NHS vs Specialist

[NeonPothos]

Hi everyone, I had my first lap with the NHS in February and my pains have come straight back.

Does anyone have any experiences to share with going private/seeing a specialist as I really don’t know whether it’s going to be any different?

Any recommendations are much appreciated as well, thank you

[Goiaba]

hi lovely, sorry you’re feeling unwell

I have seen specialists and have had laps with the nhs and privately and the only different for me was the time and the autonomy to choose which doctor was treating me.

I’ve been on the nhs waiting list for a hysterectomy for about a year and suddenly my insurer decided to cover the surgery so within 2 weeks I had it all sorted and booked for next month.

The experience was not different at all, the dr doing the hysterectomy is the same I’m seeing in the nhs. Private healthcare just basically gives you access to stuff quicker but quality-wise was the same for me.

[Sunflower6758]

Hello! I'm sorry to hear your pain has returned. It's tough isn't it, I've been questioning the same thing over the last year, but after doing some research I discovered Oxford hospital (NHS) have a very good research department for endo and specialist surgeons there. I requested to be referred there even though it isn't local for me, but so far I'm really glad I did. I've been seen at 3 different hospitals so far but the consultant at Oxford really seems to know what they're doing- beyond comparison to the others hospitals I've been to! I'm on the waiting list for surgery now which is 6-9months, a fair wait I know, but not as bad as some other NHS waiting lists. They also give you a more specialist scan there and seem trained to recognise more in the scan than previous ones I've had. I think if you go to the right place, you can get just as quality treatment as if you go private, it's just the wait times I suppose. Any way I would highly recommend checking out the endo centre at John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford- for me it's worth the travel! Wishing you all the best ♥️

[Moon_maiden]

Hi

I’ve had private and NHS, I chose private initially as a, had money then, but b, it meant I could choose who I saw.

If they found Endo and weren’t a specialist they should have referred you to an Endo centre anyway.

If you do pay, see someone that also has an nhs clinic as they can add you to their list if need be. Your GP can also refer you to a specialist centre, anywhere you want doesn’t have to be within your CCG area.

Plus referrals to pain clinic, although GP can prescribe decent painkillers if they want to.