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NHS is refusing treatment to children attending private schools.

(111 Posts)
grandmac Sun 08-Jun-25 14:33:44

I am shocked to read that some children attending private schools have been refused NHS treatment. And in Scotland at least one child has been excluded from ward tutoring unless his parents pay. Is this an extension of the Labour government's vindictive attitude to those they think of as 'elite'? The NHS was founded on the principle of being free to ALL regardless of ability to pay. If the NHS said we are not treating you because you are a certain colour/religion/ethnicity there would rightly be an outcry. What do others think?

Allira Mon 09-Jun-25 14:16:17

growstuff

In the NHS, all Trusts effectively provide private services with their own cost centres. The parents do not have a right to use a service which is being paid for by somebody else.

I'm not claiming that's right or moral, but that's how the NHS has worked since the 2011 changes introduced by the Conservatives.

In the NHS, all Trusts effectively provide private services with their own cost centres. The parents do not have a right to use a service which is being paid for by somebody else.

So who is paying for the NHS service? Who is the somebody else?

Allira Mon 09-Jun-25 14:18:23

growstuff

Allira

Nandalot

My DGD suffers from hyper mobility and is having physio and special gloves etc but it was obtained through the GP not the school. She was not asked which school she goes to.

That was my point earlier.

It's a medical problem which should have been referred by a GP and should have nothing whatsoever to do with where a child is educated.
However, having a similar problem, I've either been dismissed (by a Consultant) or referred on by a GP , depending on which area of the country I was in. In Richmond I was dismissed summarily by a rather arrogant Consultant. However, that was in the 1980s and I was an adult.

The law needs to be looked at again.

It depends what the GP wrote on the request. If he/she stressed that the pupil's main symptom was that he was having difficulty holding a pen, it's an educational problem.

I suppose that depends on one's interpretation.

It matters not if it's a pen, a knife, fork, spoon, doing up laces because of hypermobility, it's a medical problem.

growstuff Mon 09-Jun-25 14:25:09

escaped Have you ever looked at the letters your GP writes to a hospital? They should be available on your Patient Record, so you can read them if you want.

Three years ago, I had a worrying symptom in my breast and the GP referred me to the local breast screening service. However, the GP botched the referral letter (which I later read) and made it sound as though I was just a worried, slightly neurotic patient. The breast screening service refused to see me until I was due for a routine mammogram.

Fortunately, I only had to wait six months and - lo and behold - I had breast cancer. The tumour was in exactly the place I'd been complaining about.

The GP should have used different words to describe the sensation (not pain) I felt and I would have been referred to the two week breast cancer pathway. If I had, my tumour would have been smaller and my surgery not so extensive. The fault was in the way the GP described my symptoms.

I suspect (but don't know for sure) that the GP in this boy's case didn't describe all his symptoms. If they had been more generalised, it wouldn't have been just an educational issue. It sounds as though the mother wanted the assessment so that she could apply for an ECH plan. If that's the case, it's an educational issue and that's why the hospital declined to offer the service.

growstuff Mon 09-Jun-25 14:26:41

Allira Maybe the child didn't have problems holding a spoon or tying up laces. In any case, it was wrong to blame Labour for a Conservative policy.

escaped Mon 09-Jun-25 16:08:07

I'm sorry to hear that growstuff. It's awful that your GP's dismissive attitude affected the outcome. flowers I see here another example of pigeon-holing you as a slightly neurotic patient, which obviously you were not. They do sound negligent.
(As you ask, the only gp referral letters I've read are one or two introductory liners because I'm lucky to have private medical insurance and very often - certainly before covid - I am seen before the letter is even typed, however insignificant the problem).

We don't know what was in the gp's referral letter for this young boy. I do hope all his issues associated with hypermobilty were mentioned. DGS has crippling pains in his legs, like growing pains, but it can affect his tummy too, which then increases his anxiety, which in turn affects his education. So, the illness in the Kew boy could affect more than just the one joint used to hold a pencil. Something called Ehlers–Danlos syndrome would also need to be considered by a consultant.

I just hate to see anyone dismissed, disbelieved, or treated differently for whatever reason. It's wrong. And yes, I know, on occasions it's the law, but I too am glad it has been highlighted.

growstuff Mon 09-Jun-25 18:10:06

It's a shame the Daily Mail (or whoever first broke this story) didn't focus on the need to change the law rather than adopting the focus it did.

LaCrepescule Mon 09-Jun-25 19:36:45

Utter BS

growstuff Mon 09-Jun-25 20:02:12

LaCrepescule

Utter BS

What is? My post is immediately before yours - are you referring to it?

Grantanow Tue 10-Jun-25 09:14:14

Typical Dail Wail. It's an educational issue.

Allira Tue 10-Jun-25 10:36:21

Grantanow

Typical Dail Wail. It's an educational issue.

Are you a medical professional?

Have you seen all the paperwork in this case in order for you to make that decision?