Private Healthcare vs The NHS



tunstallhill said:
I didn't realise there was a tax liability. Does it just come off your tax free allowance ? Mine is 12040 I think which is normal isn't it ?
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As far as I know, PHI is a taxable benefit so you will have to pay 20% (or 40%) of the premium.

The normal tax code is 1250L for an allowance of £12,500. Any details of any benefits should appear on your P111D.
 
Pnematic said:
Hang on - same surgeons ?

I trust they are moonlighting at nights and weekends or we are docking their wages accordingly.

No wonder there’s queues for NHS.
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Not really moonlighting as it is allowed under their NHS contracts. The NHS couldn't afford to make the top surgeons exclusive and if they tried many would quit and go private only.
 
RestlessNatives said:
With private you get your own room and queue jump. But surgeons are only available certain days so you might not get that much of a bump up the queue.
You get the same surgeons as the NHS but private is all about profit so they will cut costs wherever they can. The surgeon doing my nose complained that he didn't have things available to him that he would have had in an NHS hospital.
The admin side of things at The Spire seemed clueless as well.
If I was in for a long stay, my own room would be a major deciding factor. One night or being a day patient, less of an issue.
If you have medical insurance, there is also a temptation for the hospital to do what gets them the most money rather than what is best for you, but I'm not suggesting they would always act on that.
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That sounds more like the vets, are you sure you went to the right place?

Fancy a walk down the beach, I’ll let you off your lead?
 
Pnematic said:
Hang on - same surgeons ?

I trust they are moonlighting at nights and weekends or we are docking their wages accordingly.

No wonder there’s queues for NHS.
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When I was at the nhs a long long time ago they had (from memory) 14 "slots" per week. 12 at the nhs and 2 allowed for private clinics.
 
Darlo1973 said:
As far as I know, PHI is a taxable benefit so you will have to pay 20% (or 40%) of the premium.

The normal tax code is 1250L for an allowance of £12,500. Any details of any benefits should appear on your P111D.
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So it's costing me £92 per year? (20% of £460) ? I'm hopeless with tax codes
 
Darlo1973 said:
Not really moonlighting as it is allowed under their NHS contracts. The NHS couldn't afford to make the top surgeons exclusive and if they tried many would quit and go private only.
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I should know better but I genuinely thought the surgeons were either NHS or private.

Fair enough if it in the contract .

But here’s a thought - I assume all the expensive kit and stuff is private when they are doing private work and they aren’t using publicly funded equipment.

I sound like a right union shop steward here , I m far from it but I cherish our NHS and it’s people.
 
houst69 said:
Anybody had experience of private healthcare? Worth paying for or would you stick to the NHS?

Opinions and thoughts please? Trying to get me dad to fork out for private.
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If private fuck up, the NHS end up sorting it out.

In all honesty, private is there for if you want something done faster than you could on the NHS.
I get that but I'm still not overly comfortable about it.

Then again they're providing a service. A jaguar will get your to the same place as a corsa, but the journey will be much different.
Pays ya money, takes ya choice.

It all depends on what you need or want doing
 
I had a large Inguinal Hernia repair carried out privately at the British Hernia Centre in London. Great job, quick service, nee bother 4 years on. In and out in a day, £2000, Money well spent imo.
 
Pnematic said:
Hang on - same surgeons ?

I trust they are moonlighting at nights and weekends or we are docking their wages accordingly.

No wonder there’s queues for NHS.
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Normally consultants are contracted to 6 sessions per week (equivalent of 3 full days) for NHS which allows them to carry out private practice in their remaining time.

Their NHS contract is for the specified amount of time they work
 
houst69 said:
Anybody had experience of private healthcare? Worth paying for or would you stick to the NHS?

Opinions and thoughts please? Trying to get me dad to fork out for private.
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With the back log of people waiting for nhs non essential ops u could be waiting a very long time
so if u got the coin I would definitely go private to give ur Dad a better quality of life
What’s point of money sitting in bank if your health is spoilt waiting for an op that could improve it
 
Pnematic said:
I should know better but I genuinely thought the surgeons were either NHS or private.

Fair enough if it in the contract .

But here’s a thought - I assume all the expensive kit and stuff is private when they are doing private work and they aren’t using publicly funded equipment.

I sound like a right union shop steward here , I m far from it but I cherish our NHS and it’s people.
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Private work will be done in places like Nuffield or Spire and they have their own kit. However some private work is done within NHS hospitals if they have a separate ward or block. For example RVI has Park Suite for private work. It's completely separate from NHS do there is no crossover and the private stuff is charged at full whack but is an income stream for NHS Trusts.

Further complication is that patients who are NHS patients can access what is called "top-up" treatment in which they may privately fund treatment (usually drugs in cancer care) alongside standard NHS/NICE approved treatments. This is common for industrial disease such mesethelioma. They get standard NHS care but the insurance pay out funds additional drug treatment which is not approved for use on the NHS for this indication (nivolimab/ipilimumab etc) without have to seoerate out the care they receive. Minefield of NHS commissioning 🤯
 
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monkeytassle said:
This. My first spinal surgery was NHS. Woke up in a ward with a load of radged neuro patients and because they didn't do it correctly I had my second round of surgery private. Between diagnosis and operation it was about a month. Room was a hotel. Follow up was very quick.

Similarly recently diagnosed with a blood clot in my calf at an NHS hospital after calling 111. Went private for an mri and it wasn't a blood clot. Sorted within a week.
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Nice mate ..very nice
 
Pnematic said:
I should know better but I genuinely thought the surgeons were either NHS or private.

Fair enough if it in the contract .

But here’s a thought - I assume all the expensive kit and stuff is private when they are doing private work and they aren’t using publicly funded equipment.

I sound like a right union shop steward here , I m far from it but I cherish our NHS and it’s people.
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I don't know the details but I would imagine that if NHS equipment is used for a private treatment then the hospital would get paid for it. If you have a multimillion pound MRI machine then it makes sense to rent it out when not in use. Some NHS hospitals even have private wards which bring in extra income.

The NHS is wonderful at some things but really isn't setup to do others - such as choice, private rooms and restaurant standard meals. If it can make some extra money by charging people who are willing to pay then that has to be a good thing?
 
Private will usually be a nicer experience but there's more risk due to safeguards not being the same, it's common in NHS hospitals to have a Dr who provides support or consultation with more junior doctors and if something goes wrong you are already in the best place.

In a private hospital if something goes wrong you'll be put in an ambulance and sent to an NHS hospital which does increase risks slightly.
 
I’ve had private healthcare for a while first with a company I worked for PAYE and got the past 10 years through my own company.

Thankfully I’ve never had to use it or the NHS. I went to the local GP surgery about 10 years ago for an inhaler as I am allergic to cats. I stayed at a mate’s house and his daft girlfriend had a cat and she’d allowed it upstairs and into the spare bedroom - yuck!

Fingers crossed if I make it through lockdown (whenever that fecking is) I can stay fit and healthy. It’s been a wake-up call though... need to get out running a bit more and cut down on the sauce.
 

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