Going Private for diagnosis?

flowerpot

Afternoon all,

I have just had a call from my rheumy's consultants secretary saying she was going to have to move my appointment I have booked in for five weeks time as they hadn't had the Ultrasound report back yet which I had done 2 weeks ago. She has moved it back another 2 weeks. I can not for the life of me comprehend how not having a report 5 weeks before the appointment means that it won't turn up in time, but hey ho, its "hospital policy". Has anyone taken the plunge and tried going private for a diagnosis? Some parts of the NHS are great, so I saw the consultant who ordered more bloods and an ultra sound, my bloods i had done the same day at the hospital and only had to wait 10 days for ultrasound, but if I need to leave 7 weeks between any tests and getting the results back it is going to take an eternity. I know another two weeks isn't going to kill me, but I am a little fed up of all the little delays along the way and thinking if I went private things would go a lot smoother. Not that I have a clue how to transfer so late in the day to a private consultant, or any idea how much they cost. :???:

dreamdaisy

The NHS is a great lumbering beast, some of the back office staff are very good, but the majority are there because it's a job and as for taking an interest in it . . . . .

Two weeks is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things. Private consultations can become expensive if they decide you need further bloods or Xrays: if it were me I would wait for the NHS appointment. Mind you, in the past I have had two rheumatologists telling me that what ailed me was not arthritis. I have had the last laugh on that one for a number of years now. I wish you well. DD

flowerpot

Oh i know it's only 2 weeks, but its two weeks, on top of two weeks waiting to see my GP to get the referral, on top of a week after my previous appointment got cancelled and moved, on top of 4 months waiting to see him again because I was "accidently discharged" meaning I went back to the bottom of the waiting list. I just have little faith in the system, maybe when he fails to diagnose me for the fourth time they will send me to another hospital and things will improve, I am just fed up of the whole thing, there is nothing I can do to help my situation except throw money at it which I don't really have, but as it stands if I don't get a diagnosis I am heading for having to take unpaid leave as I have used up all my self cert. sick days for the year. My only joy in this is the mass of paperwork I generate for my employers HR dept, muhahahaha.

mig

My husband needed to have by-pass surgery on his legs,after seeing the consultant we asked how much would it cost to have him do it private which was he said about £5,000 that was without drugs needed or follow up treatment which could cost a packet,he then said if we could wait 4 weeks he would get him in on the nhs and we would have the same team as we would have if we went private,we waited and expected it to be longer but he he had it done after only 3 weeks,if he hadnt been such a good man he would have wanted the money without a thought for us or our hard saved money.i must add the op was a great sucess,so all in all i guess it comes down to how much you trust your doctors.wishing you good luck and sending hugs.Mig

suzygirl

Hi, I know it seems an eternity and a lot of endless waiting. However, thats how it is when you have a chronic illness, unfortunately. It does take a while to get a diagnosis, start treatment, get appts etc.

You can go private, it is expensive, mainly the bloods and further tests are the expensive bit. Although sometimes a supportive gp will help out with the bloods. Then as others have said the consultant will transfer you to his nhs list if he has one.

It depends how desperate you are and how much money you have at the end of the day. I would wait it out, you could ask the rheumy secretary to chase the ultrasound results or your gp, or even chase them yourself. I have done that on occasion to speed things up.

frogmorton

Flowerpot

I did it.

I am ashamed to say l did :sad: , but it was when l had finally 'done my back in' and l could wait no longer.

It cost (then £120) and was well worth it. Diagnosed day one and did not charge me after than initial consultation either. the being the danger l think.

I had to get Gp to send referral letter the same if l remember rightly, but it really only was that one-off.

I still feel guilty about it but at the time l was single parent and had two little kids and needed to get back to work asap so it was urgent.

