I ve my NHS referral next month to Barts Hospital in London ..which appears to be a good place for treatment.
In the interim, because of pain and feeling rubbish i spoke to my insurer who referred me to a rheumatologist this week.
Does it seem pointless? Do you think am better off waiting four nore weeks?
I'm still relatively new to RA too. I think you'll find the problem with the NHS is the delays. there tends to be months of waiting for everything, referrals, then scans and so on.
Going private gets you ahead of the queue, possible earlier treatment. Go for it. You can also keep the Barts appointment too.
Hi there, I was in a similar position.... waited a very, very long time to get to see the correct NHS Rheumatology team. In my area I went through MSK ( fought GP to be re-referred as urgent as waited soooo long and still no appointment and when finally saw MSK team they said “ no, you need Rheumatology)!!!! Eventually saw another consultant ( who wasn’t even a Rheumatologist) and he then had to refer me to Rheumatology.... far to long and in the meantime my right wrist suffered permanent damage. There was a lot of admin errors where I was not put back in the system after being sent to the “wrong” specialists!!! So, I would say as you will likely find this first NHS appointment will not put you “ on track” to recovery I would take the early private appointment if it does nothing else than speed up x-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests, MRI’s and starting on medication quickly. In my case I had as long as I needed with the Rheumatologist his nurse took me off for the X-rays and straight back in his room to read the X-ray and walked out with instant diagnosis. Bloods taken there and then by his nurse... no sitting in a drafty hallway with many, many others waiting my turn. He also ran many more comprehensive tests than NHS ( like anti-cop)! My next appointment was booked with his receptionist before I left, amazing! I used my private cover until the point where DMARDS not working and had to go on Biosimilar. This can only be prescribed under NHS.... for which I am very grateful and now see my same Rheumatologist as he is also NHS! I was very lucky and very grateful.
A few points to be aware of: under private my prescriptions were hospital ones which meant I would have to pay ( some drugs can be very, very expensive) so I had to either get my GP to write a NHS script ( takes time) or at time private Rheumatologist gives script see if they can do it NHS??? I have a pre-payment prescription card ( approx £100 per year) for as many prescriptions I need through NHS. I purchased on-line but GP office has details. Also, my insurer had a excess that I had to pay £250 before I could start using cover ( each renewal year) and there is a claim limit and not everything is covered so have a clear chat with them first and keep your own tally of how much of the annual allowance you have used. Find out the annual renewal date because each year your allowance starts again so you may be wise to time your appointments or tests / procedures. Also, my GP office and private hospital are on different IT systems so I ask for hard copies of all test results so I have it all to hand for each appointment. In the meantime do keep a diary of all your conditions, pains, limits, changes so you have that invaluable information when you do have your appointment. Also any photos of swollen joints! Rambling, but hopefully helpful!
Well... it depends on so many things. My OH was referred to a Rheum (under work insurance) but turned out he only worked in private hospitals. We were underwhelmed with him. He filled him full of steroids, and did a nuclear bone scan rather than examine him. We then paid to see a private Rheum that also worked in the NHS, were transferred pronto to NHS (next day) and treatment commenced, although steroids had muddied the waters. Scan results from first consult.not transferred. CXR had to be repeated as not done properly etc.I would say check the person you see privately also works in the NHS and check the person you have an appt for is a Rheumatologist not a triage GP. Everyones experience is different. Some hospitals apparently do a one stop shop now and do everything on the first appt. I don't know where, but read about it at some point. maybe someone on this site will know about protocols at Barts. Good luck!
I'd see if you can see a rheumatologist privately who also works in the NHS, preferably at Barts. Then you can transfer from one to another.
It may give you comfort to talk to a professional sooner rather than later. And if your insurance will also cover scans and tests (without you having to pay -they are expensive!) it could speed things up. But it could also muddy the waters. If, for example, the private doc gives you a steroid injection to tide you over then this will mask symptoms for the NHS doc.
My experience with the NHS was totally fine. Lovely rheumy, diagnosed quickly, scans etc same day, and never felt rushed at appointments. Always had next appointment booked before I left the hospital, and the help line was responsive. One day when i was in extreme pain she squeezed me in the same day to drain my knees - can't get much better than that!
If your insurance will pay - take advantage of it whilst you can!
If you get a confirmed diagnosis & started treatment you wll be giving yourself the best chance to get things under control fast.
If your insurance then cease authorising treatment ...some don't cover RA as they regard it as an incurable condition.....you could then ask to be transferred to the NHS list of the private rheumatologist......who will know your exact condition,& you will then have rheumatology nurses to contact. The Rheumy nurses are one of the best services in NHS rheumatology treatment.
A lot of people would love to have private treatment, but with blood & other tests, an initial consultation could well cost £7/800!p or more in London.
Hope all goes well& that it's not RA!
Hi I went privately at first because I didn’t want to wait months before getting a diagnosis. All happened in a few weeks. I was diagnosed and prescribed Mxt . I saw him privately for four visits after that, then I transferred to him at the hospital. I was lucky because it was all easy thankfully...
Hi TheBoys
After going back and forth to my GP for over 6 months I went privately to see a Rheumy. Was diagnosed and put on MTX within 3 weeks. I now see the same Rheumy in the NHS . My sister in law who also had RA went via NHS and waited months almost 11 months before she was offered MTX. Go private if you can. You can also keep the nhs appt. also when I transferred to see my Rheumy on the nhs I had to wait over 6 months for my 1st appointment so really glad I chose to go private. Hope this helps you decide.
Hi. I think most things I would say have been said except that in my experience of private you get as long as you want to talk to Rheumy. This is a great advantage at the begining in my opinion. My experience is I paid for meds but no where near as bad as expected. Rheumy gave me prescription for a week that gave me time to get gp prescription. Some were cheaper than paying for prescription. Im on a mix of meds. Also all tests were done asap, generally direct from clinic and on nhs. My excess is £100. I would go private but do your research. All the best.
I went Private as the wait time was four-five months on NHS, lucky enough to have Bupa through work. Bear in mind that most private health car companies may not pay for medication and or on-going treatment. I was in so much pain that there was no way I could wait for the NHS appointment. So it rather depends upon how you are feeling, and I found that things changed quickly for the worse for me over a few weeks.
My Private Rheumy got me onto meds within a few weeks, which were just as cheap on a private script than an NHS one, which was a great surprise. My GP very kindly took those private prescriptions and turned them into NHS ones - I now have an NHS pre-payment card for these which saves money. My Private rheumy at my last appointment with him suggested that he take me onto his NHS list - which is great, as he has my full history of this crap disease. I have only seen him once and supposed to be seeing him again mid Dec, but the MSK unit has given me a "first" appointment at the very end of Jan, not sure whats going on now ???!!!
Anyway - from my experience I would say to go private initially. Good luck with it all.
Well.. i took everyones advice. The consultant was great. He examined me ..noting that my swelling and pain was in the bigger joints as opposed to fingers, toez etc.... hes going to try get ne into his NHS clinic which is great as its near my home...thanks everyone.
No don't wait I went private and was diagnosed and given some treatment straight away.
No point complaining
Could this point to fibro?
Private consultation 
Private rheumatologist 
