Very Annoying!

My husband had his biopsy at Guys hospital, NHS, on 27th April and as he was leaving he was given an appointment for 5 May to get his results (which he did).

As a private patient you have every right to be annoyed, as Mo says get in touch with the Spire.

Good luck

Maureen

Lyn maybe my initial response to this thread focused more on the service issue rather than what is really improtant however, I dont think for a moment I would expect the administrator to even enter into that conversation. If you pay for a service you should get it, the biopsy should have been followed up with a call from the consultant or one of their medically qualified team within the time frame given.

The outsourcing of these things from private hospitals and clinics who do not have the facilities back to NHS labs is one of the things that puts a strain on the physical resources in our NHS. It puts private patients ahead of NHS patients but using facilities all taxpayers have contributed to.

Personally I think that is wrong. That is just my opinion and I would not let that bias my view to Yummy he has paid directly or indirectly for a service that has not been fulfilled. First up he needs to get an answer from the consultant or his team and then after that make his views known to the hospital about the poor service.

Just my opinion

xx

Mo

I really had no intention of my initial comment being anything other than a supportive agreement with Yummy that he has been let down by this service provider. I am sure they have some kind of service level agreement for clients who pay for their services either directly or through a private insurance plan. If that service level has been breached then he has every right to raise his concerns or complain or whatever he feels is appropriate.

I am not naieve about NHS funding far from it, I am fully aware that many of our hospitals get their equipment, quality staff,critical research and other facilities from private investment and from significant cash provided by charities and the public in general. However if you look back to the creation and the history of the NHS it is not what was ever intended it has evolved as a necessity to keep the original principles alive. Blame that on a myriad of reasons. The short answer is the saddest answer in the majority of cases private treatment will always be delivered faster, and in much better surroundings than NHS care.

If you have private cover or sufficient financial resources you can get what you are prepapred to pay for ... or at least you should be able to. You and I know there is a great deal that is worth fighting for in our NHS , in an ideal world that level of excellence in medical care would be free to everyone as it had originally been intended but that is just a fantasy now.

Maybe one we can chat about at Leicester over a nice cuppa (Yorkshire's finest of course!), you and I agree on most things we just express our views differently .. you are the brainy one that speaks with your head first and your heart second . I am the squishy one that talks with my heart first and probably forgets to use my head!!! I apologise to you if I have offended you at all it was not my intention I am the worlds biggest quitter when it comes to confrontation of any description!

Sorry Yummy ... Lyn and I have digressed a little

xx

Mo

Oh Lord! Not offended at all - far from it. I just worry that sometimes we get fired up on here and encourage people to feel that they have been failed when in fact they may not have remembered everything correctly, may not have posted everything on here correctly or there is a reasonable explanation that we are just not aware of due to not being the person's doctor 😷

I have little experience of private hospitals in the UK but I did see a surgeon once who worked privately and for the NHS. He told me he could do the same operation (not PCa related), much earlier if I was treated privately. I believe this is often the case but some private hospitals may like many NHS hospitals be under pressure to cope with an ever increasing number of patients. The unfortunate thing is that there are not sufficient medically trained people at all levels and the situation is being made worse at GP level where many GP's are leaving or retiring early, and there are not always replacements. Many GP's say this is because they are over loaded (if now well paid.) This is having a knock on effect where some people instead of seeing their GP go straight to A&E taking up the time of doctors in some cases unnecessarily and adding to hospital administrative workload too. Of course there are other reasons also why hospitals are finding it a struggle to cope, some more than others. Perhaps it is not surprising that aggrieved as we may feel about long delays for treatment and information this can happen in current circumstances.

I apologise me and lyn just see things from a different angle sometimes, we respond as we see and then try and osrt out our issues afterwards, we do it online because it often helps others to see that there is more than one way to view things. We are friends no matter what.

this is the best community for that we speak openly, honestly and as candidly as we can but we all respect each others right to an opinion.

sorry we got a bit vocal on your thread

xx

Mo

really pleased for you

xx

Mo