Love

Toni xx

dreamdaisy

Why not ring up the secretary, say you don't give a damn about results not being back, you want the original appointment and if that is not re-instated you will complain to your MP. Stress that you feel you have been waiting long enough and that another delay from their end is not acceptable. That might work. DD

flowerpot

Oh Toni, don't feel guilty sounds like it was £120 is a good value of money if it means you can look after and support your children xxx

Poppyg1rl

Hi Flowerpot,
I did go private to get a diagnosis for my arthritis, partly because we have full B*PA membership through hubby's work and, my GP upon looking at my red swollen sore finger was convinced I had some sort of inflammatory arthritis and said I should see the consultant while I was flaring. So he referred me to a Rheumatologist at my local hospital, I called B*PA who said this consultant was registered with them and I could make an appt and gave me a claim number. Once I had that I called the consultants private secretary and was seen that night. She arranged gave me a full examination and sent me for blood tests, X-rays, ultra sound, all that week. The end result was that my esr and crp was raised, the ultra sound showed the damage done to my synovium (synovitis) and the fluid around the joint. She saw me three times in two weeks, explained I would have this for the rest of my life and that I needed to start DMARDS and perhaps anti TNF so, she discharged me from her private practice and put me on her NHS list. Since then I have seen her numerous times, she is a wonderful Rheumy as is the whole dept, arranging physio, OT, etc. Personally, getting the diagnosis privately was brilliant as I'm covered with hubby's work and didn't pay a penny BUT, if I had paid it myself the total (I'm sat here covered in invoices and receipts!) would have been well over 4 thousand pounds.
There's also no guarantee the Rheumy you see privately for diagnosis will
pop you on their NHS list, I was VERY lucky. You could ring B*PA or another private health care scheme and get a list of prices. The NHS in my opinion have been fantastic, thorough, and the treatment/consultant has been exactly the same as if I'd gone private, I'm just not paying thousands
up front for it. Good luck for whatever you decide Xxx

Ankyspond

Hi,

Flowerpot if you want to go private then do it, if it means a few weeks peace of mind for you and you can afford it then thats fine. If you phone up they will tell you how much a consultant session will be and you can decide from there. Your doctor now has to write a letter to say you want to go private, although I have a great team around me now on the NHS it took a long time to get to where I am today. On the flip side when I was searching for my answer I did go private for an MRI which cost me £1500 and they found something but it was never followed up so its swings and roundabouts I think. Good luck with whatever you choose. xx

Toni don't feel guilty for going private its a personal choice and one most of us would do if we could, we did with our children (and above) when they were having hearing probelms and they were small it was either wait 12 months for an operation or have it done within 48 hours for a £1000 - no decsion to be made really! xx

tillytop

Hi Flowerpot

I think the important thing if you are paying for private treatment yourself is to make sure you know how much it will cost up front. I went private at the beginning because the wait to see a consultant was longer than either the GP or I felt I could wait. At that time (16 years or so ago) private hospitals weren't used to people paying for themselves and were genuinely unable to tell me how much I would have to pay. I saw the consultant, who immediately referred me for blood tests and xrays the same day and when the bill arrived I nearly died of fright! It was only thanks to the generosity of my parents that we were able to afford to pay it. I think hospitals are more geared up to self-paying private patients these days but the costs can still mount alarmingly quickly when you need a variety of tests. The other thing to bear in mind is that the NHS is not always happy for people to mix and match between NHS and private healthcare. So you could find yourself paying for private prescriptions and, as happened to me, paying for routine blood tests done at the GP or NHS hospital because they were requested by the private consultant. I have had good and bad experiences with private consultants and, just because you are paying doesn't guarantee a good consultation.

All in all, I think that DD's suggestion of contacting the NHS clinic again may well be the best one since you are already in the system.

I so empathise with your frustration though flowerpot and I do hope that you manage to get a proper diagnosis soon so that you can start to get the help you need.

Thinking of you.

Tilly xxx

flowerpot

I phoned the radiography dept this morning where I had my ultrasound tests done to see if I could find out when the report might be sent back to the consultant. I couldn't believe it, well maybe I can, but I was told that it can take up to 4 weeks for the reports to go back to the consultant and as yet mine had not been done. Thanked her for checking and hung up. Now maybe my maths is wrong, but, 1.5 weeks to get the scan done, 4 weeks to get a report, and I have to have 5 weeks between the report arriving and my appointment with the consultant, that's 10.5 weeks between appointments so why on earth did they book me in for 9 weeks later, it was never going to work. So they booked me in for an appointment I would probably never make, meaning someone else has probably had to wait longer than they needed to and it just makes me cross.

