Private medical insurance

Chewbacca

^No I am not- anyone who is in the NHS at a certain level knows this is so common and the list^ would be enormous

From this statement, I'm deducing that you personally know someone at a certain level in the NHS who is "bent" kali2? If that's the case, you have a moral obligation to report them to the GMC and provide them with your personal inside information. Not doing so is shirking your responsibilities as a British tax payer and you're aiding and abetting illegal practices. There seems little point in you bemoaning the inadequacies of the NHS funding when you know that those funds are being misappropriated by medics at a certain level and you're doing nothing about it. I'm surprised at you.

I am shocked.

I knew the NHS was being defrauded by some outside contractors as cases have been reported on the news but the thought that the excellent NHS consultants from whom we have received treatment are guilty of this type of fraud, ie receiving NHS salaries when actually not fulfilling their contracted hours is quite shocking.

If you have proof I, too, think you should report this, Kali2. I really thought that their ethics would be above this.

crazyH

Bea65, the premiums will be sky high ….especially with your recent health setback…..
Our NHS is the envy of the world. I do agree that waiting lists for routine operations are quite long , but if there’s an acute situation, you are in the right country, in the right hands….

I don't think any one in France. Would envy the long waiting lists or the terrible state of some hospitals in England.i had to take my mother into Portsmouth's emergency, it felt like a third world set up.
Healthcare can be free here if you are a low wage earner and the service is excellent. During the confinement I had to see my doctor, got an appointment next day in person, we both wore a mask,service normal.

Chewbacca

^No I am not- anyone who is in the NHS at a certain level knows this is so common and the list^ would be enormous

From this statement, I'm deducing that you personally know someone at a certain level in the NHS who is "bent" kali2? If that's the case, you have a moral obligation to report them to the GMC and provide them with your personal inside information. Not doing so is shirking your responsibilities as a British tax payer and you're aiding and abetting illegal practices. There seems little point in you bemoaning the inadequacies of the NHS funding when you know that those funds are being misappropriated by medics at a certain level and you're doing nothing about it. I'm surprised at you.

Turning a blind eye to a known abuse makes you complicit Kali2- not something I would want or be proud of.

Before DH retired we mixed in medical circles, as some of you will know, and still have medics as friends. None of the ones we know/knew did that sort of thing.

Kali2, so please provide us with the evidence. Examples of it happening and evidence it is endemic.

Chewbacca- I am not talking about 1 or 2 in one place. It is just part and parcel of the current system.

We have had a holiday home in France for 30 years and thankfully, our experience of local medical facilities is limited.

We took our DGD to the nearest A&E, 15 miles away in the biggest town, a departmental capital, when she had a sudden allergic reaction to just holdinga tomato and were very impressed with the speed with which she was seen. All child A&E admissions were seen in the paediatric dept. She was throughly examined and given a prescription. A few months later we got a bill for 8 euros.

DH also went there when he went down with a severe respiratory complaint. Again we were impressed by the speed with which he was seen. After half an hour wait in an ordinary waiting room he was triaged and at that point taken to another waiting room where he was placed in a reclining armchair to continue his wait for treatment, we couldn't stay wih him, but returned an hour later to find him in a proper bed in a windowed room being seen by doctors, who later discharged him with a prescription for antibiotics, for which we paid. The bill we got for this was 32 euros.

However, many of the problems with medical services are common to both countries, rising demand for more expensive treatments, cost cutting and hospital closures. Our nearest hospital is only 10 miles away, in a medium sized town, it lost its A&E some years ago, despite local attempts to stop it and since then has lost other services. It is constantly under threat and I think will be closed at sometime in the not too distant future.

No I am not- anyone who is in the NHS at a certain level knows this is so common and the list would be enormous

From this statement, I'm deducing that you personally know someone at a certain level in the NHS who is "bent" kali2? If that's the case, you have a moral obligation to report them to the GMC and provide them with your personal inside information. Not doing so is shirking your responsibilities as a British tax payer and you're aiding and abetting illegal practices. There seems little point in you bemoaning the inadequacies of the NHS funding when you know that those funds are being misappropriated by medics at a certain level and you're doing nothing about it. I'm surprised at you.

