Private phone appointment with surgeon

Sorry to hear of your problems I hope you get some help soon. A friend payed £850 for a consultation privately and it ended up just a phone call and a scan no face to face.
I am trying myself at the moment with the NHS so far phone consultation and physio in a few weeks. I am waiting to see what the physio entails as no one has examined me.

Luckygirl3

They have just got back to me with a face-to-face appointment on 28th when he will be at local Nuffield - quicker than 73 weeks! Said I would need this even if I had phone appointment first - so I might as well wait and go for face-to-face.

I missed that.

Good, much better than a phone consultation.

Luckygirl3

Thanks - I will see how it goes and hope some help is forthcoming from the appointment. It is impossible to imagine what people do if they cannot afford this route. It is not good to be on strong painkillers for a long time if there is a way of avoiding this, and to have no choice at all is not good. I do worry about the state of the NHS, and how people like me are helping to nudge it down the privatisation route.

A phone conversation is not going to help with the pain. He really needs to see you in person.

I "see" a NHS consultant every few months but appointments since Covid have been via phone.

Now everything seems somewhat safer, I see no reason whatsoever why telephone appointments should be continued - it is lazy imo.
The last two appointments scheduled with my consultant were with young women who, I was given to understand, were junior doctors. Fair enough, but I have since discovered they were, in fact, pharmacists!
Am I wrong to feel let down and very concerned about this? It is simply unacceptable and deceitful imo.

DH, who has stage 4 cancer ,hasn’t seen his Oncologist face to face for 2 years. I asked BUPA how much she was charging for these consultations but they wouldn’t tell me.
Having said that, DH was diagnosed just before the first lockdown and all his chemo and radiotherapy went ahead without a hitch.
I think our BUPA subs would be the last thing we would give up in life.

So glad you have got a face to face appointment though it will be a long two weeks. Your post has decided me to keep up my BUPA subscription though it feels like an extravagance; after all, I am not really going anywhere much so will set the cost against all the theatre visits and meals out I am not having.

Do hope you get some sensible and rapid decisions. Constant pain is so debilitating and certainly doesn’t make me a better person. Keep us posted.

I'm sorry you're still suffering with your hip replacement.

I see a top central London gynaecologist and her fee is £250 in person - during Covid it could only be over the phone and that was £150.

GSM refers to time spent - it's not quite the same with surgeons/physicians as they have to pay for hire of their private rooms, whether it be at Harley Street/private hospital/Nuffield, etc.

IMO £250 for a phone consultation is over the top.

Glad you have this face to face coming up. I always think...if it’s your health, particularly if you’re in pain, and you can afford it...just do what you have to do.

I do hope you’re soon pain free. Take care.

?

Not terse at all! - I have quite thick skin!

Good luck!? Sorry earlier post was terse, was running out of battery!

Thanks - I will see how it goes and hope some help is forthcoming from the appointment. It is impossible to imagine what people do if they cannot afford this route. It is not good to be on strong painkillers for a long time if there is a way of avoiding this, and to have no choice at all is not good. I do worry about the state of the NHS, and how people like me are helping to nudge it down the privatisation route.

Hope the face to face is helpful, *lucky, for what it’s worth I’d have been asking for one and not accepting a phone call. Won’t be long.

Yes, as you are now offered a face to face appointment you may as well wait for that. It’s not too far away.

Luckygirl3

Thanks for replies - I guess I just feel that I would be happier to have a proper full physical examination before agreeing to invasive treatments. I will go for the phone and see how it goes.

You could tell him your worries about no face to face and see what he says.

I do hope you get your problems sorted out though, as pain is so depilitating.

They have just got back to me with a face-to-face appointment on 28th when he will be at local Nuffield - quicker than 73 weeks! Said I would need this even if I had phone appointment first - so I might as well wait and go for face-to-face.

What Germanshepherdsmum said.

Thanks for replies - I guess I just feel that I would be happier to have a proper full physical examination before agreeing to invasive treatments. I will go for the phone and see how it goes.

If you are in pain, and the nhs wait is ridiculous (72 weeks! ) and have already had all the scans, and can afford the treatment privately, I would go ahead. However if a phone consultation is not right for you, or you would struggle to communicate this way, then ask for a face to face appointment.
The charge is presumably not just for the phone call, but for the specialist to look at your scans, gather information, and then organise any other examinations or tests needed.
Remote consultations can work quite well in some specialities, ( although not when language or hearing well are an issue) - a lot deciding on next steps in diagnosis or treatment is from asking the right questions, listening to symptoms and gathering information from test results.

It's the cost of his time, whether he spends it seeing you face to face or talking to you on the phone makes no difference. Exactly the same as when I was a solicitor. There wasn't a cheaper hourly rate for phone calls, emails or letters.

Is it a phone call or a zoom consultation? Would the latter suit you?
If not can you not say you’ve reconsidered and want to start with a face to face consultation? Give reasons and be firm.