[SteveChester]

Hi has anyone had to use one of these recently - if so what was the response time to get an appointment/treatment ?

I think I have a L4/L5 disc bulge at the moment in my back and need to get it treated ASAP!

[JustChris]

Wife's hernia. About a week at Nuffield Chester for an appt and offered an Op within another 2 weeks. (Ending up declining due to height of pandemic but resumed and all sorted since).

[kzg1969]

Tried to use it for daughter in relation to mental health / depression. Got refused because when they asked her how long she had been feeling down then she said "a few years", which meant it was before start of policy. I objected on the basis of her not having been to the doctor and not having any diagnosis - everyone feels down at some point, its not depression at that point! 5month later they have rejected the claim.

In the meantime, there have been signs of Autism and the doctor has referred her for assessment/treatment.

So, in short......a waste of time in my limited experience.

[TouringPleb]

I've used BUPA for my atrial fibrillation.

Can't fault them so far. Once my GP referred me to a cardiologist they approved the claim. In just over a week I was seeing one of the top cardiologists in the country. A couple of weeks later I had my first procedure (which unfortunately didn't work) and have had a scan. Seeing him next week for a follow up to the scan and see where we go next.

Meanwhile I recently got a letter from the NHS saying they'd received my referral but couldn't say when I'd see someone, there was a massive waiting list and it might just be a phone call I get.

I think it may depend on what your illness is as to how quickly you get seen, but I have no complaints.

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by kzg1969

Tried to use it for daughter in relation to mental health / depression. Got refused because when they asked her how long she had been feeling down then she said "a few years", which meant it was before start of policy. I objected on the basis of her not having been to the doctor and not having any diagnosis - everyone feels down at some point, its not depression at that point! 5month later they have rejected the claim.

In the meantime, there have been signs of Autism and the doctor has referred her for assessment/treatment.

So, in short......a waste of time in my limited experience.

I got counselling from BUPA when I had PTSD. Had to be very careful with wording, dates etc and separate the PTSD from the depression/anxiety even though it was all linked.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

I've used BUPA for my atrial fibrillation.

Can't fault them so far. Once my GP referred me to a cardiologist they approved the claim. In just over a week I was seeing one of the top cardiologists in the country. A couple of weeks later I had my first procedure (which unfortunately didn't work) and have had a scan. Seeing him next week for a follow up to the scan and see where we go next.

Meanwhile I recently got a letter from the NHS saying they'd received my referral but couldn't say when I'd see someone, there was a massive waiting list and it might just be a phone call I get.

I think it may depend on what your illness is as to how quickly you get seen, but I have no complaints.

Touringpleb do you think your AFib started after a bout of Covid?

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with this last year and the Consultant said he was seeing large increases in AFib and he believed it was Covid related.

Just for the record my friends first procedure which i believe involved burning the atrial node didnt work and he then went in and they stopped his heart and restarted it again which did work

Good luck I am sure they will sort it for you

[Cilonen]

My wife has BUPA through work, and has used it for 1 shoulder & 1 knee op. Minimal waiting for consultant, and ops within few weeks. Aftercare all good.

I have similar policy personally (self-employed) with Vitality - also no complaints, prompt service & appointments, and waiting on an MRI next week to see what treatment I may need (nerve compression in lumbar spine).

As others have said, ensure that there have been no symptoms self-reported, or documented by GP, prior to policy starting otherwise it will be classed as pre-existing and not covered.

[DB118D]

I've used it once

Used the online GP set up for some knee pain, they asked a few questions then sent a referral off same day for physio

I picked from a list of local physios and was seen promptly afterwards.

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Touringpleb do you think your AFib started after a bout of Covid?

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with this last year and the Consultant said he was seeing large increases in AFib and he believed it was Covid related.

Just for the record my friends first procedure which i believe involved burning the atrial node didnt work and he then went in and they stopped his heart and restarted it again which did work

Good luck I am sure they will sort it for you

I think I had it pre-Covid but it certainly seems worse since I had Covid.

I've had the procedure where they stop and restart your heart. It worked for 2 days before I went back into AF.