Callistemon People obviously are having inpatient treatment, otherwise these hospitals wouldn't need beds. I also think that there has been a rise in people having surgery privately since COVID, as the wait for hip, knee and other operations slips into years, rather than months, but while most of the people I know using private health facilties for consultations and even treatment for continuing conditions, all these are either outpatient or day surgery. Very few are inpatients.

When my husband had leukaemia we had to travel to a specialist hospital in the UK. Fair enough. You can’t have that sort of specialist knowledge and treatment everywhere
That's true Peasblossom. I'm sorry to hear that your husband was ill.

When my husband had leukaemia we had to travel to a specialist hospital in the UK. Fair enough. You can’t have that sort of specialist knowledge and treatment everywhere.

Google seemed to suggest this could mean travelling distances to major cities where centres of equipment are situated rather than in smaller hospitals.
But I don’t know how accurate that is

I can only relate my neighbour's experience in France. Her husband had leukaemia. The nearest hospital was in Carcassonne, about forty minutes away. But, he was treated at Purpan hospital in Toulouse. The transport was included, and his wife had a room when she wanted it.

When he was at home, a nurse came to give him his daily injections.

Happily, he is now fully recovered.

Don’t you feel a little bit uneasy at allowing it to continue when you have proof that could put a stop to it?

An accessory after the fact?

Peasblossom
The key contractual points are:

you must ensure that your private practice or fee-paying services do not result in a detrimental effect on NHS patients or services, nor diminish the public resources that are available for the NHS. There must be no conflict of interest between your NHS and private work
you are obliged to disclose any private practice commitments to your employer. You do not require their permission to undertake private practice
if you wish to undertake private practice, you must first offer your employer an additional programmed activity (PA) over and above your standard commitment. If you choose not to offer this additional PA, this would be one of the grounds for an employer deferring pay progression in a given year. If you decide to cease your private practice, you can also give up the additional PA for your employer with three months’ notice (England & NI).

www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/private-practice/working-in-private-practice/consultants-and-private-practice

I do hope this answers some questions, but, of course, any consultant in breach of the contractual code may risk dismissal from the NHS.

I doubt many would risk this and their integrity, in the main, would not allow it.

If the lists enormous then all the more reason to put a stop to it, don’t you think?

No I am not- anyone who is in the NHS at a certain level knows this is so common and the list would be enormous.

Many EU health insurance system have free health care for very low earners, and reductions for low earners, especially those with families. And as said, are not allowed to refuse pre-existing conditions

Most have also a 'higher' level of insurance, which doesn't really make a big difference in medical care, but in provisions such as better room, private TV, menu à la carte, etc. - and this level is allowed to refuse pre-exisiting conditions.

Hi Kali. Are you going to spill the beans?

Or just turn a blind eye to abuse of NHS resources that you’ve seen?

Waiting lists would go down if we could bring those doctors into line,

Peasblossom

Ah, if you have an income of less than 9000 euros (single person) or 13,500 (two people) medical care is free.

Thank you for looking that up, I wasn't sure of the figures. Only that the cost is dependent on income.

The Observer NHS:

NHS waiting lists could top 15 million in four years without major rise in capacity

Hmm, unemployment benefits in France is a percentage of your yearly earnings. So higher paid workers who become unemployed will still pay for medical treatment because they will be getting over the limit.

I calculate you would have to be earning less than 1000 euros before you became unemployed to qualify for free care. But it was complicated and I could be quite wrong about that amount.

I would think most of the newly unemployed would still pay.

Thank you for that explanation, Monica. I can see how that can be reassuring if you’ve had a bad experience. I guess where I live, the pool of medical professionals is so small, you’d see the same person whether you were NHS or private. You’d need to travel 100+ miles to seek a second opinion, though if you’re at your wit’s end you’d do that, I guess.

About £7700. You get extra allowance per child, but I didn’t want to be too nerdy with lots of figures.

How much is unemployment benefit in France, Lillie?

I am with Benenden and pay £11.90 per month standard fee. They covered me for a pre existing condition - for a consultation with MRI and that consultant then referred me to a second consultant who carried out further tests. All was covered. I then reverted to NHS for treatment as it would be lifelong.

so if you are unemployed in france it has to be free too
that could be a lot of people