nhs VS private

[stubad]

just to add my thoughts......

i have been on the nhs waiting list for nearly 2years. i have a bmi over 60. over 100 people who joined the nhs waiting list after me have had their ops on the nhs in a private hospital so as to reduce the waiting list, but not me. i have now been given 3 op dates (at an nhs hospital) and have started my pre op diet each time only for the dates to be cancelled. i have been given another date in august but have been told not to get my hopes up that the op will go ahead. so basically the nhs do bariatric surgery for less fat people in private hospitals, and us real fatties with other health issues are pushed back & back and forgotten about. i feel like the nhs is waiting for me to die so i'm not a burden on its waiting list. i was told it is all to do with manipulating numbers & lists - nothing to do with who needs help.
i am disgusted with the nhs

sorry to moan but i'm so upset

dxx

I think this is a rare occassion of bad luck ops can only be cancelled by the nhs if there are other patients with more serious condition or for emergencies, so I would be causing a stink if I thought lists were being manipulated, that's what the pct is for , I have many related conditions and was seen and treated within six month

 

[mazd20010]

Where I live we have to go through weight management who ultimately decide if you get the op or not. When they refer they give you a choice of nhs hospital or private, private would have been quicker, but private hospitals are sometimes limited with the number of intensive care/hdu beds they have so was told if there were complications with surgery I may find that I would have to be moved to a nhs hospital as the support may not be there. I decided to wait and chose nhs and have had brilliant care all the way through x

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[EJFez]

Charlie. What timescales has Rake Lane given you ? Just finishing the weight mgmt in ncle pct.

 

[Paula Garner]

just to add my thoughts......

i have been on the nhs waiting list for nearly 2years. i have a bmi over 60. over 100 people who joined the nhs waiting list after me have had their ops on the nhs in a private hospital so as to reduce the waiting list, but not me. i have now been given 3 op dates (at an nhs hospital) and have started my pre op diet each time only for the dates to be cancelled. i have been given another date in august but have been told not to get my hopes up that the op will go ahead. so basically the nhs do bariatric surgery for less fat people in private hospitals, and us real fatties with other health issues are pushed back & back and forgotten about. i feel like the nhs is waiting for me to die so i'm not a burden on its waiting list. i was told it is all to do with manipulating numbers & lists - nothing to do with who needs help.
i am disgusted with the nhs

sorry to moan but i'm so upset

dxx

Maybe in your area. But in mine it's the people who a less of a health risk for surgery that have to wait at the back of the queue. It's been 2 years for me now and I'm still waiting. All because I'm healthy and have no co morbidities.

What they don't take into account is the constant pain I'm in every day, my PCOS and the fact that my BMI is 54.5. Unless they do something soon, I'm going to develop all the co morbidities I don't have at the moment. I'm fed up of waiting and I'm contacting PALS tomorrow.

 

[Liesa]

i was on the NHS under Mr Patel and waiting for ages he backdated my waiting list time due to the fact other stuff went wrong... had to have a ct scan to rule out tummy problems as the haitus hernia never showed, but after scan it was discovered i had a cyst in an ovary so waiting to see all needed was annoying... still Kings college were fabulous, Mr Patel backdated to when the scan took place, i kept ringing Pauline every now and then and still no news so contacted PALS it was then put into perspective and all sorted.... one day a few weeks back on a thursday i phoned Pauline and still no news.... within 2 hours Pauline called back... had to go to Kings college on the monday 25th june and into BMIWeymouth in London a private hospital.... just 2 of us were there in a 17 bed hospital... Mr Ameet Patel came operated tuesday evening my care was fab... i was a bit poorly after coming round bp to high then to low... and for 3/4 days i had the best care... i have read other peoples notes on various forums i wouldve been on a packed nhs ward... which has always been good enough for me.. was just nice to try it from the other side, xx

 

[charlie_pops]

Charlie. What timescales has Rake Lane given you ? Just finishing the weight mgmt in ncle pct.

everything is in my sig hun but ive had stops and starts with my gp being an idiot. after weight management its supposed to be a month or so till your seminar, i finished why weight in march and had to wait until 17th may for mine.


thanks for the replys everyone, seems theres pros and cons in both. im sorry to all those who have waited, its really not fair how pct's are different

 

[Bellydancer57]

I am in agreement with you there - postcode lottery on NHS- is a national scandal.

