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Saw Consultant privately now not allowed go public?

  • 30-03-2010 9:26am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458
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    recently I saw a consultant privately and now apparently I am not allowed to see them publically. I am on JS and it was all I could afford to see them privately .....it was 3 month quicker appointment!
    Is there anything I can do about this....surely this is not right?:(


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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,190 Eoineo
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    Are you sure about that?
    I saw a consultant privately last year but was referred to a public consultant at the same time. My appointment still stands and as I've ceased my private treatment (also due to lack of funds) I'll be attending.

    Is it that you want to see the same consultant publically?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 121 KiLLeR CoUCh
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    I wouldn't say that's right at all. I started seeing a private consultant. One year later my health insurance was gone and I had to transfer to public. It wasn't a big deal, just rang up his secetary, told her the story and all my details were transferred to a public hospital.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,971 _Whimsical_
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    ppink wrote: »
    recently I saw a consultant privately and now apparently I am not allowed to see them publically. I am on JS and it was all I could afford to see them privately .....it was 3 month quicker appointment!
    Is there anything I can do about this....surely this is not right?:(

    Not all doctors are in the public system. Perhaps yours is not ?

    If thats the case you'll probably be transferred to a public clinic where you'll see a different doctor.

    If your doctor is working in the public system then you might be transferred to his public clinic where you'll be seen by another doctor who is overseen by your doctor. You might never see the main consultant again at any point but your care would still be equally as good.Unfortunately the wheels will move considerably slower in that system however.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    yes the consultant does work in public and private and I got appointments for both but was told after my initial consult that i had to stay private now and could not go with my public appointment. In fact they cancelled my public appointment immediately.
    I am to go back for review in 3months time which just happened to be when my public appointment was scheduled for anyway, so I asked could I not just keep that appointment and was told no!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,971 _Whimsical_
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    That seems extremely unfair. Maybe you could ring the hospital and ask to speak to someone who arranges the appointments for your doctors public clinic there. If you explain the situation there they might be able to help or tell you what you should do next.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 651 kangaroo
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    I have heard of cases in the past where people "queue jumped" e.g. they saw the consultant privately and then were part of the system so got another appointment (while otherwise might have had to wait a long time to be part of the system). I think in some cases, the patient deliberately did this and then in some cases, the consultant was somewhat encouraging this or at least not discouraging this practice. So there has been a problem.

    But at the same time, if one pays out of one's own pocket privately, I don't think it is fair if one then loses out. Hopefully you can regain your place and position on the queue.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    I called the HSE and they confirmed that if you go private initially you cannot change to public. I did not even think this when I took the appointment but there you go!
    Thinking about it there is so much more too it.....how come I can get an appointment for next week privately but publically it is 3 months min! they system in this country is a disgrace and god help all of those who have not got insurance or the money to help fix themselves. in itself it must cost the country a fortune every year for all those who are off work waiting to get their health sorted through no fault of their own.
    rant over:D


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    OP. . . you have no insurance? Fair enough. So you paid and need to have further investigations but cannot afford them? Fair enough. Do you actually think it is fair that you pay privately to see the consultant, jump the OPD waiting queue by months (and in some public OPD waiting lists-years) and you deserve to jump public patients and get straight into the system because you pay?

    It does not work that way, and yes, it is true. you cannot go from private to public. I am amazed that some people actually believe that this is ok when there are thousands of people sitting on waiting lists on months/years because they cannot afford to go privately!!!! :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,190 Eoineo
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    Oh right that's not the situation I'm in.

    I'm still waiting on my first appointment for a public consultation. I don't expect any special treatment & understand that I have to go to the bottom of the queue by transferring to public.

    If the OP is expecting to transfer directly by a shortcut onto the public system then that is why they are having a difficulty.


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    consultants are chancers and money mad but there are national procedures and policies in place with regards to public/private and waiting list hoppers


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 48 Giggles1982


    ppink wrote: »
    I called the HSE and they confirmed that if you go private initially you cannot change to public. I did not even think this when I took the appointment but there you go!
    Thinking about it there is so much more too it.....how come I can get an appointment for next week privately but publically it is 3 months min! they system in this country is a disgrace and god help all of those who have not got insurance or the money to help fix themselves. in itself it must cost the country a fortune every year for all those who are off work waiting to get their health sorted through no fault of their own.
    rant over:D


    Tell them you cant afford to continue privately ! Plenty of people are cancelling their insurance because they are losing jobs etc. Just because you chose to pay to go privately initially ( i assume you were too worried / anxious etc to wait the 3 months ) doesnt mean you should be excluded from the public system entirely. You'll have to go back down the bottom of the list now as they cancelled your appointment.

