Private Healthcare

For everyone there comes a time when we will have to see a doctor or be admitted to hospital. We all expect the very best medical care available and usually this is what we get. In England we are so fortunate that the National Health Service provides everyone with free medical care when they need it. Many people even get free dental care and glasses. When someone is feeling unwell they can see the local doctor and usually he can prescribe some medicine or pills that will make them better.
For more serious complaints the patient will be referred to the hospital where they will be given various tests and given an appointment to see a consultant. If the consultant decides the patient needs admitting to hospital for an operation or further treatment, their name will be placed on a waiting list. Sometimes depending on the type of operation needed it could take three to six months before they are admitted in which time their condition could have become a whole lot worse. For this reason many people prefer to be treated at a private hospital where they will have to pay for treatment. They will usually be admitted within two to three weeks for treatment.

The quality of healthcare they receive will be no better than what they would have had in a National Health Hospital. This is because the same surgeon who would have done the operation privately would also have done the operation at the local hospital. The only difference between private healthcare and care on the National Health is that there is no waiting list and you will have a private room and your own nurse. The furnishings in the room will be better and the nurse will have much more time to care for the patient. Patients admitted to a National Health hospital usually have to share a ward with four or maybe five other patients and do not have much privacy. Nurses are so busy they have very little time to spend with each patient but the care they give is superb. Patients paying for private medical care will probably stay in hospital longer whereas the National Health hospitals have such huge waiting lists patients are sent home as soon as they have recovered. For a week or so after an operation a district nurse will call on the patient at home to make sure they are making good progress. Everyone whether they pay to go private or wait to be admitted on the National Health can rest assured they will get the very best care and medical treatment that is available.

In America and other countries people have to take out healthcare insurance to cover themselves for illness. Costs for hospital treatment vary so it will depend on the amount of money they are insured for as to which hospital they choose. Seeing a doctor for treatment can also be costly so health insurance is very important.

In England there is no difference between the qualities of healthcare given in private hospitals to that given in the National Health hospitals.