So I’ve been under treatment with an ENT consultant for the past 3 months. He’s now happy that I need an operation, but will first need a CT scan to “map out” my sinuses, they’ll then schedule the op.

I have access to private health insurance who are happy to pay for the scan in an effort to speed up the process. I asked the consultant’s secretary to change the scan referal to a private one. She said they wouldn’t be able to do that because once you leave the NHS process you can’t get back on it, so I’d need a private consultant to review the results and then arrange the op.

Does this sound right to people? My insurance company are questioning whether they can say that, they have a duty of care to make sure I’m treated.

Why doesnt your insurance cover the entire gig private – probably same doc but 5 months quicker?

They’ll only do it one stage at a time. So they’d cover the tests, then once an op is confirmed they’d probably cover that. They just won’t commit to the whole shebang. I think part of the reason for this is they have their own hospitals, so I wouldn’t be treated by the same people.

You can’t dip in and out of nhs and private really. You need to bite the bullet and decide which option you want to use and stick with it. I’d be surprised if your consultant on the nhs didn’t have a private list somewhere too.

As someone who works in the NHS I would suggest that waiting for an outpatient CT shouldn’t be that long – certainly probably alot less long than the surgery – so its probably not going to slow the process a great deal. Having the scan done on another site, on another computer system is likely to be a right pain in the arse for your clinicians to look up too (shouldnt be, but IT issues are generally a bit crap). On top of that the surgeon may well want the scan reported by a radiologist they know and trust – not some locum they dont know.

I’d just wait and have it done on the nhs.

benjamins11, thanks that seems like the most obvious reason. Don’t have an issue with it, I was phoning the insurance company to cancel the claim when they questioned the process.

On top of that the surgeon may well want the scan reported by a radiologist they know and trust – not some locum they dont know.

If you work in the NHS you should also know there’s a good chance private scans are done by NHS staff earning extra money on days off. And therefore well known to the surgeon.

Of course I know that, but its in no way guaranteed and was trying to point the op in the path of least resistance. Why would you use that tone “if you work in the NHS?” Do you think I’m lying and that I’m actually a builder?