Private/NHS treatment

[Flower]

I need a bit of advice/experience on using private health.

I have asked for a price for an initial consultation on my precious leg. My local NHS says amputation is my only option but I can't take that decision as yet and want to ask for a second opinion from a specialist in my problem.

I can afford the initial consultation fee from my rainy day fund but beyond that I can't afford anything further, should there be any other surgical option available to me.

If - looking on the optimistic side- there is something that may prolong the life of my leg, can I then revert back to the NHS and if so I presume it would be up to my CCG to agree or refuse funding for any surgery. The surgeon in question is in London and I'm not so it is out of my area.

Is it worth a private consultation plus the fees for my medical records/scans etc just to find out if there is a glimmer of hope or is it best to ask for a referral and go the NHS route the whole way through?

My head is full and I need help!🙂

 

[Sprogladite]

If it was me, it's absolutely something I would do - you could ask the consultant you saw privately to write a report on everything you discuss to show whoever you see on the NHS and use this as evidence if there is an alternative. There's no reason you can't revert back to the NHS. I think if you didn't go and see the private consultant, you would always wonder 'what if'. Good luck x

 

[Vince_UK]

I need a bit of advice/experience on using private health.

I have asked for a price for an initial consultation on my precious leg. My local NHS says amputation is my only option but I can't take that decision as yet and want to ask for a second opinion from a specialist in my problem.

I can afford the initial consultation fee from my rainy day fund but beyond that I can't afford anything further, should there be any other surgical option available to me.

If - looking on the optimistic side- there is something that may prolong the life of my leg, can I then revert back to the NHS and if so I presume it would be up to my CCG to agree or refuse funding for any surgery. The surgeon in question is in London and I'm not so it is out of my area.

Is it worth a private consultation plus the fees for my medical records/scans etc just to find out if there is a glimmer of hope or is it best to ask for a referral and go the NHS route the whole way through?

My head is full and I need help!🙂

@Flower
In ths situation a second opinion is a must.
You need check the condition under which a private consultation would be agreed by the private surgeon etc and ensure it doesn't effect your future NHS care.
With medical private insurance they always want a referral from your GP, if you are funding it directly yourself then that should not be needed.

 

[AJLang]

Hi Flower I've been in a sort of similar situation before with regard to consultations with a rheumatologist and eye consultant. with each of them I had private consultations and explained that I was self-paying. They both then arranged for me to go onto their NHS lists. It doesn't always work like that, I did have a private Moorfields appointment where the man was useless. But if the consultant you want to see is decent and thinks that he can help you he may get you onto his NHS list - but obviously not guanteed. Good luck x PS some private consultants want a referral from GP and some don't. But if you ask your GP to do the referral then they should hopefully be able to forward all test results etc.

 

[Flower]

Thank you 🙂

It is a definite that I will get a second opinion for such a life changing decision.
I've established I need a referral from my surgeon and I need to obtain copies of scans, X rays etc.

My main worry, as you say Vince, is the where/how do I slot back into the NHS system should there be anything considered beneficial to my situation. The surgeon does work for an NHS trust so I am unsure of whether to follow this route from the start.

 

[Vince_UK]

Thank you 🙂

It is a definite that I will get a second opinion for such a life changing decision.
I've established I need a referral from my surgeon and I need to obtain copies of scans, X rays etc.

My main worry, as you say Vince, is the where/how do I slot back into the NHS system should there be anything considered beneficial to my situation. The surgeon does work for an NHS trust so I am unsure of whether to follow this route from the start.

I would just ask @Flower either way in this situation a second opinion is an absolute must as @AJLang has stated also. Your GP will probably charge you for the referral letter but that should not be much.
Go for it Flower, I certainly would and AJ already has.

 

[AJLang]

Just to say my GP has fortunately never charged me for private referral letters although I did only one consultant where I needed the referral. If you go down the NHS route with him from the start you may have a several week wait, that's why I've gone privately before.