My OH has a well know Private insurance cover provided through work for his "family and spouse" I have sent him off to see if there is anyway I can get covered through it although he has already said he won't marry me just to get me on the policy

tillytop

Oh Flowerpot - how frustrating! Yet another example of NHS inefficiency! (What I don't understand is how some departments can be super efficient and others - well, words fail me!).

I did think what your OH said about not marrying you for the health insurance was funny! I have had dealings with health insurers through work in the past and, based on my experience, I would say it is unlikely that you will be covered on his policy, but definitely worth an ask eh?

I've just had a thought :shock: If it is just the scan results holding up your appointment - what about seeing if, rather than seeing a private consultant, you can pay for the scan to be done again privately so that you can have the results to take with you to your NHS appointment. I'm guessing that, if you are paying, the scan will miraculously be reported on within a few days. You may find that your GP can refer you for a private scan and you could get it done quite quickly. I have no idea how much it would cost but I'm sure you could get an idea of cost and timescale for results by phoning or googling a private hospital local to you.

Tilly xxx

RA2010

Hi - I was diagnosed almost a year ago, and that was done privately, and probably the best thing ever for my disease! I have been lucky all through as I saw a GP about 3 weeks after first symptoms and he immediately ran all blood tests to check for RA as well as other autoimmune diseases. I was fortunate (if you can call it that!) in that my bloods did show abnormalities (negative on RF, but positive on anti-CCP, ANA and antidsDNA) which means RA and SLE! I am also lucky in that I have BUPA through work, but it was only a very limited £1000 per annum for outpatient visits including diagnostic tests! I did decide I wanted to get that first appointment quickly though as joints were in agony and there was no way feeling the way I did that I could wait forever for that first appointment with no meds. Anyway private hospital was very upfront and gave a price list of all tests along with booking form! Got to see rheumy 2 days after getting my blood results, and he diagnosed me on the spot based purely on symptoms and inflammation and what I said my blood results were as he hadn't yet received any paperwork from GP! He requested further bloods and xrays, but because of my low BUPA limit asked my GP surgery to do those which they did with no questions. He also prescribed hydroxy, etodolac and methotrexate immediately, so started hard treatments within about a month of first symptoms - another thing that I feel has made such a difference as almost a year on I barely have any troubles from my RA! (More troubles from the side effects of the drugs - low blood counts etc)

I've continued seeing him privately and stretch my BUPA limit out for just his appointments with all other tests being done through NHS - is also great as I can get an appointment within a couple of days notice if things ever feel they are going wrong! And I've even emailed him with queries a couple of times and got responses almost immediately!

Obviously everyone has different circumstances, but I personally feel that getting that initial appointment and diagnosis so quickly has made all the difference a year on, and do consider myself very fortunate that I had the opportunity!

weejean

Hi Flowerpot

Its all the waiting around that is so frustrating, my husband has been experiencing chest pains for about ten months and a perfusion scan was recommended by his consultant. It took six months to get an appointment for the scan and it has been seven weeks since he had it done and the results are still not ready. We have chased it up but keep being told there is a backlog. While waiting for results and appointments we feel as if we are in limbo and its difficult as its all we can think about. Its even worse when trying to get a diagnosis as until you know whats going on you cant get treatment and cant sort things out in your mind. I have got really good doctors and surgeons but everything takes such a long time to get done. I do appreciate the NHS as I lived in South Africa for a few years and over there if you didnt have the money you didnt get the treatment. Sometimes I find that persistence works with the NHS and you have every right to ask questions and complain when you feel disatisfied. I would go private if I had the money especially for the diagnosis as then at least you will know what you are up against. I am sure you will do what you think is best and I wish you luck.

flowerpot

I think I have decided to hold fire for now. I really had no idea how much it would cost, I am looking at £200 - £250 to see a consultant, £80 per xray, well last time I had xrays done they did 6, 3 per hand/wrist, Ultrasound scans are around £150, although they wouldn't know until the consultant had done them, if they spot anything they will take more snap shots, which costs more and then basic Bloods around £100.

