I saw this the other day, it resonates with me. I currently have a structural, ongoing issue with my feet, due to Ehlers Danlos I have very flat feet which as I get older are causing me real jip.
So I'm waiting for an NHS foot and ankle MRI to see if soft tissues are also involved. Its roughly a 4-8 week wait, but could be longer. So I asked about getting it done privately, to speed things up a bit.. Because I need both my right foot and ankle scanning they regard that a potentially two seperate scans, which they can do, all for the low low price of £821.00. Which seems ridiculous.
But it got me thinking about the whole private medicine malarkey, we hear more and more about people going private, either to beat the queue or because the NHS doesnt offer the procedure or treatment. And obviously a lot of forum members use private Endos and prescribers for T3 and NDT.
I pay for all my thyroid meds, (proper) blood tests, and my supplements including the prohibitively expensive collagen (which seems to stop the worst of my occasional alligator skin flare-ups). A couple of grand a year on hair. In the past, I have paid for a thyroid ultrasound and to consult an endo, after my GP told me that I would never get an NHS endo appointment, as my TSH was 'in range' (4.78)
It is privatisation by stealth and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation will doubtless be quoted, as our health service is further eroded. I've got a 'euthanasia fund' which will get me to Switzerland if needs be. It has forever bothered me that ancient Maude around the corner, in terrible and constant pain with her arthritis and living on the 'old' state pension, can't make the same choice.
I have made a somewhat vacillating peace with the patriarchy, which will never expend the necessary funds to provide we thyroidies with a quality of life worth living.
Life sucks, sometimes. However, it's better than the alternative ⚰️
Like you and Regen I pay for private meds, I self source T3, pay for LDN via Roseway, buy my own supplements, including vitamin D, after NHS withdrew mine. Run my own blood tests.
I did ask my GP for LDN, they can prescribe it as off label and I've tried all the usual Fibro therapies over the years, including sleep clinic pain clinic, meditation/mindfulness/ CBT, as well as opiate painkillers, antidepressants and anti epileptics for pain.
Due to having EDS I'm very med sensitive, I found all the NHS approved Fibro/ chronic pain meds either ineffective or they had hideous side effects. But no my GP refused, but they are happy to waste money on harmful, potentially addictive crap, which has very low clinical evidence of effectiveness. The mind boggles.
So now I buy my own, LDN has helped me, its not a cure all but I do feel better and it has no side effects. I'm lucky I can afford it. As you rightly say we are in danger of creating a two tier system whereby the wealthy ( or desperate) will find the money somehow. But those without the means will languish on ever lengthening NHS waiting lists.
I dont know, maybe the UK needs to have a very serious conversation about whether the NHS in its current form is viable, desirable or whether its time to look at other health provisions.
I had to go private for a cardiologist last month because the waiting list was long and unknown.
Say what? In view of the fact that we keep being hammered with news of an ever increasing waiting list for surgery, the NHS bean counters can't tell how long you'll have to wait for an appointment to see a cardiologist?
I see that as i) an outrageous lie ii) a compelling reason for anyone on that list to scrape together the money to go private and iii) ultimately a ruse to reduce waiting lists. FFS
I have mixed feelings tbh, on a purely human level I can fully understand going private. I've done it before and can 100% see why people do. Especially if you are in constant pain or need to get back to work or if the treatment you need isnt available. But on the other hand we all pay taxes, in one form or another and in going private we are letting the NHS get away with not fulfilling their side of the bargain. We dont get a rebate or discount on our contributions.
Its meant to be free at the point of use, but with ever increasing numbers of desperate people going private nothing will change, improve. And they know this. I've even heard of doctors suggesting patients go private.
As it is we have this weird hybrid system of private and NHS, we pay for prescriptions ( not those with an ME) except for Wales and Scotland. We pay for dentistry as NHS dentists are non existent. We pay for glasses. A lot of people pay for podiatry and physiotherapy because its no longer available on NHS. Maybe its time the NHS was scrapped and we change to an insurance based model.
The explanation to me when I asked why they didn't know (the nhs says 18 weeks, the GP said 9 months) was that the list shifts based on perceived priority... So your place can get bumped.
Firstly, I think the price you were quoted for the MRIs is high. Did you phone round different private hospitals for a quote telling them that you'd be paying and not an insurance company, and whether or not you would need contrast dye? Some places are cheaper than others. Also, what would you do after getting the scan, would your GP treat you or would you still need to wait for a specialist?
The entire article resonates with me, although I put the decline in the NHS further back than two decades. I benefitted from RAF medical services for some years in the 70s, which were very good, then German medical services which were employer and insurance based, superb, and at a cost to both employer and employee equivalent to NI at that time.
I returned to the UK in the 80s and my previous family GP laughed when I mentioned the vitamin injections I'd been getting, and that I had low blood pressure which was being monitored. She told me that Germany treated some conditions which the NHS didn't recognise as a problem, and the NHS didn't in any case carry out vitamin testing! We were still moving around, and I found that GPs, maternity services, paediatric care, and hospital referrals all differed according to different areas of the UK. Anglesey was particularly lacking, Sussex a bit iffy, Devon was good.
Like many here, I pay for a private endocrinologist and buy my own NDT. Following a stroke, my husband was advised to arrange private physio as the NHS waiting list was 5-6 months – that is very serious for any stroke patient who couldn’t afford it! My daughter recently had major surgery through her company medical insurance, for a problem which her NHS GP had not followed up two years ago, telling her that it probably wasn't important. If my son needs to see a GP he phones for a private appointment with a doctor of his choice in London, on a day suitable to him, through his company medical insurance. As long as this is going on, and as long as normal people, not the super-rich, feel the need to budget for treatment which they can't otherwise get quickly, then successive governments will know that they can run down the NHS. I hope it will get better, but am not very optimistic.
I asked the podiatric surgeon for recommendations, I didnt want to go to some fly by night, this particular hospital is close to my home and the consultant works there doing private work, so he can easily refer and get the scans the same day. The other hospital he recommended is about 15 miles away. I dont drive or have access to a car so I'm rather limited, distance wise.
The price was so high because I need both foot and ankle, which is regarded as two seperate scans, even though they are next to each other 🤦♀️. All things considered I'm just going to wait for the NHS. I've been quoted 4-8 weeks which isnt too bad.
Its really sad to see how the NHS is struggling and you just feel like one day a government will decide to put it out of its misery and privatise it.
Hmm, I wondered if they would count as two different areas, how annoying! I think you're doing the right thing by waiting for the NHS though, and I'd do the same for 4 - 8 weeks. If you're able to get to the hospital at short notice you could let the booking team know that, in case they have any last minute cancellations. That worked once for me.
I wish someone in the government would look at how other countries in Europe run their medical systems. Germany's worked when I was there, and for anyone not working or retired, there was a parallel system, which cost nothing and worked as efficiently. The entire scheme didn't cost anything like private health insurance seems to here.
I wish someone in the government would look at how other countries in Europe run their medical systems.
My impression is that the last government wanted a health service like the USA. I haven't read or heard what the current government asks Santa Claus for.
That was my impression too, all we seem to hear about as an alternative is the US system, which is dire. But all the other European countries have variations on a theme of state run insurance, which work and are nothing like the cost of the US insurance, and they all seem to work and have better outcomes than we do these days. I just don't understand why no-one in government has investigated their systems and considered something like them, which would work for everyone.
I haven't read or heard what the current government asks Santa Claus for.
A money tree? Too late mateys.😁 I've been good this year, Father Christmas promised he'd send me one, root balled, for my topiary arch. He's run out now. 😜
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