 

[Charlie79]

Hi Charlie pops if you have had your seminar you should next recieve your appt with nurse then dietician if your lucky they might be together then after that it will be an appointment with Mr Woodcock himself who i have to say is fab im in the same pct as you i was referred in november 2011, seminar jan 2012 did me why weight jan- end of feb and i am on the table next week 18th for my bypass with mr woodcock all you need to do is try and loose as much as you can and push push push for yr appointments i was always on the phone for cancellations and it paid off so from start to finish 7.5 months good luck and remember keep pestering lol x

 

[Wibble]

I went Private. I wasn't getting anywhere on the NHS after 2 years of seeing countless dieticians/docs/psychiatrists,etc. It got me down big time and I was just getting sicker.
My op did not go as planned, there were quite a few complications, and I spent 3 days in the Intensive Care Unit with my own nurses 24/7. However much I am in debt to and rely on the NHS for insulin, etc., I don't think my outcome would have been as good if the same thing had happened on the NHS, as no way would I have been able to get that level of nursing. I've also been having a few "issues" with digestion recently and have been able to see my surgeon within a few days.
But like you say, people have good and bad experiences in both the NHS and the Private sector. I think the main thing is to do your research on your surgeon thoroughly!

 

[charlie_pops]

I went Private. I wasn't getting anywhere on the NHS after 2 years of seeing countless dieticians/docs/psychiatrists,etc. It got me down big time and I was just getting sicker.
My op did not go as planned, there were quite a few complications, and I spent 3 days in the Intensive Care Unit with my own nurses 24/7. However much I am in debt to and rely on the NHS for insulin, etc., I don't think my outcome would have been as good if the same thing had happened on the NHS, as no way would I have been able to get that level of nursing. I've also been having a few "issues" with digestion recently and have been able to see my surgeon within a few days.
But like you say, people have good and bad experiences in both the NHS and the Private sector. I think the main thing is to do your research on your surgeon thoroughly!

thanks for that wibble, im going with mr woodcock, he does nhs and private so either way im picking him as hes had rave reviews from everyone ive spoke to about rakelane

 

[EJFez]

Hi Charlie

How did you get on today ?

 

[mummykcb]

I have no choice but to go private as my PCT wouldnt even consider me and my BMI is 49.5 , but in my area the BMI has to be over 60 or over 45 if you have diabetes, high blood presssure, sleep apneoa. So thats why i'm going private but you dont have pyschological testing or a lifetime of aftercare.

 

[Wobbletogo]

just to add my thoughts......

i have been on the nhs waiting list for nearly 2years. i have a bmi over 60. over 100 people who joined the nhs waiting list after me have had their ops on the nhs in a private hospital so as to reduce the waiting list, but not me. i have now been given 3 op dates (at an nhs hospital) and have started my pre op diet each time only for the dates to be cancelled. i have been given another date in august but have been told not to get my hopes up that the op will go ahead. so basically the nhs do bariatric surgery for less fat people in private hospitals, and us real fatties with other health issues are pushed back & back and forgotten about. i feel like the nhs is waiting for me to die so i'm not a burden on its waiting list. i was told it is all to do with manipulating numbers & lists - nothing to do with who needs help.
i am disgusted with the nhs

sorry to moan but i'm so upset

dxx

I can understand your frustration and I know I don't know your full circumstances, but with a BMI over 60 I can imagine you have other health problems and maybe considered a surgical risk. Not many private hospitals have the facilities to deal with the potential problems of high risk patients having surgery, ie ICU facilities, and therefore they would not want to put you into a private hospital for your own safety.

I work in the surgical dept at a hospital and we often have private patients treated with us because the private hospitals don't have the right facilities or equipment.

I do hope you get a new date soon though and everything goes smoothly for you