• This topic has 44 replies, 29 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by rj2dj.
Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 45 total)
  • nhs or private?
  • ton
    Full Member

    just received a letter from the nhs, offering me a choice of 4 hospitals for a operation.
    2 are nhs, 2 are private.

    is this normal?
    and which would you choose?

    JefWachowchow
    Free Member

    I would choose NHS. My wife is an NHS nurse. However, if you can afford to go private or have insurance using this will free up NHS time and beds.

    ton
    Full Member

    the private option is through the nhs, not to pay or insurance.

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    ianfitz
    Free Member

    Are the local trust funding some procedures at private hospitals? Or are they inviting you to pay extra to get it done quicker?

    google NHS choices for a comparison tool.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Depends what for. Minor op, local anaesthetic, private – my missus had a procedure at the Yorkshire Clinic recently, very efficient.

    I’d want the facilities of a bigger hospital available for anything more significant.

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    NHS for the following reasons:

    Private in the UK means shorter waits and a flat screen in a private room, not better care. Mrs Jay (Nurse Specialist dealing with wounds) says the worst infections come out of Harley Street.

    If something goes wrong your average Spire will have some great Medics and facilities for Tit Jobs, Nose Jobs and Gastric Bands, but if you go into cardiac arrest on the table you’ll be in an Ambo to the local A&E.

    You’ll be wasting NHS funds and making a tiny effort to privatise the NHS.

    docrobster
    Free Member

    Op isn’t going private. Private hospital is being paid to do work for NHS. It’s very common. Especially stuff like orthopaedics.
    I would say use the NHS provider if no big reason not to. Independent providers doing more of the easy profitable work like this means that acute trusts have less income. Our local dgh orthopaedic department loses out a lot to the local private hip and knee providers. Same surgeon often but money going to a different organisation…

    nickc
    Full Member

    NHS choices…

    what are you having done? who is the leas consultant at each location and what’s his/her record like?

    legend
    Free Member

    I’d want the facilities of a bigger hospital available for anything more significant.

    Private doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t have all the facilities

    ton
    Full Member

    what are you having done?

    hip replacement.
    had my ankle fusion at chapel allerton, this is on the list. it was very good.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    What are the other options?

    Esme
    Free Member

    Which hospital (surgeon) does your GP recommend?
    And what are the waiting times like?

    ton
    Full Member

    What are the other options?

    Nuffield
    Methley park
    Chapel allerton
    Pinderfields

    docrobster
    Free Member

    out of interest, ton, does the letter include names of consultants? It’s really hard to find out who a patient will be seeing as the hospitals often don’t include this info on choose and book.

    nickc
    Full Member

    You could ask your GP to recommend (or ask where he’d send his mum). Or use ther NHS Choices website to find out about the services like this

    Orthopaedics at LGI

    ton
    Full Member

    docrobster, no it doesn’t.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Depends on whether it’s local or general anaesthetic. If it’s a general, have a chat with your GP as to what his/her instincts would be given your cardiac history. If it’s a local, and you liked Chapel Allerton, fill your boots.

    docrobster
    Free Member

    So I’d be unable to advise you then ton. There are about 20 orthopaedic surgeons at my local teaching hospital. I don’t know who does which joint. Or who lets his registrars do his hips.
    I’d be going for the biggest acute trust but there is always a risk that you’d get cancelled due to a sudden flu epidemic.

    ton
    Full Member

    on the list nickc posted, mr venkratesh rebuilt my left knee, and mr tellisi did my ankle.
    slowly working my way through the specialist body part surgeons………. 😆

    big_scot_nanny
    Full Member

    I’d go with whichever one does the most hip ops.

    nickc
    Full Member

    That will be Chapel Allerton

    Joint registry – Hospital profile

    docrobster
    Free Member

    No offence martinhutch but that is what anaesthetists are for. It’s why they have different training to us GPs

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Depends on whether it’s local or general anaesthetic. If it’s a general, have a chat with your GP as to what his/her instincts would be given your cardiac history. If it’s a local, and you liked Chapel Allerton, fill your boots.

    I wouldn’t imagine a hip replacement would be a local….

    Every chance it’ll be the same consultant at one or more of the options.

    ton
    Full Member

    chapel allerton will be my choice. been good twice. fingers crossed.

    why do they offer private hospitals then? and use same surgeons

    JefWachowchow
    Free Member

    the private option is through the nhs, not to pay or insurance.

