Private Health Insurance/Medical ?

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

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So my dad suffers from high blood pressure of which he has to take a few pills everyday to keep it under control but these pills have some horrible side effects such as severe dizziness, Nausea and complete fatigue which is badly affecting his life, Since he started taking these 2 years ago he hasn't left the house apart from doctors appointments.

I've been into the doctors with my dad but the doctors are completely useless, Half the time it's nigh on impossible to understand their English and the other times they are actually looking right passed the both of us and staring at the ceiling whilst me or my dad are explaining the situation, I've had to restrain myself a fair few times from strangling these utter morons :mad:

So does anyone know which private health group offers doctors that actually listen and don't ignore the patients and if these do exist what are the prices like ?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
When I was living in the UK, the only private health insurance that I have had any experience with is BUPA. They were super fast to get me an appointment to see a specialist and I had a very small co-pay (£150 for the year).

However, you might find that you cannot get private health insurance for your father to cover his condition, even if you wanted to, as his condition would very likely be seen as a pre-existing condition that would be excluded. From what I understand, you cannot get cover for people who are already (very) sick unless you pay an absolute fortune.
 
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As above. You should be able to self refer to either another NHS doctor/ hospital or a private practitioner. If you go private then you can just pay as you go. It will be expensive but if it helps your Dad out in any way then it will be a worthwhile expense.
 
Dicehunter said:
So does anyone know which private health group offers doctors that actually listen and don't ignore the patients and if these do exist what are the prices like ?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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any of them... though they tend to work for the NHS too - the advantage of private healthcare is being able to see someone sooner and being seen by the consultant you chose rather than any consultant/registrar within their team. Those consultants are often NHS consultants too.

HCA, BUPA, BMI etc.. all run private outpatient facilities, consulting rooms, hospitals etc..

companies like BUPA and AXA provide insurance.. but in this case you're not insuring against something happening but rather you want to pay to see a specialist

there are also private wings in NHS hospitals, again same deal as HCA, BUPA etc.. those NHS trusts can make a certain % from private care - same consultant you'd see on the NHS will also dedicate time to patients who are paying

lastly you can chose your consultant within the NHS too if your GP agrees to refer him to a consultant... though it isn't necessarily that particular consultant you'll see but at least someone within his or her team and at the hospital you chose... so you could for example find a hospital that is particularly well regarded for this area where there might well be a bigger dept, team of specialists etc..
 
Bluecube said:
As above. You should be able to self refer to either another NHS doctor/ hospital or a private practitioner. If you go private then you can just pay as you go. It will be expensive but if it helps your Dad out in any way then it will be a worthwhile expense.
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How do you even go about finding and getting a private consultation? If I wanted to see a doctor privately about something, what do you need to know / do? Is it just type "private doctor" into the Internet or what?
 
Bluecube said:
As above. You should be able to self refer to either another NHS doctor/ hospital or a private practitioner. If you go private then you can just pay as you go. It will be expensive but if it helps your Dad out in any way then it will be a worthwhile expense.
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you can't self refer to an NHS doctor/hospital it has to be done by your GP but providing he/she does agree to refer you to a consultant/specialist you do have the right to chose the hospital/consultant who you'll be under
 
h4rm0ny said:
How do you even go about finding and getting a private consultation? If I wanted to see a doctor privately about something, what do you need to know / do? Is it just type "private doctor" into the Internet or what?
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well there is a site called google that lets you search for these things :p

there are different specialties within medicine so 'private doctor' probably isn't what you want

seriously though if you want a private GP then yes... search for 'private GP London' and you'll see private GPs in London, bit pointless since NHS walkin services are widely available too - unless you're going for STI checks or are a hypochondriac and want blood tests your regular GP says you don't need then there is little point

if you're trying to find a private hospital in your area then you can google for those and then use their website to find the, for example, cardiology dept etc..

if you're looking for say a cardiologist then you can search for private cardiologist london etc..

if you're insured then your insurance company will have a list of specialists, you can also ask your GP - since you're likely going to want a referral letter... GPs can recommend a consultant for private referral since they do referrals literally all the time
 
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Good luck getting private health insurance to cover a pre-existing condition - there's no profit in that for them.
 
not really about profit per say just that isn't how these things work - it simply isn't fair/right to claim for something that has already happened

I mean there are hybrid scenarios where you've got a preexisting condition and will want to see a specialist but don't know if there will be a need for any further treatment - that can just involve paying a larger premium because you know there will be at least a consultation, likely tests, possibly a scan etc.. and there an increased risk that it might then lead to an insurance pay out for a procedure.

he could self pay though which is what he might have been asking about anyway... if it is just a consultation then that is viable(say £175-275), maybe some tests too though they can start adding a few hundred more to the costs. It is procedures though that can really sting if you're not insured - you've got hospital fees, anesthetist fees, potentially more fees if you need to be kept in overnight. Though maybe the OP can get some answers from a consultation at least and if anything else is required a letter back to his GP and join the queue with the NHS.

anyway I've become very familiar with different systems for seeing specialists in the past few years... having had things like a torn ACL, impacted wisdom teeth next to a nerve, crohns etc..etc.. I think I managed to run up a 5 figure bill for my company provider and have done my research re: getting refereed to a good NHS team long term for crohns
 
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dowie said:
well there is a site called google that lets you search for these things :p

there are different specialties within medicine so 'private doctor' probably isn't what you want

seriously though if you want a private GP then yes... search for 'private GP London' and you'll see private GPs in London, bit pointless since NHS walkin services are widely available too - unless you're going for STI checks or are a hypochondriac and want blood tests your regular GP says you don't need then there is little point

if you're trying to find a private hospital in your area then you can google for those and then use their website to find the, for example, cardiology dept etc..

if you're looking for say a cardiologist then you can search for private cardiologist london etc..

if you're insured then your insurance company will have a list of specialists, you can also ask your GP - since you're likely going to want a referral letter... GPs can recommend a consultant for private referral since they do referrals literally all the time
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Thanks. Very interesting.

I'm not looking for one, to be clear, I was just curious. And whilst Google has a lot of links, it doesn't do much in the way of advice. Cheers.
 
Last time I had experience of the NHS was when I was sent to A&E, then they sent me to the on-site doctor.

He sat in his chair listening to me, then opened his bag and pulled out a medical encyclopedia. Read a few pages, and told me I needed to take some medication.

It did work to be fair though.
 
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