Princess of Wales

Callistemon21

Grantanow

I didn't 'rail' at people who pay to go privately Callistemon21 but I do think the Royals might set an example by using the NHS. There is no doubt in my mind that going privately is queue jumping.

You are right that all this is the fault of successive governments. If we had no private medical industry then all the resources could be directed to the NHS.

You are right that all this is the fault of successive governments. If we had no private medical industry then all the resources could be directed to the NHS.

I think that's wishful thinking and it just would not happen. All Governments seem quite happy to have private healthcare alongside a public NHS to relieve the strain on the NHS and where would the huge amount of extra money come from to fund this when they can scarcely find enough to keep the NHS going as it is?
Medical staff would desert these shores and go to work in countries which would welcome them and we would lose their expertise.

At one time the NHS bought services from the private sector eg cataract operations, joint replacements, ENT operations which may have been cost-effective but that doesn't seem to happen here now.

I think the NHS is still purchasing services from private providers because last year I had a cataract procedure at a private clinic only four weeks after being referred by the optician via my GP. Six weeks later I had the second procedure at the same clinic. When I was waiting for the pre op and both procedures I spoke to several people who had also been referred by their GP, only one person was paying for the procedure.

Thank you Ilovecheese.

I have used private healthcare in the past, through insurance. The experiences were that it was very quick to access and I was treated in a very pleasant and respectful way - my distinct impression was that the consultants had time for me. The private hospital was a world away from the local, albeit world famous, NHS hospital. Very much like a hotel. That was a good many years ago. Now, the cost of insurance at our age and with existing health conditions is such that we would have to use savings.

Thanks for the information, Jane43
Perhaps it's just Wales - in fact, the Welsh patients I know who had procedures done at private hospitals were sent over the border to England, but this seems to have been stopped now.

The Welsh administration’s management of the National Health Service has been so bad that David Cameron, when prime minister, called the border with England “the line between life and death”. More than 30,000 people in Wales have waited more than two years for treatment; many vacancies remain unfilled because morale has collapsed in the NHS and many decline to work for it; and all this is despite the Welsh NHS receiving £1.20 for every pound received by the English service. There were, and still are, stories of Welsh people turning up at English hospitals for emergency treatment, so wrecked is their confidence in the NHS at home.

Will they vote for Labour at the next GE?

Yep.

Madness.

sodapop

Not sure what your point is there silverlining

Presumably the point is that it's very unusual. Even with a hysterectomy you generally get chucked out after a couple of days. There must be a very good reason why she can't go home - though I'm sure the London Clinic will be rubbing its metaphorical hands at all the money this will be costing. (costing us, I guess..)

silverlining48

Didn’t know anything about this but do know you don’t get to stay in hospital for that long these days.
Of. course hope all goes well

You probably wouldn't on the NHS but if you go privately you get what you can pay for!

Yes paperback, that was my point. If we the public are paying then money is no object. I wish her well of course, as we all would.
However I was out of hospital 36 hours after my hip replacement. I read somewhere hip replacement is as close to amputation as it’s possible to be, but I coped.

jocork

silverlining48

Didn’t know anything about this but do know you don’t get to stay in hospital for that long these days.
Of. course hope all goes well

You probably wouldn't on the NHS but if you go privately you get what you can pay for!

She appears to be a hands on Mum and I am mindful that her three children will be uppermost in her mind. It's likely that she would wish to be home with them as soon as possible. Her length of stay, I'm sure, is directly connected to her need for medical and nursing care in a clinical setting. I have no need to speculate further than that.

Also to jocork

I read somewhere hip replacement is as close to amputation as it’s possible to be, but I coped

Oh dear, that's a horrible analogy. Its not actually true and perhaps not helpful to those waiting for hip replacement.

Calipso That’s what I read and given my scar I believe it. It’s serious surgery and if anyone wants help or advice they can look at the hips and knees thread which I started a couple of years ago which is still going strong.
It is serious surgery but I was still discharged after 36 hours, and the point is, coped. ,

I had an operation at a private hospital and it was a bit like a hotel. In fact I think my husband was quite jealous as he had to go home and deal with our family of young children at the time

@silver lining
I'm not really sure what your point is? You may have read it and if you believe it, that's absolutely up to you.
But I repeat, it's nothing like amputation. The internet is full of such inaccuracies. A 48 hour hospital stay following hip replacement is pretty average but that's not what this thread is about. Its comparing apples and pears.

I was in a private hospital too, but on the nhs, so was discharged after the operation before I had had an opportunity to unpack my bag.

silverlining48

I was in a private hospital too, but on the nhs, so was discharged after the operation before I had had an opportunity to unpack my bag.

did you have access to the discharged from hospital too soon helpline?

The difference between private and NHS is when you need help to go to the loo they have time to help you.
The idea that it’s a hotel is exaggerated, OH had a hip done privately recently that was his only comment everyone has time to do the job properly.

Calipso i dont know why you are disagreeing with what my surgeon confirmed when I spoke to him about it.
I don’t wish to argue the detail. It’s not nice to think about. , Happily though it’s generally a successful procedure.
As for my short stay it would have helpful to have the opportunity of an extra post op day or even two, but didn’t have a choice.
However I was and am very grateful. That’s all there is to say.

Jane , no, is there such a thing?

^ The difference between private and NHS is when you need help to go to the loo they have time to help you^

Another huge difference Katie59 is that private hospitals don’t have an A&E department! Thank god for the NHS then as a safety net if needed.

If anything goes wrong post op, or there is a problem of any sort at a private hospital you are shipped straight off to the nearest nhs hospital. They don’t have the staff cover. Especially at night. I wanted nhs but after a long wait and referral mistakes I reluctantly accepted the offer of a private hospital.

Oh dear. All this outpouring of royal reverence and forelock tugging ? A bit nauseating. She’ll be fine she can afford the best care. Let’s concentrate our minds on those who are very I’ll yet cannot access rightfully theirs healthcare.

What a nasty comment.