    A friend of mine had attended the same consultant both privately & public at same time so I dont see what the problem is , it happens everyday . ( I work in healthcare I see it ) .


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    ( I work in healthcare I see it ) .
    as do I. fortunately, it doesn't happen every day. Alot of patients who are private and come into the system are seriously ill people who need additional care that they private hospital they attend do not have. acceptable. some private patients go on the public waiting list, when they have their consultation they say they have insurance and are placed on the waiting list for whatever investigation they need, acceptable.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,971 _Whimsical_
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    OP. . . you have no insurance? Fair enough. So you paid and need to have further investigations but cannot afford them? Fair enough. Do you actually think it is fair that you pay privately to see the consultant, jump the OPD waiting queue by months (and in some public OPD waiting lists-years) and you deserve to jump public patients and get straight into the system because you pay?

    It does not work that way, and yes, it is true. you cannot go from private to public. I am amazed that some people actually believe that this is ok when there are thousands of people sitting on waiting lists on months/years because they cannot afford to go privately!!!! :rolleyes:

    I don't think anyone is advocating jumping the queue but it does seem unnecessarily unfair to now tell her that she cannot go public at all and must pay for all her future care if she cannot afford it.It would seem only fair that she be given her place in the public system queue back.


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    chilly wrote: »
    I don't think anyone is advocating jumping the queue but it does seem unnecessarily unfair to now tell her that she cannot go public at all and must pay for all her future care if she cannot afford it.It would seem only fair that she be given her place in the public system queue back.
    well any patient who has been seen privately, deemed to not have any sinister symptoms (not always accurate or definite) should then be put onto a public OPD waiting list and start the waiting procedure like everyone else. people who are on for example, a surgical waiting list, are patients who have had to wait for an OPD appt.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 651 kangaroo
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    well any patient who has been seen privately, deemed to not have any sinister symptoms (not always accurate or definite) should then be put onto a public OPD waiting list and start the waiting procedure like everyone else.
    I think this person wants to be treated like everyone else on the public system and keep the place in the queue they had.

    You don't have to be that wealthy to come up with the price of one private consultant's appointment - I don't see why a person should be disadvantaged because they spent money on their health while somebody else could have the same disposable income or savings (or whatever) and choose to spend the money on something else (which might be more frivolous - like (extra) clothes or nights out or whatever). [Note: I'm not saying everyone could come up with the money].

    I am interested to know whether there have been official changes in this regard nationally or is this a local decision or what?

    (ETA: If they just do it in some cases where they think sending somebody to the bottom of the queue is ok, that might be ok).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    Thanks Giggles and Kangaroo

    It is the end of the public list I was looking to go back to but apparently it is not allowed countrywide, according to HSE.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 499 graflynn
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    ppink wrote: »
    Thanks Giggles and Kangaroo

    It is the end of the public list I was looking to go back to but apparently it is not allowed countrywide, according to HSE.


    I've been hopping back and forth from public to private for years - and not to jump queues or cheat the system but to get the best possible care that is available to me.

    Please go back to the GP who referred you in the first place for advise. Depending on where you live there might be another public option. I do know that if you (and I know that it was the consultant who did this and not you) cancel a public appointment without rearranging it's extremely hard to get another one. This is why I suggest finding another public option.

    Then you can keep your private appointments until the public appt. comes through and your care doesn't suffer in the meantime.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 Dizzyblonde
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    It just doesn't make sense that a patient who can no longer afford private appointments with a consultant is then precluded from ever seeing the same consultant through the public system. That's complete madness.

    There are certainly times when people can hop between the two (not in the interest of skipping queues!). I've had problems with breast lumps in the past, and my GP has referred me to the breast clinic in Beaumont Hospital. Getting a private appointment with the consultant who runs the clinic takes a lot longer so he tells people to see him in the clinic. If surgery is required the patient can opt to go private for that.

    It's my understanding that, as bad as our health system is, it would be a lot worse off if it wasn't for people with private health insurance.


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    the public/private debate is a national policy implemented some time ago by the minister for health, Mary Harney.

    Please have to start adhering to this policy.

    Public waiting times are long enough as it is without queue hoppers (not in relation to the op, I am aware).

    Many patients see their gp and are then referred to both public and private hospitals, and end up getting 2 appointments but dont inform the other hospital so a slot is lost. its a disaster and many patients dont really give a rats bottom.


