Hip replacement - private and then NHS?? Is this right?

gulligranny No doubt you good people would have been quite happy for my husband to die, as long as the rules had been obeyed!

I’ve no idea how you reached that conclusion, but no one has said or even implied that they think people should die rather than pay privately.

Absolutely right Jane10 and if I had the money to have my TKR done privately, I'd do it in a heart beat. No one else's business what we do with our money, if we have any.

A few years ago, I was suffering badly from fibroids and heavy bleeding to the point that I was severely aneamic. The consultant that I was under on the NHS just prescribed iron tablets for me and discharged me saying that it would clear up once I had gone through the menopause, I was 49 yrs old at the time. I suffered a heavy bleed and made a mess on my Dads carpet one day as I stood up to leave, and he was shocked to see the state I was in, and offered to fund a private consultation with a Gynaecologist who lived in the same village, who he knew well. I was seen the week after, booked in for investigations and treatment as a day case the following week on the NHS, under his care, and received an Endrometrial Ablation proceedure to remove the Fibroids and some polyps again under the NHS, something that the original consultant should have done in the beginning. The total bill for private care that my Dad paid for was £225 consultation fee, this should have been nil if tye first consultant had done his job properly, and saved me from the horrible situation that I regularly found myself in.

Oh JuliaM every woman's nightmare. Glad that the right course of action was taken in the end.

That's the best sort of dad to have, surely!

My sister had an ultrasound at an NHS hospital few days ago as she has a severe pain in her side. He told her that he thought she needed to have a CT Scan A doctor at her surgery looked at the results and said that he didn’t think she did!. She wasn’t happy and convinced that there is something wrong she arranged to see a doctor privateky for a second opinion. She got an appointment for yesterday and she only phoned on Friday and the doctor told her that she did need to have a CT scan and that he would arrange for her to have it next week and on the NHS!.
I do know people who have seen consultants privately and then have had procedures carried out at NHS hospitals. .This is quite common. Why wait for months if you can pay to see someone privately for a diagnosis instead of having to wait for several months to see a consultant on the NHS.
I also know people who have had surgeries carried out at private hospitals on the NHS.

What bugs me isn’t the private medicine , the private hospital or the private consultation, it’s the paying for a private consultation with the same consultant that someone else has to wait months to see and then queue jumping or effectively pinching the place on the list of someone who can’t afford to pay.

For everyone who queue jumps someone else’s place on the list moves backwards . I don’t mean those requiring emergency surgery, of course they should always take priority, I am talking about those who pay to queue jump .

It doesnt always work that way. A few years ago my husband had heart problems with atrial fibrillation. As there was a wait for NHS referral, I arranged a private appointment with the senior consultant he was under. He examined him, said there was nothing much wrong, and his worsening symptoms were due to increasing age and a bit of extra weight.
Things got worse, and our GP arranged an angiogram...NHS. he had this on a Tuesday, was seen urgently by surgeon on Friday, and booked in for bypass operation on the Monday, being told to take things very easy over the weekend! I mentioned the consultants view, and he said...well, he'll have a shock when he looks at these pictures!
All went well, thank goodness, and thank goodness for the NHS!

Gillybob I completely accept your point re queue jumping. My first knee replacement was done by a retired surgeon and anaesthetist and the second by ones who only worked part time in NHS. The hospital staff consisted of some permanent nurses (Old school. Excellent) and some bank nurses who also worked bank shifts in NHS. Not straight forward taking of NHS patients' time. I'm also an NHS patient too as well as ex NHS staff. I did my homework!