Private health care

lisathomas50

Hi just wanted to see what people's views are on private health care such as bupa and other private health care 

janer1967

Hi I used to get bupa through my employer and used them for chiropractor sessions which was a god send as nhs service was too long to wait and they were great in my experience

I just think the cost is too high for average working class to afford. 

I am grateful for the nhs and all they do and thankful we dont have to pay like in other countries 

It is nice to have the option and NHS could benefit from learnings of how to operate in a much more cost effective way in my opinion 

BrettW

My ex father in law was put into Bupa care after a stroke and ended up being accidently drowned by a trainee nurse who wasn't properly supervised when installing a feeding tube and inserted it into his lung by mistake. My ex wife ended up having to attend an inquiry which was plastered all over the news and she ended up having to make a public statement about it on the news which was very traumatic for her.

Believe me a lot of the time private care is no better than the excellent care that the NHS provide

Lulu_1949

@lisathomas50 I have private healthcare with my husband, we are both in our seventies and have had it for about 20 years. We have had a few operations in the past and all was very good. It got to be very expensive ...about £350 per month but we have found that if you up the excess to £500 each per year and also take the one with a clause that says if you can’t get your operation done on the NHS for 6 weeks then you will use them this has reduced our payments .
we are reluctant to cancel now after we have had it for so long. 

Best shopping around for price though. We pay about £220 a month now for the two of us Good luck l

lisathomas50

@BrettW oh gosh  thats horrible I have known this to happen in a Staffordshire NHS  hospital a few years back sorry for your loss and sorry for what you had to go through 

Lulu_1949

@BrettW so so sorry to hear that and for the trauma your family went through 🙏🏻x

BrettW

Thanks both. It was a horrendous time

lisathomas50

@janer1967 it is high priced but at the moment its working for me as my nurse is a private nurse and I have the comfort of my home and have my treatment here 

I like to see what opinions people have about private health care becsuse some people think its queue jumping I had my eye operation done private in the end I couldn't see what I was doing  thanks for your comment

lisathomas50

@Lulu_1949 hi I already have private insurance i think its good for alot of things I have used my private health care alot over last two years  its nice to see what other people think thank you fircyour comment 

janer1967

That's a good point @lisathomas50 I am blind in one eye and having treatment in the other which has sight loss 

I also have a cataract which is causing severe blurred vision 

My consultant advises I finish the current treatment 1 more session as the treatment can cause cataract anyway but then after that would put me forward for cataract but they are not doing this surgery at present as it is classed as routine 

I don't understand how it can be routine when you are almost blind but hey ho 

But private may be an option but no doubt would be too expensive 

janer1967

I also used to work for a non profit health care insurance provider called Westfield Health who are a lot cheaper and the package covers glasses and physio and dental etc and you get paid for any out patient visits and hospital stays as well as any procedures required if NHS cant get you in within a timeframe 

However they wont cover any existing conditions I dont think until after a certain time 

lisathomas50

@janer1967 I havent heard of that one glasses and dental i am covered for but that sounds realy good thank you 

lisathomas50

@janer1967 I went private I had two eyes with cataracts my worse was my left I had been on the list for 3months and was stopped from driving 6 months I couldn't see so I went private I phoned on the Monday had it done on the Tuesday   now I can drive again started driving again after my eye test on 31st December and as you say no operations being done now so I would of been in a complete mess if I had of waited 

Lulu_1949

@janer1967, yes the company I am with does not consider existing conditions, I think it has to be two years on