    The best thing the OP can do now is going back to the GP and get the GP to forward a letter to the OPD dept of the public hospital.

    public hopsitals do depend on private patients for the generation of income but there are guidelines and procedures that patients really need to take into consideration and remember that just because they can afford health insurance does not mean they can have a single room or jump the top of the list!! simple as!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,235 lucernarian
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    the public/private debate is a national policy implemented some time ago by the minister for health, Mary Harney.

    Please have to start adhering to this policy.

    Public waiting times are long enough as it is without queue hoppers (not in relation to the op, I am aware).

    Many patients see their gp and are then referred to both public and private hospitals, and end up getting 2 appointments but dont inform the other hospital so a slot is lost. its a disaster and many patients dont really give a rats bottom.


    The best thing the OP can do now is going back to the GP and get the GP to forward a letter to the OPD dept of the public hospital.

    public hopsitals do depend on private patients for the generation of income but there are guidelines and procedures that patients really need to take into consideration and remember that just because they can afford health insurance does not mean they can have a single room or jump the top of the list!! simple as!

    From what I read here, the patient can't even join the back of the queue. They're never allowed see the consultant again! So the issue of jumping the queue is not relevant to the specific problem the OP faces. Why should someone not be treated as a public patient from scratch if they've seen the consultant privately before?


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  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    From what I read here, the patient can't even join the back of the queue. They're never allowed see the consultant again!

    Why should someone not be treated as a public patient from scratch if they've seen the consultant privately before?
    TBH, this is not true. ANYONE can go to a public hospital. The OP just needs to return to his/her GP and get a referral sent to the hospitals OPD dept. they cannot be refused. simple as.
    So the issue of jumping the queue is not relevant to the specific problem the OP faces.
    I already clarified that this particular point was not relevant to the OP.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 LegacyUser
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    Anybody can use the public system by going to their GP and getting the referral letter to OPD. What you cannot do is use is mix the private and public system at the same time with the same consultant. If you then choose to go public, it is not a issue of queue jumping you are going as a public patient and if you need diagnostics or inpatient treatment you are on the same waiting list as all other public patients.

    To the OP I would go to your GP and get a referral letter. If the consultant refuses to accept you as a public patient I would then go to another hospital. Consultants seem to have had no problems intermixing their private and public practice. I've seen instances where to save them money they've used public resources to organise private activities ie. secretaries. And if anybody reads the Brennan report it highlights the way our public hospitals are continuously being starved of important resources including finances through the behaviour of some consultants who seem to think that its ok not to fill in forms for billing to insurance companies etc and then there's the big issue of failing to abide by their contracts in relation to time allocation where they are still do too little work in public hospitals and far too much work in private practice.

    So the message is, clean up your own shop before telling patients which services they can and cannot use!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,235 lucernarian
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    I already clarified that this particular point was not relevant to the OP.
    You did reference how people shouldn't use the private system to jump up the public queue several times before your latest post. It was only then that you added the line saying it was not relevant to the OP. It almost appeared like you felt posters were advocating queue-hopping.

    Also, the OP mentioned how he/she was told by the HSE that joining the public queue for a consultant was no longer an option. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding, but what is someone supposed to do when they're told such information? You would assume the HSE would be right and that going to a GP would be no good. One would assume that a GP would give the same information as the HSE if they were asked the same question. So it's obviously not "as simple as" for this patient. I'm sure the OP is not imagining the current problem.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 243 squeky
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    i went to see my consultant privately once and we made a plan for my treatment, he then told me he would see me puplically in his opc as it would be faster! 3 weeks later i saw him in his out patients clinic again and he scheduled me for tests/trials etc, then i kept seeing him regulary and then he said he was operating on me and i was to admit myself to a&e night before the operation, unfortunately there was no theatre available to him for 3 days as it very hard for him to get a slot in theatre so i had to stay in hospital and wait, on the 3rd day he came and said i would be having my operation in the private hospital beside the public hospital and thats what happened and after the operation i was wheeled back into the public hospital to re-cupperate for 5 days.

    Im now seeing him ever 3 months in out patients in public hospital.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,410 sparkling sea
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    People are free to spend their money how they choose this is a democracy, if they choose to spend it to see a private consultant as oppossed to going for a drink, getting steak instead of mince meat, buying soft toilet paper instead of rough stuff or getting a video and a bottle of coke its their right to do so

    Everyone is given the right to use the public health service and can be referred back into the public health systen at anytime, although cannot jump back and forth.

