[Closed] Going private for an op

No idea about costs, but the speed can be damn fast. Friend of mine went from weeks just for consult for hernianated disk on NHS to consult that night, treatment 2 days later.

We went private to get our sons heart murmur checked out as we decided it was better than waiting (all is fine, it's an innocent one).

The patient experience was fantastic, the hospital were great too which was handy as it was booked through Bupa and they managed to screw it all up from an admin point of view. My parents have both had new hips privately and the process was faultless from start to finish, there's no waiting for an appointment as soon as you book the date is in the diary and it doesn't move unless you request it.

I'd definitely say that it's worth investigating, it's a trade off between cost and time - in your case it's the value you put on a pain-free summer. You'll need to speak to the provider regarding prices etc though and it may be worth going direct to the hospital rather than through the booking line. In our case the hospital would have charged us less than going through Bupa - the irony in that being that it was a Bupa hospital!

I have bupa and had an mri scan on my knee on the Wednesday then surgery the Monday of the next week.

My mother had a hip replacement privately last year and it was a lot less expensive than I'd expected it to be. In the end its a trade off between quality of life and cost.

Not sure how it all works TBH.
How do I get the ball rolling to get a private consultation as opposed to the booked NHS one? We already know it's got to come out - the scan revealed that. This will be a one-off to get this done ASAP - not going to sign up to BUPA on a permanent basis.

No idea either on costs but is it done under general anesthesia these days, if so I'd have thought that would add a fair chunk to the price?

I've got private med insurance through work.
I can be very quick, and you generally get to choose when/where you see people etc.
I've currently got a cyst in my calf - had an ultrasound on NHS last Saturday, and saw my GP on Friday eve for the results.
He said it needs to come out, however as non-urgent the wait on NHS could be 3-6 months.
I mentioned private med insurance and he whizzed off a referral letter Friday eve, I've got a consult with a surgeon this Wednesday and expect to have the Op next week.

From a speed/convenience point of view it is unbeatable.

I'd check out the Spire and BUPA web-sites for options...

I had exactly the same thing [gall bladder removal] after having Pancreatitis and spending 7 days in hospital.

I was having issues with small stones escaping the gall bladder and blocking the junction where the pancreas connects to the common bile duct.
My consultant went to great lengths to explain that when this happens the pancreatic fluid gets into the blood stream and does what it's supposed to do... break stuff down. In extreme cases this can lead to organ failure.

I was told that I would be susceptible to more bouts until I had the op - I was on the priority list but it was going to be 6 weeks minimum with the NHS and I could be bumped for something more serious at any point.

I paid to go private at our local Nuffield and had the op about a week later at a cost of about £2.5-3k I think but it may well have been different. Going private to reduce the risk ranks up there as one of my better decisions. Treatment was very good.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px;">Not sure how it all works TBH.</span>

A lot of places do 'fixed price' if you're not insured.  No idea what the fixed prove is likely to be, mind you.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px; background-color: #eeeeee;">No idea either on costs but is it done under general anesthesia these days, if so I’d have thought that would add a fair chunk to the price?</span>

As opposed to giving the patient a bit of leather to bite on?

Believe me, the cost of anaesthesia is much, much less that the cost of disposable laparoscopic surgical instruments.

I think he probably means a local anaesthetic, which is far preferable where practical than a general for more reasons than just cost.

No idea either on costs but is it done under general anesthesia these days

My mum's hip replacement wasn't carried out under general, apparently it all happened the other side of a curtain.

NHS

1) Free

2) Pot luck with who does the operation

3) No idea how long you wait.

Private

1) You pay

2) You choose the consultant who will do the operation, not just 'one of his team'

3) You select the date for the operation.

I have insurance but even so, if I could afford it points 2 & 3 would swing it for me.

I have just had my ankle fused at the Spire, Southampton, on company medical insurance so I don't know the cost but...

