Go Private For Health Problems Options

[Tommy Kennedy]

A GP practice has sent out letters to its patient suggesting they go private for treatment- recommending a ‘Private health company’ which they just happen to own!

On telling my family of my own health problems we discussed my 'going private'.
I pointed out to them the excellant care I wa getting with the N.H.S.
A few Sundays ago a Cancer patient was interviewed on the 'Andrew Marr show', 'Gould' I think his name was.
Said he went 'Private' in America - came back here to the N.H.S 'cause the the treatment was better!

[Melody]

I read that article yesterday, I can't say it surprised me.

Morning Tommy, good for you choosing to stick with the NHS. Probably the exact same doctors and treatment that would have received from the private sector. Only the surroundings may have been grander. God help us all with these clowns in government I fear there will be no choice in future we'll all be in a private sector if they are given their way.

[kenb]

morning tommy and mekody i also am an nhs fan .afteryears oy fleecing me and my insurance company i learned the hard way my insuance company dumped me by putting up my premiums ballisticaly and refusing to pay any more for my parkinsons treatment as it was palliative now so nhs the best

[kenb]

i did not make myself clear . the private hosp and the inurance company both fleeced me
cheers

[TeeHeeHee]

Over here we have what's known as the AOK which is the equivalent of the NHS in the UK. All my operations other than industrial accidents were covered by the AOK. They covered everything from signing on sick to specialist appointments and treatment and private convalescence homes.
Recently I made the decision to finally have my eyes lasered and went to the see the main man around here.
6 month waiting list for the appointment.
Other than that, it's the same treatment as I'd get if I went private ... just a bit of queue jumping.
I think my appointment is on the 9th Feb. Same Doctor, same theatre, same treatment.
Like Tommy, I am full of praise for the doctors and nurses who helped me back onto my feet, Regardless of when it was with the AOK, the NHS or in the RAF, they were all dedicated people.
Over here the medical profession have just been, this week, awarded an increase in wages after endless negotiations.
4%.
Big deal.

[Tommy Kennedy]

As, said, in my other post, it was an eye opener for me, the care, dedication, compassion, the N.H.S medical staff showed to patients.
There is a ‘clique’ within the N.H.S. who would go along with this government’s reforms – seeing profit to be made.
In my business life I did have private health insurance for myself and children – this was mainly to cover any Health problems on holiday abroad – before the E.U. Now of course under E.U law you’re entitled to free treatment in any E.U., country. You are allotted an ‘E.U. number’ – along with N.H.S number for this - most people don’t know it, wise to find out what it is – though I’m sure you would still get free treatment.
This government is looking to copy the U.S. system, where the hospital will charge you for a cup of coffee/tea.!!!
The U.S. even advertise their lack of compassion for the poor - said to be 49 million of them without any health insurance cover - watching one of their ‘Forensic programs’: A dying cancer patient sets out to kill those that stopped giving him life saving treatment because his private insurance had run out.

P.S, Melody, thisi government hasn't got the 'cunning'of Thatcher makes the major mistake of offending the civil service/cops/military -Thatcher knew to keep them 'on-side'
It will be their downfall

[TeeHeeHee]

I'm not sure Tommy but I think there was a form E105 which covered people going from the UK into most European countries for treatment covered by the NHS. I seem to remember that the form had to be applied for before leaving the UK as it was a quite complicated rigmarole trying to fill out paperwork abroad without it.

[Tommy Kennedy]

Well,THEE having lost my glasses in Berlin a few years ago I got a free pair pair - though I paid for an 'Upgrade' without problems a few years ago.

[TeeHeeHee]

I was in Bremen, in '81, and just happened to be walkin' past an optician's shop when, pushin' my specs up a bit on my nose - as you do - they fell off and in trying to stop them hittin' the deck I only succeeded in bootin' them up the street and breakin' a lens. I went into the shop to see what he could do; takin' the broken bits with me.
He told me that they were very expensive lenses (they were prescription reactalites) and that the broken lens had three prisms in it (correcting an eye injury) and it might take a while longer to make a new one.
I left the phone number of MBB where I was workin'.
4 days later I picked up the glasses.
My contribution was 30 deutschmarks ... less than a tenner back then. AOK/NHS picked up the tab for the rest.

[Jupiter]

Healthcare is now a commodity like anything else that can be bought on the High Street so if an individual has the means and feels a better service can be obtained by paying more,why not?

[Dave Grieve]

Over here we have goverment and private hospitals.
Most people that can afford it will be on medical aid and if need be will go into the private hospital.

I had a hip replacement two years ago and my medical aid only paid part of the total cost of just under GBP10,000 I had to pay in roughly GBP2,700
The alternative was to go into a goverment hospital where the costs would have been a lot less but I could have waited up to a year for the operation.

If you ever come here on holiday make sure you have insurance, my father in-law was here a few years ago and did not feel well on a Sunday so we took him to our local private clinic.
While he was being examined he had a heart attack and was in intensive care for almost a week. when he was fit and able after missing his scheduled return flight the insurance paid for my wife to fly back to Scotland with him, All costs were covered by his medical insurance.

[bilbo.s]

Good advice, Dave. Just make sure you declare every little pre-condition you have. My father-in-law took ill in Turkey, received top class treatment in a private hospital but it cost him in excess of 3,000 GBP - the insurers refused to pay as he had not declared his hypertension, which was under control. A condition about half of the planet has.

[TeeHeeHee]

I had a hip replacement two years ago and my medical aid only paid part of the total cost of just under GBP10,000

Wow.
I broke my hip in an accident last year.
Ambulance turned up about 15/20 minutes after the phone call; peak-hour traffic.
Two operations within about 3 months (the first was a repair that didn't take, the second was to replace the hip-joint) with lots of control X-rays during that time and a full skeletal scan in a private set-up in Freiburg then a private re-hab clinic for 6 weeks and later 12 out-patient re-hab sessions and didn't cost me a penny.

[Jupiter]

Bilbo, every time I go abroad I speak to the medical insurance company when paying.I always mention my hypertension and tell them it is under control with medication Ive been on for years.The usual reply is thats ok.From now on Ill be getting thats ok in writing, thanks to that wee snippet you put on.

[Dave Grieve]

Wow.
I broke my hip in an accident last year.
Ambulance turned up about 15/20 minutes after the phone call; peak-hour traffic.
Two operations within about 3 months (the first was a repair that didn't take, the second was to replace the hip-joint) with lots of control X-rays during that time and a full skeletal scan in a private set-up in Freiburg then a private re-hab clinic for 6 weeks and later 12 out-patient re-hab sessions and didn't cost me a penny.

"a private re-hab clinic for 6 weeks and later 12 out-patient re-hab sessions and didn't cost me a penny."

Believe it or not I was on my feet the second day after the operation and out the door on the fourth day.
Medical aids are good when they are needed but they dont like to spend unecessary money on trivial things like recuperation.