    If you choose to sacrifice something so that you can pay for a private consultation, well done you, your putting your health before other things and in the long term you are more likely to be less of a drain on the system. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about this.

    I don't believe there are very many, if any people in this country who could not afford to save for an initial private consultation if they are desperate to know what the problem is and they need peace of mind.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,410 sparkling sea
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    public hopsitals do depend on private patients for the generation of income but there are guidelines and procedures that patients really need to take into consideration and remember that just because they can afford health insurance does not mean they can have a single room or jump the top of the list!! simple as!

    No the reason they should get these services is because they are paying for them - they are consumers paying for a service.

    Both my sister and brother earn more money than me, my sister earns considerably more than I do, they do not have health insurance, however I have and I expect to get the service that I pay, I don't expect they to get the same service because they choose not to pay for it. And by the way I'm on minimum wage - and don't have a wealthy partner and I don't live with my parents.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,077 bnt
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    I waited 10 months to see a specialist in one field, who referred me to a specialist in another field. I elected to see that specialist privately, since I suspected that it would involve another long wait. He had no qualms about putting me back in the public system for long-term support, though there was a mix-up (or I suspect he just forgot).

    I almost forgot about my condition for a year (yes, I know I'm lucky it's that sort of condition), then called the hospital the specialist told me I would be seen. It took a bit of explaining, but since the same specialist worked for them, they were able to confirm with him that I was a real person, and he had promised to have me seen occasionally. There was never any issue with "queue jumping", though - it's not a condition that requires urgent attention.

    You are the type of what the age is searching for, and what it is afraid it has found. I am so glad that you have never done anything, never carved a statue, or painted a picture, or produced anything outside of yourself! Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets.

    ―Oscar Wilde predicting Social Media, in The Picture of Dorian Gray



  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    No the reason they should get these services is because they are paying for them - they are consumers paying for a service.

    Both my sister and brother earn more money than me, my sister earns considerably more than I do, they do not have health insurance, however I have and I expect to get the service that I pay, I don't expect they to get the same service because they choose not to pay for it. And by the way I'm on minimum wage - and don't have a wealthy partner and I don't live with my parents.

    So go to a private hospital! :rolleyes:

    I too am on a minimum wage, don't have a wealthy partner and I don't live with my parents.

    But I use the public sector like everyone else should. I choose not to have private health insurance and I have my own reasons for that.

    But anyone who uses the private/public system to queue jump is not allowed. thats the point I am making.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,410 sparkling sea
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    ChewChew wrote: »
    So go to a private hospital! :rolleyes:

    I too am on a minimum wage, don't have a wealthy partner and I don't live with my parents.

    But I use the public sector like everyone else should. I choose not to have private health insurance and I have my own reasons for that.

    But anyone who uses the private/public system to queue jump is not allowed. thats the point I am making.

    You make a choice not to pay and I would not impose payment on you but I want preferential treatment because I choose to pay. Everyone should use the public sector - yes thats a well thought out arguement given the way the Department of Health is and historically has been run in Ireland. Do you want everyone to have even worse treatment then they have now. People who pay for private health insurance allow for the Rawlian principle that treatment is distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these services is to the advantage of the least favored. In the Irish case a better service is offered to all - I know its still not very good

    As regard to using a private hospital you either live in Dublin or Cork -their may be private hospitals in other areas but their range of services is limited.

    In my case there would (a) a private hospital in my area (b) it would have to have consultants that deal specfically with my illness and (c) the consultants would need too be as good if not better then the one I could see in the private/public system, that realistically exists in our system and the public system that I also contribute too.

    Its all very well to argue that we should all only use the public health service not very realistic though!:rolleyes:
    2 million people in Ireland pay private health insurance the majority aren't rich their just looking after their health.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 181 hamlet1
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    while i don't agree with queue jumping,i have no problem with two tier health system.i pay plenty for private insurance and i help fund the public system through paying taxes etc.as they say you get what you pay for.it bugs me though that when i go to my gp,having made an appointment and paying through the nose to be seen,that i am never seen at my appointed time and have to wait like all the non-payers who get EVERYTHING free.:mad:


  • Moderators Posts: 24,367 ChewChew
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    The public/private hospital arguement could go on and on and on. I brought this very argument to my manager today who confirmed that there is no legitimate reason as to why the OP can't go onto the public system as a public patient. The gp will just need to write to the OPD.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,050 gazzer
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    Sorry for opening this old thread but I am looking for some advice about a public consultation that my mother is waiting on.

