Going Private for Monitoring

[YoungontheOutside]

Does anyone do this and have an idea of how much this might cost on an ongoing basis? Ihad a trab in one eye last May so hopefully any emergencies are out of the way, but the appointments system is so unreliable that it feels like a huge risk to rely on the NHS now. I don’t have private medical insurance but if the fees are at a manageable level I could afford to pay. I’m in the South London/North Surrey area.

[Anonoms]

After sight loss caused by negligent NHS admi istrayion my partner makes surehe has a private field test at the point the doctor recommended he should be seen. Costs about 50.00. only problem was that when he did lose 20 percent of his visual field it took a further 8 weeks to be seen and then operated on as a emergency. Results were sent in this consultant.

[Bellamolly60 in reply to Anonoms]

good luck 🇺🇦🇺🇦👍

[Cornwalleyes]

I’m lucky I have private medical insurance. I go to Moorfields - to see a consultant is around £250 and if they do all the tests that’s another £200, including visual feeds and a scan of the back of your eye.

[Spanieldoglover in reply to Cornwalleyes]

Hi Cornwalleyes, I just wondered if your health insurance will continue to cover your glaucoma appointments? I was initially covered by my health insurance and then they only covered me for another year. I’m now funding my continued appointments which are a little more than the costs you mentioned with tests so if there’s any way I can get medical insurance to cover this it would be great. However, I’m assuming most won’t cover chronic conditions. I just thought it might be worth exploring your insurers if you didn’t mind sharing the name?

Sorry to jump on your thread Youngontheoutside, hope you don’t mind. Some others have answered you with far more reasonable costs than I pay, but I still think it’s worth paying rather than waiting for appointments on the NHS.

[Cornwalleyes in reply to Spanieldoglover]

it’s with my husbands employer health scheme, it’s Vitality. They have kept paying so far, my consultant helps by calling them follow up appts for or various other things. They do say they won’t pay for ongoing issues., so it will stop eventually.

[Spanieldoglover in reply to Cornwalleyes]

Thank you.

[VerdiG]

I had my Trab done by private surgeon during lockdown. The NHS tried to end my regular appointments with them. I persevered with NHS eye hospital but was finding it so stressful. Have now decided to see private specialist every 6 months. It costs me £350 per visit including all the tests. I think the initial consultation might have been a bit more. If you can afford it , it is so worth being seen in a calm non stressful environment with plenty of time to ask questions, getting the field test and other tests done and getting seen on time.

[Hidden]

I paid £160 for the INITIAL CONSULTATION and now pay £100 every time and I would sooner not go at all than have to use an NHS Hospital - it is well worth the money and all my friends are the staff at that hospital so I actually love going there

[Bellamolly60 in reply to Hidden]

I been going to my hospital since 1978 will continue till I drop off my perch I suppose am lucky ma very grateful to The NHS

For saving my sight on many occasions 👁️🇺🇦🇺🇦

[Machicado]

I pay £125 for a check up appointment which includes examining the eyes and pressure check. It is about £150 in addition when the visual field test is also done. This is in the Midlands.

[Longwalks3]

I don't have insurance and pay £150 per consultation to my consultant. A fields test costs £90. I am treated in Birmingham and would not consider relying on the NHS at the moment. This is partly because of all the delays but also because I have complex advanced glaucoma and really value seeing the same person on each visit. This never happens in the NHS and I really feel that continuity of care is key if you have a complex chronic condition.

[Bellamolly60 in reply to Longwalks3]

when I go for follow up appointments there is a team off four

But they always check at the end off the appointment by going to the top consultant to get it signed off🇮🇪🇺🇦👍

[LMEMDoooo]

we went private and it wasn’t as expensive as I thought direct message me xxx

[YoungontheOutside in reply to LMEMDoooo]

Please tell me why it is that youcan’t give these details publicly.

[LMEMDoooo in reply to YoungontheOutside]

no reason I suppose I thought it may differ from area to area as we are in the southwest. Used a Ramsay healthcare provider and was approx £220 per initial consultation and £180 for follow ups

[YoungontheOutside in reply to LMEMDoooo]

Thank you 🙂

[LMEMDoooo in reply to YoungontheOutside]

no problem x

[PBX142]

I initially went privately but couldn't keep up with the costs. However I was seeing a leading specialist in central London so top dollar...With tests etc about £300 a time. A month's worth of one lot of eye meds cost up to £100 so that is a considerable cost especially if you have two or three medsThe specialist moved me over to his NHS practice and I had a trab that would have been in exactly the same eye hospital, everything identical, except the price: £0 on the NHS and £5,000 privately - I asked. Interestingly, most of that £5,000 was the hospital's charge, and I wasn't even staying overnight! I am now at Moorfields and although it's the centre of excellence there is still the same problem of overcrowding, underfunding etc and I have to make a big noise not to get my appts shunted back. I would of course prefer to go privately, much less stressful, all your questions can be answered etc, but the problem is not just the appt and meds charges, but if I need further surgery/procedures - and glaucoma is so unpredictable - that I might suddenly have to face bills of £5000+. I think though that my best option was when I was with the earlier specialist who I first saw privately...because when I went over to the NHS under his care - although I didn't always see him at appts - I could also see him privately if I was panicking!

[nstewart61]

I have primary angle closure glaucoma in both eyes diagnosed in 2014 when I was 53.

I was monitored regularly until Covid and now have only been seen twice in the past 3 years! My consultant told me at my last appointment, September 2022, that I had progressed to Stage 3 and would need to be monitored every 3-4 months. No follow up yet so I decided to go private, got an appointment within 48 hours, £175, follow up appointments every 3 months will be £115 but extra for diagnostics when I require them. It is actually an NHS consultant from the same hospital but on a private basis. Not something I wanted to do but currently I have zero faith in the NHS to manage my condition at such a critical stage.

[YoungontheOutside]

Thank you for all your replies. I wonder if it is possible to toggle between NHS and private if it is just a matter of monitoring, although I can see that it could get complicated if a private consultant changed your eye drops.

[nstewart61 in reply to YoungontheOutside]

that’s exactly what my private consultant is doing. I have a follow up appointment with him in 2 months time which he as advised to cancel if my NHS appointment comes through and reschedule for 3 months after that. He is also, where possible, using my scans and vft’s from both the NHS and my Optometrist. He states he is trying to avoid me incurring unnecessary expense.

[Spanieldoglover in reply to YoungontheOutside]

I am not on eye drops at the moment but was told when I was I could take my private prescription into my doctors surgery and change it to an NHS prescription which I did. Obviously this doesn’t cover the issue of covering costs of operations if/when needed, I will probably have to see if it is possible to do as you say, see if I can go between NHS and private. I can see from your replies the £470 I pay for consultant, VFT and scan seems to be high, goodness knows why the costs have to vary so much, must be different areas.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Alanthered]

A question for any contributor. If you don’t have private medical insurance, how do you find a private consultant? Is there some kind of register?

[KBIOW in reply to Alanthered]

I was think g the same, how on earth do you find someone…

[YoungontheOutside]

I have googled my Moorfields NHS eye consultants to see where they are practising privately. Some of them are also doing it through the private Moorfields wing