Fed up with waiting

I am a member of Benenden and couldn't rate it highly enough. Both my husband and I have benefitted , and the care we got was exceptional. We pay about £10 a month. I have also been seen by a private consultant at a private hospital, had a procedure there, then he saw me for a review at my local NHS hospital so you can go between both. There is a six month waiting period before you qualify for seeing consultant but during the waiting period you can access GP service and also counselling . As well as hospital based procedures you can also avail of physio treatment ( self referred )

Hi why don't you get through to the hospital " PALS" department who troubleshoot complaints before they escalate. Tell them what has happened and that you can't get hold of the bookings dept. And they will help you sort it out. Their job is to be " on the side of " the patient . My sil had the same problem with cancelled ops and got it sorted out in no tome by PALs .

Candelle
I know of people who have had a private consultation with a surgeon who has then told them he can do the operation on the NHS.
After private surgery or consultations both my husband and I have always had private prescriptions converted to NHS at our surgery without any quibbles.

When the appointments office messed up on my hip operation date, I discovered that the governors of the Trust were mostly people I knew, so I sent the same email to each of them and - miraculously - the date was reinstated!
Just proves it's not what you know, but whom you know.

When I had been messed about with so many times with what was supposed to be a 6-week appointment after surgery I lost patience when it had yet again been changed and moved out to FIVE MONTHS after surgery, I went up to the hospital and went to see PALS - Patient Advisory and Liaison Service. They took my letter, went to see Apppointments, and came back with a much better date. Worth a try?

I have been offered another hospital and will take the offer even if it means more travel other wise it will be maybe afew months after two cancelations
A friend needed heart surgery last year and traveled to London as the local hospital had a long waiting list,if a young woman can go on her on all that way to London for major surgery then maybe you need to find a different hospital cause I shall somewhere else instead of a very long wait

In the area where I live, many people are treated in independent hospitals as NHS patients. Why not ask your GP if the same applies to where you live. Incidentally, it is very common for consultants/surgeons to work in both the NHS and privately.

Ring the consultant's secretary and point out your experience of cancelled appointments etc. and ask if the wait is going to be much longer. Highlight you are taking co-codamol as a, supposed, cough suppressant and that it is a. not working and b. not doing you any good. Appeal to secretary's humanity with a firm tone of your concern at the constant delays - good luck

Cancelled,
I do know of many people that have combined both.
In my particular case my surgery isn’t keen on referring me to a consultant as they don’t think it necessary. BCC’s rarely cause death but do spread slowly so any extra disfiguration will only be a problem for me.
To put my mind at rest I am paying for the services of an expert. It’s a shame that I have to but I think that seems to be the way things are going.
If he says that I need treatment then I can go back to the GP with proof. As we all know GP’s know a little about a lot. Consultants, hopefully, know a lot about a little.
My husband has had experience of leaving a problem for too long before it was operated on. If we had been aware of the difference a six month wait made to the nerve damage he has been left with we would have paid for the op. ourselves.

For what it's worth, I see an Endocrinologist privately but all prescriptions are on NHS. My GP gets a letter from him and deals as though on NHS. After my 1st appt. with Endo, there were lots of blood tests and he wrote to GP to have her issue form. She did the lot, thankfully. NHS is saving on the appointments (I could arrange them via NHS hospital but started privately to get sorted as no joy with 1st Endo.and time wasted. 1st Endo does private too but was useless.)
So much depends on consultant. Not all the same. I realise I'm fortunate to be able to pay for appointments and have a lovely GP.

My son eventually had an MRI scan in November following two years of being messed about by GPs. Slipped disc and urgent referral to consultant. As he had not heard anything by last week I got on the case leaving a few terse messages two days running and suggesting I was going to contact PALS which is a patient service. Within a week he had an appointment. Within ten minutes of appointment he was told he needed surgery and it would be July - the 18 week pathway. We are waiting for confirmation and then considering going back to PALS. Another friend who is waiting for forms for ill health retirement did contact PALS and they arrived the next day.

I see they don't cover joint replacement. I'll need to have a longer look at all the various procedures they cover in more detail but at £10 ish a month it looks very promising.

I also googled Benenden so will be interested in your reply.

fernbergian I Googled Benenden health after you mentioned it. It looks too good to be true! Is it really as good as it seems?

I'm fed up with waiting for a consultation appointment for a cataract op. I was referred in November, and so far no word.

I have been told that once I have had the consultation, there will then be a 5 month wait for the actual procedure.

I had cataract surgery in March 2018 and although the op went fine I was left with a ptosis op needing to be done. First the details needed to be sent off to some committee to see if I was eligible on the NHS!! That took six months. Finial,y got funding and am down for op on April 9th.... but on previous experienc3 I’m not holding my breath.

I am a bit puzzled by those who suggest one can see a consultant privately then slot back into the NHS, i.e. cherry-picking.

As I understand it (from having many private and NHS surgeries), this is not done - at least not where I live. Once you have private surgery, you are ex-NHS for the duration of that treatment.

For example, you can't:
- see a consultant privately, then switch back for NHS surgery
- see a consultant, have surgery then switch back to the NHS for follow-up consultations, physiotherapy etc.
- I have also had a struggle after private surgery not to have to use the private prescription for follow-up drugs. My GP did kindly convert those back to NHS scripts but wasn't keen .

Please ensure you know what you are signing up for! The costs of private prescriptions is eye-watering (we don't know how fortunate we are having the NHS) and physiotherapy is expensive too. Yes, physio was immediately available, no waiting but in my case, there was a course of ten (initial - more required later) treatments and it is expensive.

I guess that others have had different experiences but this is mine.

Get an appointment in the private hospital with that consultant. After paying for that you should then be told he will fit you in at the NHS hospital. It is worth paying for that appointment to get to him and progress.

I've read of a system called 'choose and book' with the NHS. Don't know anything about of it other than my newspaper article but I plan to google and use it if I'm ever in need. Can't do any harm to investigate methinks. Good luck!

My daughter-in-law’s father had hip surgery in a private hospital just a few days after my DH. DH had his on the NHS. My DH’s experience was far better, especially the after care. He was able to pass on advice which d-I-l’s father didn’t get. Just one experience of many I know but five years on d-i-l’s Father says it was a waste of £10,000.

I worked in a hospital, and normally Consultants have to book time off weeks in advance, so there may have been good reasons he/she needed some short notice time off. You should be able to speak to his secretary. Frustrating for you. Hope you get sorted soon.

You have to pay before the op and there is no difference in care.

I've had cataract "day surgery" - in 2005 one eye was done privately and (several years later) the other eye on the NHS. Absolutely no difference in the quality of surgery or care. (Or outcome - both were successful.) The reason for "going privately" the first time was because of the long NHS waiting list and also because I was working. The second time the lists were shorter and I was retired. If you are fortunate enough to have the money, then it's simply a choice that only you can make.

Pce612 and Greciangirl

Comforting to hear I'm not the only one, but sympathy with you. The post nasal drip has caused a cough, which I've had for 12 years. They've tried everything and this surgery is a last resort (doesn't sound very convincing). I should have had the surgery 4 years ago but decided to wait until I couldn't put up with the cough for any longer, which is where I am now, it's getting worse by the day! I've been taking co-codomol as a side effect of the codeine element is a cough suppressant.

Meanwhile, like you, I have a standing order with Kleenex!

Have you looked into joining Beneden? It is just over £20 a month per couple. They don’t cover everything but have been useful to us. Hernia and tooth root removal ops. Also other procedures. Been in it over 40 years. A godsend.