    She has bad arthritis in her hands to the extent that over the last few months she cant open bottles or carry bags. She went to her GP who got in touch with the Mater Rheumatology Dept. My mother got a letter last week for an appointment and it for December 2012.

    Im not prepared to have my mother wait for over a year to see the consultant. God only knows what state her hands will be by then so I want to pay for her to see the consultant privately. She doesnt have Health insurance and her and my father are living off his pension so there isnt a whole lot of money spare.

    She is afraid that if she goes privately for the initial consultation then she will be made pay for any treatment privately as well.

    The way I look at it is I want her to go see the consultant privately and then we will deal with whatever news comes from that. If I can afford to pay privately for her treatment I will but if I cant then at least we know what the initial dignosis is and if she needs to go back on the public list for treatment at least she will have gotten past the bottleneck stage of waiting to see the consultant for the initial treatment.

    God forbid that the diagnosis was serious but if it was surlely the hospital is not going to refuse her to go back on the public list for treatment
    What are you thoughts on this?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 BostonB
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    You'd have to ask the hospital how it works. When I last asked I got a different answer every time. Which strikes me as its not a very organised, or efficient system.

    The rule seems to be, if you have insurance, they'll charge it as much as they can. Even if you go public. Choosing to do some of it privately seemed to be an option, but I couldn't get a straight answer.

    Considering it took huge pressure from me for one paper pusher to send a fax, I think you might have to push it through.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    It is funny you post this now. I recently had a private consultation (different issue to original) and I needed tests done. So I was booked in having given all my insurance details. I had the tests and they then billed me for close to €500. Apparently my insurance does not cover the tests but noone told me :(.
    so make sure they give you a breakdown of costs.

    As to the original, the consultant would not see me publically, unless I went and got referred again.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,050 gazzer
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    Tried to contact the consultants office this morning. Rang on 5 different occasions but kept getting a voice mail. In the end I left a message so hopefully they will call back.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    can you avail of the scheme for going abroad. I cant remember the name of it but I thought it was for people who were waiting longer than 3 months? maybe it is just for surgery but no harm in askign HSE?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,050 gazzer
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    ppink wrote: »
    can you avail of the scheme for going abroad. I cant remember the name of it but I thought it was for people who were waiting longer than 3 months? maybe it is just for surgery but no harm in askign HSE?

    The Hospital Treatment Purchase Fund? I checked the FAQ's on their web site and as far as I can make out that scheme is for people who are waiting for operations after having seen a consultant. So it would be beneficial for my mother if she needed an operation and there was a long waiting list. However, she still has to see the consultant first. The waiting list for that isnt not covered under the HTPF


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,458 ppink
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    yes thats the one I was thinking of. I was just reading recently that Ireland has a very low number of rheumatologists in comparison to other countries so that may be a reason for such a long wait, similar to neurologists.
    I do know people who get referred to the UK for consultants that we do not have here but again you have to pay. It is cheaper to go to a consultant there though from what I have seen. Here the professors will cost €250 for just the consult.

    This country depresses me with its health system:(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 181 hamlet1
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    gazzer wrote: »
    Sorry for opening this old thread but I am looking for some advice about a public consultation that my mother is waiting on.

    She has bad arthritis in her hands to the extent that over the last few months she cant open bottles or carry bags. She went to her GP who got in touch with the Mater Rheumatology Dept. My mother got a letter last week for an appointment and it for December 2012.

    Im not prepared to have my mother wait for over a year to see the consultant. God only knows what state her hands will be by then so I want to pay for her to see the consultant privately. She doesnt have Health insurance and her and my father are living off his pension so there isnt a whole lot of money spare.

    She is afraid that if she goes privately for the initial consultation then she will be made pay for any treatment privately as well.

    The way I look at it is I want her to go see the consultant privately and then we will deal with whatever news comes from that. If I can afford to pay privately for her treatment I will but if I cant then at least we know what the initial dignosis is and if she needs to go back on the public list for treatment at least she will have gotten past the bottleneck stage of waiting to see the consultant for the initial treatment.

