Feelings run high over private medical care.
In other countries, private and state-funded care run side-by-side, but here it can lead to bad feeling.
When I lived in London, some private providers had seen opportunities and were providing sub-standard services to the NHS. e.g. one had cleverly seen that I had had polio, so made this the excuse to provide cheaper X-rays rather than an MRI Scan, making polio the. excuse. I could quite easily lie on an MRI flatbed, provided I was given pain relief. But that cost extra – and instead they tried to palm me off with useless X-rays.
When I moved to the Thames Valley the picture was different. Whoever does NHS commissioning in this area has chosen a private hospital, The Circle. Each time I go there I have to pinch myself that I am actually having marvelous private treatment on the NHS.
If the Thames Valley NHS can do this, why can’t other areas?
Questions you might ask if you can choose private treatmrnt funded by the NHS.
No, Your NHS care will continue to be free of charge. You cannot be asked to pay towards your NHS care, except where legislation allows charges, such as prescription charges.
Can I ask the NHS to pay for private care?Sadly no! The NHS cannot pay for or subsidise your private hospital treatment. There must be as clear a separation as possible between your private treatment and your NHS treatmentIf I choose to pay to go privately for part of my care, will this affect my position on an NHS waiting list?No. Your position on an NHS waiting list should not be affected if you choose to have a private consultation
Does it work?
Many people will say it’s taking money away from NHS services. So I asked a senior Consultant at The Circle how they managed to provide such excellent service on NHS budgets.
His reply was that they had looked at the way the NHS is run, and found there were 5 layers of administration. They had done away with three of these, and that was how they managed! .
So if they can manage to do this in Reading, why not elsewhere?
I used to have private medical insurance, but had to stop paying to be able to afford heating. However, if I could still afford it now, to be covered for everything, including a heart transplant, it would cost me £4,500 per year.
Anf my tax contribution to the NHS works out at ££4,000 a year. There is something wrong with NHS costings.
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