Jan 6th I rang for an appointment with the consultant of my choice

Jan 13th I saw him and after an x-ray and review we agreed the required procedure.I was offered the operation on any Tuesday or Thursday (the days this consultant worked there)

Feb 1st I had the operation. I delayed a couple of weeks so I could compete a project at work and get it done before the next big project.

The room was just a small room with en-suite. Clean and functional but nothing special. The food read nicely on the menu but was small portions and bland.,

The nurses and other staff were friendly and spoke to me by name with time to chat about how I had originally done the injury and what else I did beyond hurt. When I needed an extra pressure bandage applying they still had to scrabble round to find one as the only one they had on the ward was too small.

Saw GP Thursday, consultant Friday, operation Saturday. This was for a plate in my wrist and speed was essential. As for cost, I can't recall exactly, as I was insured, but it ran to a couple of thousand and paid a small excess.

Care can be fast and excellent, of course.

My parents have a had a few operations between them, as did a friend recently. All were a few thousand in total (like 5k).

No idea how the procedures compared to a gallbladder, but I'd guess their procedure were more complex.

All were done as soon as they wanted (within a week or so with the option of sooner).

Friend was sent private by the NHS for a knee op last week. Addenbrookes NHS just outsourced it to our local Spire hospital.

I have had 3 operations and my wife has had 3 or 4 all with AXA PP as I pay for it via work.

A rough cost for op is around £4-5000 (as you get to see the bills) but as others have said you are normally having the operation performed with a few days or a week at worst.

I would suggest ringing the secretary of the NHS consultant you have been referred to and get an idea of the time frame first.

Then ring the local private hospital of repute (some are shite)and ask for the price. Spire are usually good. I would guess £3-5k. This op would normally be a day case, which will save the B&B cost. Make sure you choose a surgeon that does gallbladders all the time in the NHS as well.
NHS should be 18 weeks from referral but that's getting increasingly stretched under the tory yoke. We are not cancelling many gallbladders as they are day case and therefore don't need a ward bed. If you are flexi as to when you can come in you may get a last minute invite.
Hope you get it sorted.

The advantage of going private is that you'll be seen pretty much instantly. However the quality of the medical care will be the same.

Not sure of the cost, however it is often less than you think- the advantage of the universal healthcare (for the service user) is that it drives the costs down across the whole industry.

I wonder what the day rate for the surgeon is and maybe a couple of nurses ?

Offer cash see if you get it cheaper or price per stitch, a few on here know what a wall tiler should get

My dad has had afew private ops, hips, cataracts.  It got to the point with private health care it was just better to pay for the ops.  In fact, the last 15 years he just put the health insurance premiums he would have paid into premium bonds and sold them to pay for the ops.  He got a few wins too.  Private hospitals were nice, but my mum was in nhs ward before christmas and i thought the nhs wax comparable...privtae room, attentive staff, choice of food.  Maybe we were lucky.

self payer surgeons fee is approx £1000 and anaesthetist £400. It will be more in London/SE.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I think he probably means a local anaesthetic, which is far preferable where practical than a general for more reasons than just cost.</span>

I can speak from some expertise here. While hip/knee replacements are done under local (or more accurately spinal) anaesthesia, they still need an anaesthetist present.

Trying to do a lap chole under anything other than a GA would be… brave.

Idea of cost.

https://www.privatehealth.co.uk/conditions-and-treatments/gall-bladder-removal-laparoscopic/costs/

My ankle would have been around £1.5k including pre and post consultations, xrays, surgeon and anaesthetist fees and a night in hospital. I have insurance so I don't know exactly though.

Being able to choose the dates of the surgery was a huge benefit to me, I could arrange it to fit with work as opposed to getting a random date and it potentially being cancelled from under you.

I had a shoulder op last year (day patient job) on private insurance through work. Total cost was about £3k. "When can I get it done"? "What are doing next Monday"? Food was better than NHS.

