Private or NHS Hospital???

Soldato
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Who here uses private health-care / hospital and what benefits do you get?

The reason I ask is this morning my wife had some bleeding and pains and she is pregnant so I took her to the hospital, 3 hours went by before they decided to move her to the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit, and then a further hour to get a scan...By this time my wife was in a bit of pain, and dispite telling the nurses she is in pain, I'm going mad at this point pacing back and forth becuase I'm worried about my unborn twins and all they kept saying is "The doctor will be with you very soon"...Got sick of hearing this, there wasnt even many patients on the ward either...

I told my wife I want to go for private healthcare, what are the benifits?

Oh, just to let you know, both babies are fine and both heartbeats can be seen, they do not know the reason for the bleeding this morning but it put her in a lot of pain...

All I need is the Pros and Cons of Private Healthcare...
 
Associate
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whilst I can't say with authority private is superior to NHS treatment. The one thing you will notice is speed. Things happen more quickly or at least staff will hear you sooner under private.
 
Don
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For emergencies the NHS generally does a very good job, where private helthcare helps is in getting non emergenct treatment quicker and in a better environment
 
Soldato
OP
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Oh, I assumed you got emergency treatment too. OK, nevermind my question. Topic can be closed please (I can't close it as no option to close it as someone said I can but I can't :))
 
Associate
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you can get private obstetric cover, that will cover any emergency - including the situation in the OP
if you can afford private cover go for it, remember if things go very wrong - eg severe pre-eclampsia needing surgical delivery of the babies at 24 weeks, then an NHS hospital is the safest place to be
generally private cover is good for nice clean private rooms, with vases and flowers, if the medical problem is very serious or very complex the private hospital will simply put you in an ambulance and send you to the local NHS hospital
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
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As said above, there is no real private A&E care in the UK. Private care for non emergency is generally much better in that there is much less waiting and the facilities are generally better.

That aside I hope all is well with your wife, how far along is she?
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
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she is only 7 weeks but confirmed twins who are OK at min...Thanks for asking mate :)

Thanks for all the feedback...

I wish you all the best for the next 7 months of paranoia regarding anything out of the ordinary, healthy heartbeats at 7 weeks is very good news though. Best of luck.
 
Soldato
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I wouldn't pay for private healthcare to be honest, if it was given to me by an employer or something maybe. The NHS has always been very good to me, in and out in a matter of hours with a diagnosis and prescription.
 
Soldato
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For emergencies the NHS generally does a very good job, where private helthcare helps is in getting non emergency treatment quicker and in a better environment

This.

I've always had private healthcare thanks to my dads employer, and that's exactly how I've used it. I've got a feeling that they don't cover children indefinitely (pretty sure it stops age 20) but once I've finished Uni and am working I'll definitely be buying some myself if my employer doesn't provide it.

One time I needed an ultrasound scan of my digestive system (or did they think I was pregnant?) NHS wanted six weeks... I had it the next day private. That just about sums it up tbh.


If you are thinking of getting any; Pru are **** and Bupa are ace.
 
Associate
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One time I needed an ultrasound scan of my digestive system (or did they think I was pregnant?) NHS wanted six weeks... I had it the next day private. That just about sums it up tbh.

The NHS is excellent value for money. Your primary care trust pays your GP about £55 per year and you can visit your doctor as many times as you like. A similar level of cover for your hamster, to see a vet, would cost more.

If you had to wait 6 weeks for a scan it's probably because it was not urgent, and therefore requested with a lower priority.
However, choosing private medical cover is entirely your choice, and if you are happy to pay then good on you
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
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The NHS is excellent value for money.

Surely that will depend on exactly how much NI you pay? If you pay nothing in to the system it is excellent value for money, the higher up the paygrade you go, the less you end up getting for your cash.
 
Associate
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I mean (services delivered) / (total expenditure), in this way the NHS delivers very good value for tax pounds, eg service for service at about half the cost of American healthcare services, as compared by (total expenditure) / population.

on an individual basis, well most people hope never to need to see a return on their NI contributions! lol
 

RDM

RDM

Soldato
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I mean (services delivered) / (total expenditure), in this way the NHS delivers very good value for tax pounds, eg service for service at about half the cost of American healthcare services, as compared by (total expenditure) / population.

on an individual basis, well most people hope never to need to see a return on their NI contributions! lol

The problem with comparing us with the US for example is that you just compare costs. The US is indeed incredibly expensive, but the quality of care is second to none for a very large proportion of people that are treated. Of course the problem comes with the huge swathes of the country that are not covered who get incredibly poor medical treatment.

To use just your measure then the NHS is hopeless if you compare it to Singapore's health service. They spend less than half as a % of GDP and have one of the best services in the world.
 
Caporegime
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I'd understand the times if the waiting areas, etc. were absolutely rammed, but a lot of the time this isn't the case. The last time I went for some metal in my eye, I obviously got directed to the emergency eye ward or whatever it was called, but I was the only person there and all of the rooms that link to that ward were empty too. The doctors were just sitting in the rooms chatting, and I got in about two hours later. :confused:

Glad to hear your wife and twins are fine though. Good luck! :)
 
Soldato
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The problem with comparing us with the US for example is that you just compare costs. The US is indeed incredibly expensive, but the quality of care is second to none for a very large proportion of people that are treated.
Not according to the WHO or a number of other independent analyses. The US system has many of the same faults as ours, and many objective measures of quality of healthcare provision show the US well below the UK (the WHO ranking for example).

That's not to say that there aren't loads of better ways of doing it - just that the US is not the 'gold standard' comparator
 
Soldato
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One time I needed an ultrasound scan of my digestive system (or did they think I was pregnant?) NHS wanted six weeks... I had it the next day private. That just about sums it up tbh.
As mentioned, that doesn't just about sum it up. You can easily get a SAME DAY scan under the NHS if it is thought to be clinically necessary - which it would seem your GP thought it wasn't in your case.

Sure it's nicer from your POV, and puts peoples' minds at rest quicker with private healthcare - but every system has to prioritise and manage costs to some degree. If everyone in the country were wanting to use your private hospitals' radiology departments - you'd have to wait a while then. It's just that you're lucky the majority of the population aren't in your priviledged position
 
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