    God forbid that the diagnosis was serious but if it was surlely the hospital is not going to refuse her to go back on the public list for treatment
    What are you thoughts on this?
    if i were you i would attend your consultant as a private patient.the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is mainly medications which will be covered by her medical card or drugs refund scheme if she is under 70.while it may cost you a bit for the initial consultation and any tests yuor mother might need,the sooner she is seen the better outcome for her,dec 2012 is too far away.best of luck


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 82 cormicar
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    Tell them you cant afford to continue privately ! Plenty of people are cancelling their insurance because they are losing jobs etc. Just because you chose to pay to go privately initially ( i assume you were too worried / anxious etc to wait the 3 months ) doesnt mean you should be excluded from the public system entirely. You'll have to go back down the bottom of the list now as they cancelled your appointment.

    A friend of mine had attended the same consultant both privately & public at same time so I dont see what the problem is , it happens everyday . ( I work in healthcare I see it ) .

    I want to be able to do the opposite. I have private health insurance and want to see a particular consultant publicly (to avoid €150 consultation fee) and then get the operation done privately. Can anyone tell me I can specify a consultant to see publicly and then get an operation done by him privately.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 BostonB
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    We've done that public consult then op done privately by same consultant.

    That is said we've been trying to get a breakdown of a bill and a consistent explanation of the billing process for a year and had no success. The only conclusion we can come to is that they'll bill you privately where they can. The main issue is with the administration and billing people who dictate these things the front line staff being completely free frustrated with the process.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,932 huskerdu
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    cormicar wrote: »
    I want to be able to do the opposite. I have private health insurance and want to see a particular consultant publicly (to avoid €150 consultation fee) and then get the operation done privately. Can anyone tell me I can specify a consultant to see publicly and then get an operation done by him privately.

    No.

    If you want to see a consultant in a public hospital, your GP writes a referral letter to the Out Patients Department of the hospital, You will get an appointment for a clinic. You cannot specify which consultant you see and you will not be seen by the actual consultant anyway, You will be seen by one of the Drs on the team which is overseen by the consultant.
    If you do this and get a diagnosis and you need an operation and you ask the consultant if they can do it privately, you will have to make an appointment to see the consultant in the private clinic and you will get charged 150 for this appointment.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 778 jessiejam
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    I know this is an old thread, but I have a question that I would appreciate an answer to. My OH was reffered to a pain management consultant and recieved an appointment in the post for February 2014!. He is obviously being reffered as he is in crippling pain everyday and short of going on morphine he has tried every other pain med available.
    His pain is affecting everything in his life, his work etc. He can't wait that long so he has booked a private consult and hopefully he should be seen by the end of October.
    My question is, if he sees the doc privately, will it be possible for him to keep his appt for feb 14 on the public waiting list? or will this be cancelled. He can't afford to see him privately long term but has to get some sort of pain relief plan going.

    Is it all dependant on the consultant?

    Thanks


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 BostonB
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    huskerdu wrote: »
    cormicar wrote: »
    I want to be able to do the opposite. I have private health insurance and want to see a particular consultant publicly (to avoid €150 consultation fee) and then get the operation done privately. Can anyone tell me I can specify a consultant to see publicly and then get an operation done by him privately.

    No.

    If you want to see a consultant in a public hospital, your GP writes a referral letter to the Out Patients Department of the hospital, You will get an appointment for a clinic. You cannot specify which consultant you see and you will not be seen by the actual consultant anyway, You will be seen by one of the Drs on the team which is overseen by the consultant.
    If you do this and get a diagnosis and you need an operation and you ask the consultant if they can do it privately, you will have to make an appointment to see the consultant in the private clinic and you will get charged 150 for this appointment.

    Curiously enough we see the consultant publicly had an operation publicly but then the hospital billed our insurance for it privately.

    Been trying for over a year to get the billing explained and a breakdown of the billing with no result. Every explation contradicts the last one. I suspect they bill the insurance where they can to save money.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 88 aynneone
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    Ok, thoughts on this one please?.. My partner had a growth removed off his forehead last week, it came back with carcinoma in situ, and he basically has to get in opened again and a wider margin taken off. Hes a taxi driver, abs no health cover at all, no medical card etc etc so our GP referred him into the public system, got a letter on Friday with an apt for the middle of Feb, to me thats just too far away, both a previous experience with my father, and the fact my partner and I are in our 50s, and only 2 years together despite knowing each other for over 30 years, Im terrfied something will happen to him. I rang the consultant he has been referred to publicly, in his private rooms and spoke with his sec today, explained the suitation, she told me as long as my GP faxed another referral letter to her we could get a private app, and if by any miracle we can find the money to get this excision done privately, to do that, we can then revert to the public system to get any follow up treatment... Having said that, the first private app is the beginning of Jan....


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