There are many reasons to choose private medical treatment,
from avoiding lengthy NHS waiting lists, to not being satisfied with treatment
on the NHS or wanting a second opinion.
The resources of the NHS continue to be stretched despite significant
government investment, and there can still be delays before NHS treatment is
available.
Going private gives
you:
- Fast access to treatment.
- A choice of when you want to be treated.
- A choice of where to be treated.
- A choice of consultant or private specialist
- Sometimes, the option to have treatment(s) which
may not be available on the NHS.
Private treatment can
usually be carried out quickly. Consultations and appointments take place at
times that suit you and recovery from a major operation takes place in a
comfortable private en-suite room where friends and family can visit with few
restrictions.
Many people have private healthcare because their employer
offers private health insurance as a workplace perk, but you don't need to have
medical insurance to get private treatment.
You can simply pay directly for your private treatment; this is known as
'self-paying' and a number of companies offer fixed price surgery schemes or
loans for private surgery exactly for this purpose, which makes private
treatment a possibility for all.
The private healthcare sector and the NHS may be separate,
but they work closely together, with the government’s support. In some cases, your primary care trust may
have contracted with a local private hospital to provide treatment for NHS
patients.