    In that case I would go NHS. The private hospital will spank the pants off the NHS with the bill. There is no respect when private companies bill the NHS because it is not real money, just public money

    v8ninety
    Full Member

    why do they offer private hospitals then? and use same surgeons

    Capacity. Surgeons only do the carpentry bit; this is important but they can bang em out quicker than there are post op recovery and beyond beds available, would be my educated guess.

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    I know a fair few people who have had work done through the NHS at Nuffield for knees, elbows and hips who have had nothing but praise for them. Also good praise for Chapel Allerton, my boss has just had his hip done there.
    Pinderfields comes under the Mid Yorkshire Trust who are a shambles and botched up my operations at Dewsbury and my wife has her enlarged optic nerve monitored through them at Pinderfields and again shambolic.

    somouk
    Free Member

    I would be taking the private approach so long as you are going to get the same surgeons and treatment.

    Common for the NHS to use private as an option these days to keep capacity running where the prices are comparable.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    I wouldn’t imagine a hip replacement would be a local….

    http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Hip-replacement/Pages/How-it-is-performed.aspx

    Couldn’t speak for what’s offered in this particular part of the NHS, mind you.

    bails
    Full Member

    why do they offer private hospitals then? and use same surgeons

    The NHS hospitals won’t have enough beds/theatres to treat everyone quickly enough, so rather than the CCG paying the Trust £5000 to do your hip op, they pay the private hospital £5000. Or £4000 (ha!), or £8,000.

    It might end up being done by the same surgeons because the private hospital is being paid to do the work, but the surgeons are allowed to work in places other than their NHS job. So the NHS aren’t necessarily sending their own staff to work in a private hospital, it’s that the surgeons have a second job working at the private place.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    Depends entirely on the hospital and the procedure, I don’t think there is a simple answer either way. The more major an operation it is the more likely I would be to chose NHS

    dalesjoe
    Free Member

    My neighbor had a hip replacement at the Yorkshire Clinic in Cottingley 8 weeks ago. Seemed very impressed.

    Was given a choice of the YC or two other NHS hospitals.

    I was amazed at the recovery rate. Walks past every day as part of his rehab. They clearly push you to get mobile quickly. Now I’d never have guessed he’d had a new hip.

    woody2000
    Full Member

    Be wary of going to Pinders Tony, you might end up with my Mrs doing your post-op physio and she’s a hard taskmaster 😉

    andyrm
    Free Member

    I’m going nhs funded private in a few weeks for a bilateral hernia operation – waiting list for nhs hospital is 9+ months and I can be in next month by going private.

    The consultant told me it’s very much a capacity/recovery beds thing, and tbh not only will I be back to work sooner (important for income and those who rely on me), I’ve been able to choose dates to suit family life.

    breatheeasy
    Free Member

    Andy – had similar a few years ago at private hospital on the NHS. They cherry pick the straightforward cases (e.g. not obese etc.) but it means throughput for simpler procedures.

    Was seen initially and had op before the NHS hospital could.even see me for first assessment so was a bit.of no brainer for me.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Op isn’t going private. Private hospital is being paid to do work for NHS.

    This.

    I’d choose NHS on the basis that I wouldn’t want to encourage that sort of thing.

    jimbobo
    Free Member

    A lot of nonsense and lies on this thread. I’ve worked in the private sector and the NHS, currently working in one of the hospitals on your list, and have worked at least one other. Ton, if you’d like some sensible advice feel free to email me.

    Edit, on actually reading a bit more, there is some good advice too.. Nuffield or CAH for my vote.

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Chapel A ton. My mum has had both of her hips replaced there, with complex medical history, and they have been fantastic.

    Also, she now works with them in thier patient experience team and they are putting lots of things in place to improve patient experience.

    ton
    Full Member

    just phoned the nhs booking line.
    1st appointment was a Nuffield hospital in leeds. Nuffield it is then.

    jimw
    Free Member

    The only person I knew personally who died just after an orthopaedic operation ( knee replacement , complications leading to a Pulmonary embolism) was at our local private hospital, they did not have the emergency care required and were tardy in transferring to local NHS hospital intensive care department. She was very unlucky, and may not have survived even if in a larger hospital, but it has made me think.

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