 15 years now I am in a fortunate position I get medical cover for work. The speed and care level I have had has always been excellent. Last year I had seen a GP, gyny and had the op before I could get a normal GP appointment.

[MayM95 in reply to Propgirl]

Wow that’s amazing! I need to look into whether or not my work can help with private healthcare

[HMC18]

Hey!! So I am on the NHS waiting list and they now told me September but I cannot physically wait any longer so I am having my first private appointment at the start of March - getting a price and a surgery date as I am desperate now. Never done private previously and my work doesn’t cover it so I am feeling very anxious about it all!

[MayM95 in reply to HMC18]

Hi! I’m the same, I can’t wait any longer for appointments and surgery so having to go private! I haven’t been private before either so I don’t know what to expect. I hope it goes well for you!

[Supertedscrappy]

Hi there, I can highly recommend Shaheen Khazali, he recently performed my latest operation and he was so thorough

[MayM95 in reply to Supertedscrappy]

thank you for your response 🙂 I would prefer a female gynaecologist (which is know is harder to come by), as I have had issues with male gynaecologists in the past (only my experience though), and I generally feel a lot more comfortable speaking to female doctors

[Hopeful112 in reply to Supertedscrappy]

Hi supertedscrappy I hope you are recovering from your operation nicely. I have a quick question if you don't mind me asking. I am looking to go private & wanted to know how much it would roughly cost with Dr Khazali. I have bowel involvement. X

[Supertedscrappy in reply to Hopeful112]

Hello, I’m doing ok thank you, but his nursing team went above and beyond to help me. I think his initial consult fees are between £200 and £290, but follow ups are less. He was more expensive than my previous gynae, but I have endo quite extensively and I wanted a second opinion from an expert in endo to make sure I was receiving the right advice. I hope you get some relief soon.

[Hopeful112 in reply to Supertedscrappy]

Thank you x

[Kay92jay]

Hi, I saw my NHS gynaecologist privately and paid for a laparoscopy and got my fingers burned. I’m now going through it all again with a specialist I found on the list from the endo organisation. I should have done this to begin with, I was in so much pain and I believed the NHS man could sort it for me, however turns out he was not right to deal with endo. Make sure you do your research before you spend any money! X

[MayM95 in reply to Kay92jay]

thank you for this! Yes I’ve heard that many NHS gynaecologists do private as well so I will double check who I see because I’ve had a couple of different gynaecologists so far (diagnosed in 2018) and they’ve all been awful. So thank you! X