 

[AJLang]

You can start the NHS route for him but see him privately as well?

 

[grovesy]

Just to say my GP has fortunately never charged me for private referral letters although I did only one consultant where I needed the referral. If you go down the NHS route with him from the start you may have a several week wait, that's why I've gone privately before.

Mine did not charge me either and I had a copy for myself too.

 

[mikeyB]

Go for it Flower. If he says that the leg is salvageable, using state of the art techniques not available in your area, the chances are the NHS would fund the operation. If he can’t offer anything, then at least you will know that you’ve had an opinion from the best. You’ve faced all your setbacks with courage, so try this bit of kite flying. You’ve got nothing to lose apart from your credit reference.

 

[Northerner]

I wonder if the Diabetes UK Helpline could offer advice, @Flower? Worth a call as they may have specific information on the process 🙂

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Helpline

Good luck {{{HUGS}}}

 

[Flower]

Thank you Northerner 🙂 I did speak to them a few weeks back re how I went about getting a referral.and they were very helpful. At that time I was not thinking of going privately but will speak to them again about any possible implications in the choices I make. 🙂

 

[spiritfree]

Hello Flower. I have done this a couple of times. And the consultant that I paid put me on his nhs. I actually did this to get my pump. The hospital consultant at the hospital I went to literally laughed when I asked if I could start on a pump. He made me angry, so I looked up hospitals near me that did pumps. I paid a consultant at a pump friendly hospital. I was told that I tick all the right boxes and I was put on his nhs pump list. Not long after I had a pump nurse appointment. She said I had got funding for a pump.So it really can make a difference. Go for it Flower..

 

[AndBreathe]

Hello Flower. I'm so sorry you're facing such a challenging decision.

Under the NHS, you are entitled to a second option, so you could discuss this with your GP. With a recent issue I had, my GP actually asked if I would like to seek a second opinion, then followed up by asking whom I would like to see (she knows I do my homework).

For that second opinion I actually went privately, as the prospect of waiting for severral weeks (or months) to see someone really didn't appeal.

When I got to my private consultation, I had gone armed with my records of blood test results etc, which I keep on a spreadsheet (with trend lines,...... obviously! Ahem.), however when I got there the consultant had already called up my NHS records on his PC. At the time, I chose not to question him on how he had managed that, as I'm not entirely sure it was something he should have done from there, but I was a bit gobsmacked and decided to get on with the business of the appointment.

I think what I might be saying is if your preferred consultant for your second opinion does private work, the question of records might not be a massive issue, but a call to his secretary to enquire should garner a response - even if she has to call him/her first. I appreciate your case is likely a million times more complex that my issue, but I'm jut trying to encourage you not to make too many assumptions, without investigating first.

At the same time as my GP was doing the second opinion referral, she also did the "paperwork" to change my NHS treatment to the second opinion guy.

It can be made to work, and the second consultant was the one who suggested he see me under the NHS. He also wrote to my GP asking her to provide me with the paperwork to have a raft of blood tests done, on the NHS, which she was happy to do.

There were zero awkward moments and everyone was very open about what was going on.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Bloden]

So sorry to hear you’re in this situation, @Flower. No advice, just ((((BIG HUGS)))).

 

[pippaandben]

Definitely go for it. I had a NHS consultant initially but my back op was too complicated for him so needed to be referred to a London hospital ie. he would report back to GP for him to then refer me to London. I got a private appt and consultant agreed to put me on his NHS list as a) too complicated for many of his colleagues and he felt he needed to do it himself and b) any sudden movement or stress could have paralysed me and c) worst case scenario I would be in a wheelchair permanently within 3 years and then probably inoperable. Private op completely out of the question at £40k+!! Timescale is so important in many unusual cases and you would probably get an appt within 2 weeks and thus save yourself a lot of stress and worry - which are not good for you!! Hugs and good luck