[kzg1969]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

I got counselling from BUPA when I had PTSD. Had to be very careful with wording, dates etc and separate the PTSD from the depression/anxiety even though it was all linked.

Problem is, she is 18 and has to speak for herself now. So not quite worldly wise enough to know what to say.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

Meanwhile I recently got a letter from the NHS saying they'd received my referral but couldn't say when I'd see someone, there was a massive waiting list and it might just be a phone call I get.

I think it may depend on what your illness is as to how quickly you get seen, but I have no complaints.

Routine NHS referral times for everything everywhere has gone crazy now, it's over 6months+ for most trust for none urgent, none cancer work. The 2 week wait cancer pathways are still working, I got some scanned, than operated on within 5 days, literally saw me on Monday and operation was done by Thursday.

If you have private options it will be quicker, and by a long way at present.

The issue with 6 months waits for routine stuff is if you don't for example treat AF for 6 months than it may well be a stroke you have to treat as well as a consequence.

What's really quite amazing is this government's response to increasing demand is to tell ALL hospitals to REDUCE outpatient care by 25%....Yeaph, in light of increasing the demand, the official NHS England strategy is to REDUCE resources.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

I think I had it pre-Covid but it certainly seems worse since I had Covid.

I've had the procedure where they stop and restart your heart. It worked for 2 days before I went back into AF.

I hope you can get it sorted quickly, as mentioned above AFib can drastically increase the risk of Stroke and shouldnt be messed with.

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by Sennen

I hope you can get it sorted quickly, as mentioned above AFib can drastically increase the risk of Stroke and shouldnt be messed with.

I'm on blood thinners for that which causes it's own problem!

[Blacktemplar]

Have used BUPA through work a few times over the years - 3 x shoulder ops, 1 x knee op, once for No1 son after NHS basically told him to go home with his collarbone in bits and take some paracetamol...

Always immediate referrals, prompt consultation and op carried out quickly with great aftercare. Got a phone referral straight away recently for physio, treatment the next day. No complaints from me.

[isleaiw1]

This has just reminded me that I have paid tax on my Health Insurance for 30 years and never made a claim for me! Did get cover for youngest when he was very young (tonsils and adenoids out) and my wife got cash back for using NHS when she was an emergency patient but never for me as such. At least its only tax on £400 as a single persons policy now....

[Somebloke]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

What's really quite amazing is this government's response to increasing demand is to tell ALL hospitals to REDUCE outpatient care by 25%....Yeaph, in light of increasing the demand, the official NHS England strategy is to REDUCE resources.

And tax an extra 2.5% NIC for every PAYE worker.....

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by Somebloke

And tax an extra 2.5% NIC for every PAYE worker.....

This is the King's fund projections on world wide health care costs from around a decade ago based on increasing age, complexity of disease, and increased treatment options.

Essentially to 'stand still' interms of services from 2007 UK health care spending would have to go from roughly 7% GDP to nearly 14%.



Excluding the COVID response health care spending has pretty much been stationary, which means a real world reduction in service delivery, which than means you essentially have to restrict services (via waiting lists etc) inorder to ensure you can deliver the minimal basic care - 999 services + cancer.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ed-kingdom-uk/

This isn't a UK specific situation, the US is actually much worse - 25% of projected GDP spending needed. There is 'efficiency' gains to be made, but none proven to work or improve health outcomes.

This isn't an new issue at all, but no one has any solutions, though on the individual lever if you have private health care you will probably be OK, but on a population level private health care doesn't work, and certainly doesn't provide health care to those that need it the most, quite the opposite, which is why the US health care costs are so high.

https://www.oecd.org/health/healthca...houtreform.htm

Most of the senior clinicians I know cannot wait to retire, but those of us who are now dealing with the system for the next 20-30 years cannot just put our heads in the sand and pretend its all OK. Frankly if I really try and personalize those figures into real people not getting basic care it would do nutty things to my own ability to function beyond going into panic mode - So head in the sand is currently one coping strategy everyone is doing, but the problem isn't going away, and is getting bigger. Asking for more money though isn't the answer, but its an easy hot potato to pass around.