Lucky enough to have insurance through work. I'm sure other peoples' experience is different, and it's probably another story when you're seriously ill, but my NHS experience is that I was a nuisance interrupting the nurses' conversation.

I thought for a minute you were on about getting your Chalfonts sorted.

Seeing as it is your missus that might be going under the knife, then I’ll be sensible and say I hope she gets sorted ASAP!

I had my Hernia surgery done at a bmi hospital and they were fantastic. The consultant who did it, worked at Royal Bolton also.

Below is a rough guide to the cost of gallbladder removal surgery.

https://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/treatments/general-surgery/cholecystectomy-laparoscopic

Who pays for private health insurance themselves and who do you use?

I used to get it as part of my employment but after being made redundant and being a contractor for a few years, about time I got health insurance.

Thanks.

"I’m sure other peoples’ experience is different, and it’s probably another story when you’re seriously ill, but my NHS experience is that I was a nuisance interrupting the nurses’ conversation"

Ahh. I was scrolling through and looking for someone to lay into the nursing staff. Boom!

Maybe you were too needy and needed your pillows fluffing to many times when the pyjama paralysis set in?

I work on both NHS and private wards. The girls are the same lazy, self entitled, common and rude nursing staff in both areas. There is no difference in the calibre of staff. If anything the private wards local to me use a lot of agency staff.

They may put a doily under your dinner plate but they'll still be narked when you ring wanting your cup moved and you've interrupted their conversation about ghd hair straighteners and botox.

A nurse

I think the figures quoted here for costs are way too low.  tens of thousands is more likely I would have thought and contrary to what WCA says you do get to chose who your consultant is under the NHS

My mother had both hips done privately.  cost was many tens of thousands

I think the figures quoted here for costs are way too low.

Agree.  Haven't had an op for a few years but when going through a private hospital it was around £4000 per op for each of my surgeries.  Same surgeons as the NHS as they cover both so only difference is length of time to get the treatment, on time and quickly arranged appointments, and the nicer surroundings and food when staying in the private hospital

I had private cover through work and used it to get my shoulder/collar bone stabilised.

6 months wait or next week? No brainer and it freed up my slot on the NHS list.

Operation was carried out by the same guy whether it was private or NHS.

My mum had a knee replacement in Bupa Bristol and I think it cost £2000.

If you have the money go for it.
I've had four now! a work "benefit".
Interestingly ,my last op, the anesthetist billed the insurance company for £525 ,they then wrote back to him and said all the would pay was £350 as that was the going rate!
btw ,I agree with the freeing up nhs space too.

You get good private surgeons and you get bad ones. You get good private hospitals and you get bad ones.

Do some research don’t just assume one is better than the other.

I would take WCA’s example seriously though. They struggled to have the right size plaster available, because privately if it’s not in the norm they won’t have it. And if he had needed to go back to theatre then it would either of had to wait until the surgeon was next available to do his private list or you would have been put in an ambulance and taken to the nearest NHS Trust

I think lots of docs / surgeons who do private work also do NHS ? By going "private" you're cutting back on the wait times I guess. It's different over here. I got a CT Scan done at the walk in GP the same day, and the results the next day. I was chatting to my bro back in Wales about this (he's a physio) and had a CT 3 weeks ago, and still not had any results. This would literally kill me to wait that long.

The same GP also referred my wife for an urgent CT when they found her mass which turned out to be a benign 3cm tumor which she had removed and discharged from the ward in a week! Had we have waited 2 months + in the public system for the CT after she presented to ED with the same symptoms, she might not have been so lucky.

My experience of private healthcare was very much like most of the above folk, hugely faster response and resolution than would have received under NHS care.

As for costs, my ACL surgery (general anaesthetic) overnight stay in private hospital was around £4.5k. (They sent me a copy of the invoice for info). Anaesthetist alone was £700!

That was in Stirling about five years ago.

Nuffieldhealth.com publish prices on their website and a gall bladder removal is £6,485.  Hip replacement is £12,815.