Health Care

Nicki

The PG also has a walk in cardio centre though for suspected heart attacks, so deals with more life threatening issues than simple injuries and as the second link shows it does provide high dependency/emergency care and have 24 hour consultant cover which others have said private hospitals can't provide.

Clearly if you are involved in a multi car pile up or pulled from a burning building you are going to be taken to the nearest NHS hospital to the event taking place, but if you are in London and suffer a different form of accident or suspected heart attack or stroke then there are private options if you want them. There are also private ambulances to transport you to private hospitals staffed by trained paramedics.

jackyann

Many years ago I did a stint in a central London A&E and saw quite a few celebrities brought in. One (at the time) well known American wrote a letter that he copied to both the New York Herald and The Times about the superb care he received himself, and observed other receiving.

This isn't a debate I want to enter - having spent my entire working life in health care, I know that most of us would entrust only minor things like hernias to the private system, in order to get a date of our choosing. When the chips are down, we want to be where the expertise is.

justme111

. When the chips are down, we want to be where the expertise is.

Unfortunately expertise in combination with explicit and implicit rationing, demoralisation of staff and massive overload makes it impossible to function properly and can not deliver best results.
Asking again - why people seem to be happy and sounding kind of proud there is no real alternative to cash strapped demoralised, unable to afford dignity and quality of life on many occasions NHS?
Tomtom , I find your statement that I do not make sense incorrect. "I do not understand you " would be better

Dill

OP unfortunately the answer is no. Healthcare in this country leaves a lot to be desired, but the NHS does seem to be our national religion and woe betide anyone who criticizes it or suggests that changes should be made..

Your best bet is to take private insurance out to use as a back up for state healthcare. Or move to a Scandinavian country

justme111

I am afraid private insurance is not the answer either
The same 7 minutes per patient gps, the same a&e , and mindset of privately working doctors and staff is influenced by NHS the same as likely is teaching in medical degree ..

theoretica

There are some things where there simply is no sensible alternative to the NHS - especially where location is important. It really isn't viable for any other organisation to have 24 hour emergency services in the remote areas of the country. I guess you need a certain number of emergencies coming in before it is worthwhile having facilities and staff, and relying on emergencies happening to people who wanted to pay would make an uneasy business model.

If location isn't important (or London is the location of choice), then pay enough and you can get as long a GP appointment as you like or treatment in a private hospital with good intensive care facilities on site and nurses dedicated just to you.

How best to finance this is a different question - I imagine a mix of private insurance and simply pay as you go.

teddysmum

My GPs offer private consultations, but goodness knows what they charge,as prices for just signing a certificate are high, with over £100 for an HGV driver's examination.

Dill

justme111 wrote: »

I am afraid private insurance is not the answer either
The same 7 minutes per patient gps, the same a&e , and mindset of privately working doctors and staff is influenced by NHS the same as likely is teaching in medical degree ..

An appointment with the consultant lasts about 30 minutes in our local private hospital IIRC and costs something in the region of £200-300

No students, no overworked junior doctors, no disgruntled-and-not-very-helpful support staff..

Personally if I had the money I would be there like a shot to get my (distressing but non-urgent) health problem looked at.

peachyprice

Nicki wrote: »

Perhaps it's a regional thing but in London there is an option to have private A and E care and the private hospitals mostly have high dependency beds and doctors are definitely on site 24 hours a day.

Eg here:
http://theprincessgracehospital.com/hospital-services/services/urgent-care/
http://www.hcahealthcare.co.uk/mobile/our-hospitals/find-a-hospital-or-outpatient-centre/the-princess-grace-hospital/

No, it's not a regional thing. We're in London.
You've posted a link to ONE hospital, in central London, which is pretty much the only one. 99% of private hospitals in the boroughs do not have A&E facilites and rely on the NHS.

Nicki

peachyprice wrote: »

No, it's not a regional thing. We're in London.
You've posted a link to ONE hospital, in central London, which is pretty much the only one. 99% of private hospitals in the boroughs do not have A&E facilites and rely on the NHS.

I know about the Princess Grace because after routine admission there I did end up in HDU for a night. I haven't researched all London hospitals so don't know if that's the only one.

My kids have needed emergency treatment and (once) HDU for a short period and been able to access this privately in other hospitals within the HCA group in London however so as far as being shipped out to the NHS when things don't go as planned that's definitely not been my experience of private healthcare in London. Which is not to say it doesn't happen in some private London hospitals, but it just hasn't been the case in our experience.