Does anyone know what my right is to acquire a copy of all my results? I have only ever had a letter from the radiographer when I had a bone scan done, never seen anything for my xrays or bloods. I am just thinking if nothing happens at the end of September I take all my test results to a private consultant, and then I "only" have to pay £200...

weejean

Hi Flowerpot

Contact your GP or the records department at your hospital to ask for a copy of all your results, it will probably need to be done in writing and I think there is a small administration fee. I did this for my husband and I also got a copy of his MRI scan which was £15 but that was about 5 years ago. If you phone your GP/hospital first they will tell you exactly what to do and how much it will be.

elnafinn

flowerpot wrote:

Does anyone know what my right is to acquire a copy of all my results? I have only ever had a letter from the radiographer when I had a bone scan done, never seen anything for my xrays or bloods. I am just thinking if nothing happens at the end of September I take all my test results to a private consultant, and then I "only" have to pay £200...

You may well find that if you do see a consultant privately he will want any tests he requires to be re-done, especially if there has been some time lapse between seeing a consultant privately and when you had the xrays and so on done.

Elna x

flowerpot

I appreciate some will need to be redone, but if an NHS consultant is happy there being months between a test being done and seeing me to discuss the results I assume a few more weeks won't hurt although I am expecting to have to get xrays redone but then if my NHS consultant gets those done it won;t be so bad. Xray results seem to come back really quickly. I will have to wait and see what happens!

newbury1

I went private to get the diagnosis on my back, it involved having an MRI scan which I know are very expensive. Luckily, I was covered through work but I've since reverted to the NHS. Mainly because my condition is not too bad at the moment and I can wait for appointments. Also, I can attend my local hospital instead of going 20 miles to the private one.

If you are in a lot of pain and you can afford it or are covered privately somehow then do it. If only for your own peace of mind.

RA2010

Hi Flowerpot

Who usually does your blood tests / xrays? My surgery does blood tests and I have simply rung them a few days later (or in the early days made an appointment) to ask for them and they have never hesitated (or charged) for them. The first xrays I had done at our local (NHS) hospital - those results were sent to my GP and I collected them along with the blood results and took to the consultant. My rheumy usually writes to GP after every appointment and let's him know what tests he needs done, then I collect results and take back to him.

Heather

flowerpot

I had bloods done at my GP surgery initially when they started investigations and I could phone reception a few days later to get the results, well a yes they are OK, or the GP needs to discuss them with you, and the xrays the GP ordered went back to my surgery. When I was referred to the consultant I had to call the consultants secretary and ask her to contact my surgery to ask that they be forwarded on to the consultant ready for my appointment.

Since I started seeing a rheumatologist blood tests have always been done at hospital at the request of the consultant so not sure the results even go back to my GP? I have had xrays, bone scans and now ultrasounds done at various clinics and hospitals but never seen the results until I see the consultant. The only thing that seems to go back to my GP is the letter the consultant sends after each appointment, of which I get a copy but there is no detail about the tests just a comment/summary. At the same time last time I saw my paper file in front of the rheumatologist their didn't seem to be much in it other than his notes. I presume its sat on a computer somewhere.

tonesp

For my proper diagnosis I went private here in Spain It cost me 25 Euros to see a private Gp 45 euros for an X ray I then took the X ray and the diagnosis to my NHS GP here and in a couple of months had my THR I wonder if it is like comparing insurance quotes Wake them up and get the deal :?: :?: :?:

dreamdaisy

I too have my bloods done at the hospital. On every form I have there is a section on the bottom right that says please send copy to. The nurse puts GP, but if she forgets I do. DD

flowerpot

Well I just went to see my GP to mull things over, she had a look and they have never had the results back from bloods other than those my GP asked for so she was a bit stuck on what to say to me today. Although she has referred me through for some physio to try and get me back up and running.

mig

I get a copy of a letter sent to my gp every time i go to the hospital with all test results and up date on any conditions that might have changed,the hospital have access to all my medical records via computer,the consultant i saw about my feet was able to see x-rays without ordering another set taken,though it was last october when i had them done.I thought it was done all over obviously i was wrong.Mig