How much to stay in a private hospital?

gazzer

I hope somebody can help me with a question I have? An elderly aunt of mine is in A&E in the Mater Hospital in Dublin since yesterday morning in severe pain (she is been given morphine every 4 hours). She is on a trolley and cant get any sleep as the place is so busy. Myself, my mother and a few of my aunts where going to see if we could get her into a private hospital for a couple of nights while she waits for a bone scan (this will probably not take place until Wednesday) so that she gets some peace and quiet. In addition we can only go to visit her for a couple of hours in the afternoon and evening as there are strict visiting hours in the A&E and we feel that somebody should be with her as much as possible

I have looked on the web but cant seem to find anything about prices for a private room in a public hospital or a private room in a private hospital. All I can find is details on health insurance. My relative doesnt have health insurance. I dont even know if you can just ring up and book a room but I hope somebody here might be able to give me some advice. Its very distressing to see my aunt in so much pain and we just want to give her some comfort for a couple of days while she waits for the scan?

Thanks

kelle

I am so sorry to read about your aunt.
I can't remember any rates, it's been a while since I was an in-patient - I think it could be around e500 per night for a private room. Ring up the accounts department of the hospital and they will tell you the rates.
I hope you get sorted soon, and get your poor aunt some comfort. Isn't it a disgrace you have to pay for her to have this basic entitlement.

eth0_

Why does she have to wait until Wednesday for a bone scan? What do they suspect is wrong?

gazzer

eth0_ wrote: »

Why does she have to wait until Wednesday for a bone scan? What do they suspect is wrong?

To be honest I am not totally sure. She has been in agony for 2 weeks with what her GP said was Sciatica but the pain has gotten steadily worse to the point where she couldnt take the it anymore and my uncle called an ambulance for her. She had put off going to A&E for the last 2 weeks as the last time she was there (when she had a mini stroke) she was 3 days on a recliner chair and the experience has left a bad impression on her.

She was told by a doctor yesterday that they would arrange a scan for her as soon as possible but that it could be Wednesday before it takes place but that they would do their best to arrange it sooner.

@kelle Thanks for the info on prices.

RobFowl

You may be better off getting the Scan done privately instead, if you ask precisely what scan they want to do you could then get a price for it. MRI scans are between 395 and 650 Euro.
Its a disgrace that it comes down to paying extra to get results though.
Hope it turns out well for your Aunt, sitting in AE is not a pleasant experience for anyone.

eth0_

Is she in so much agony she couldn't travel to Belfast?
My mother was in a similar situation last year but she ended up in the *SHUDDER* Lourdes hospital in Drogheda - if I woke up there after an accident i'd be terrified - and she was so sick of waiting she asked if she could go to the city hospital in Belfast with the E11 (I think?) form and be seen there. They wrote her a referral letter. She took the train up and was seen and treated the same day!

DrIndy

i'm very sorry to hear about your aunt - i actually am an emergency doctor there and know how difficult conditions are for anyone who needs to stay there are - i hope things get sorted as soon as possible and i hope she makes a full recovery as quickly as possible.

gazzer

Just wanted to say thanks a million for all your replies. As it turned out my Aunt was able to have a bone scan on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately the results that came yesterday were not great as it turns out that she has cancer in her bones (leg and base of spine) but she ended up getting shifted to a ward on Monday night and the hospital has arranged for her to start radiotherapy tomorrow. Im not sure how long she will be in hospital for or what her prognosis will be but at least she is pain free and comfortable at the moment and we are all delighted for that.

thanks again.

Vorsprung

Sorry to hear that gazzer.

Sometimes it's just not practical to send someone to other places for scans - particularly if they are elderly and they're in pain. It's not ideal of course, but scans are done on a priority basis given the limited resources we are work with. But people who do need scans tend to get them early. For example patients who've just been diagnosed with cancer tend to need a whole body CT scan. Even though cancer is a terrible diagnosis, a staging scan just isn't that urgent in the grand scheme of things, so they tend to take a few days (3-4 days in my hospital) - again not ideal and it would be wonderful to be able to give patients the picture as early as possible.

Resources, resources, resources.