Private health care

[GiggleBee]

Anyone got any experiance with this in the UK?

I have alot of health problems, most I can deal with or are being treated under the NHS. I have awful issues with my ears though, keep getting constant outer ear infections, so bad that the doctors cant understand why the pain hasnt floored me (my other conditions are all pain related so Im used to pain!)
Ive seen ENT twice, both times theyve looked in my ear as a GP would and told me they couldn't see whats wrong. I didnt have no scans nothing.
Im tired and fed up of the constant ear pain and im getting concered with the amount of antibiotics im taking to cure it.
Any advice would be great.

 

[Greencatfysh]

I’ve seen a private doctor, you can “pay as you go” to self-refer to a consultant. It’s not cheap but maybe worth it if it’s dragging on, and you’ll be seen pretty much immediately. You’re unlikely to find insurance that would cover an existing condition sadly.

 

[ponyta]

For me, it's the best money I have ever spent. Having been in bad pain for weeks which then resulted in time off work on SSP, it eliminated the waiting which would have been around 12 weeks to see the consultant. I was then able to make changes straight away and was back in work 5 weeks after. After the initial consultation I was able to be transferred to NHS as I was already on the waiting list. So some things I paid for, others were done via NHS.

Edited to say - these were gastro problems.

 

[SunshineDreamer]

We have private healthcare (ironic considering my husband is an NHS doctor). We had our children privately and the care was amazing, other than that we’ve never really used it apart from dentists and the odd GP appointment. That being said, if you can afford it and you think it would help I would say so for it.

 

[PoleStar]

Anyone got any experiance with this in the UK?

I have alot of health problems, most I can deal with or are being treated under the NHS. I have awful issues with my ears though, keep getting constant outer ear infections, so bad that the doctors cant understand why the pain hasnt floored me (my other conditions are all pain related so Im used to pain!)
Ive seen ENT twice, both times theyve looked in my ear as a GP would and told me they couldn't see whats wrong. I didnt have no scans nothing.
Im tired and fed up of the constant ear pain and im getting concered with the amount of antibiotics im taking to cure it.
Any advice would be great.

It's worth looking at, but I don't think it's likely an insurer would give you cover for pre-existing conditions.

 

[Downtoearth]

Private healthcare is amazing and should be a priority for everyone in my opinion. As others have said, sometimes they won't cover pre existing conditions, but you can take out insurance for other things and still self pay for the odd consultation etc. I'd eat porridge for 3 meals a day before I stopped paying our insurance.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Unless you have been diagnosed you can still get private h/care. They can only exclude things that have been diagnosed.
However sometimes you have to be with them say for 3 months before you can start claiming. However even if you can’t use it straight away I always think it’s good to have for emergencies. I’ve recently had to use it and can see a consultant straight away, had a CT scan and the results back within days.
In fairness I have also had great service from my local NHS. I would probably push the ENT to refer you for a scan

 

[Jaxteller]

I get private healthcare with my job, it gets taxed out of my wages every week but it’s there if I need it. So say I stayed in the nhs overnight, I’d get £100 overnight stay, which I think is a great thing if you can get it

 

[Monkeymagic85]

Anyone got any experiance with this in the UK?

I have alot of health problems, most I can deal with or are being treated under the NHS. I have awful issues with my ears though, keep getting constant outer ear infections, so bad that the doctors cant understand why the pain hasnt floored me (my other conditions are all pain related so Im used to pain!)
Ive seen ENT twice, both times theyve looked in my ear as a GP would and told me they couldn't see whats wrong. I didnt have no scans nothing.
Im tired and fed up of the constant ear pain and im getting concered with the amount of antibiotics im taking to cure it.
Any advice would be great.

Unless you can get healthcare through your employer, where it would likely be medical history disregarded then you wouldn’t be covered for anything you’ve had in the last 5 years. They ask for medical records when you make a claim so unlikely they would cover something you’ve had treatment for in the last 5 years, they also ask at inception what medical conditions you have and they would be excluded.
You can just pay privately for treatment but it would be expensive.

I used to work for a medical insurance company so I know this is how it works.

 

[sourlemon]

I’ve used private health care 4x now in the UK & paid with my own pocket ( I did look at insurance but didn’t think it was worth it). One of the times I had mastoids and no NHS doctor would diagnose me but I knew something was wrong, I went to a private ENT he diagnosed me straight away, told me what I needed to do, he referred me back to NHS & got treatment asap! Same when my husband broke his knee, NHS X-ray said it was fine just a small hairline crack, went to private doctor after 2 days of the unbearable pain he had, had X-rays and the hairline crack was a visible large break! Doctor advised he needed surgery said it would be expensive and referred us to a colleague who works in the NHS and had it done there.

each experience has been wonderful, they often will find the problem & offer treatment, or refer you back to the NHS with supporting evidence.I hope you get some relief soo! Ear pain is not the one!!

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

I’ve used private health care 4x now in the UK & paid with my own pocket ( I did look at insurance but didn’t think it was worth it). One of the times I had mastoids and no NHS doctor would diagnose me but I knew something was wrong, I went to a private ENT he diagnosed me straight away, told me what I needed to do, he referred me back to NHS & got treatment asap! Same when my husband broke his knee, NHS X-ray said it was fine just a small hairline crack, went to private doctor after 2 days of the unbearable pain he had, had X-rays and the hairline crack was a visible large break! Doctor advised he needed surgery said it would be expensive and referred us to a colleague who works in the NHS and had it done there.

each experience has been wonderful, they often will find the problem & offer treatment, or refer you back to the NHS with supporting evidence.I hope you get some relief soo! Ear pain is not the one!!

I have to agree with you. They are always very willing to refer you to the NHS and normally to a specific person who is also very good