Is public healthcare better in some cases?

_Whimsical_

Firstly, I'm not looking for medical advice.

I was just wondering if there's an acknowledged difference in the standard of care offered to private patients v's public ones. I always presumed a private patient might get better care. However my mum is waiting over a year for a public appointment and has inquired with her GP about getting a private appointment instead and been told that if she goes private the consultant wont have access to the same amount of tests as he would if she went publicly. She has good insurance so cost isn't an issue. Is this a common issue with private consultants who are working out of private hospitals?
This consultant is working both in the private and public spheres so it's not a question of him being a lesser dr, just a question of which system might offer her more tests.

his_dudeness

Many private hospitals, particularly smaller ones, wouldn't have a lot of the lab facilities on the grounds as it wouldn't be cost effective - same reason certain tests are available in smaller public hospitals. There may be some sort of an agreement between the private and public hospitals to carry out lab tests for a fee.

By contrast, there a lots of imaging centres in private hospitals, as these can be very lucrative, where as there is a huge backlog in the public sector; so patients can get sent from public to private for scans.

And then if the consultant is working out of a stand-alone "rooms", it would be up to the consultant to have an arrangement with a laboratory somewhere to process the tests.

Public patients get as good care as the private patients in public hospitals.

_Whimsical_

his_dudeness wrote: »

Many private hospitals, particularly smaller ones, wouldn't have a lot of the lab facilities on the grounds as it wouldn't be cost effective - same reason certain tests are available in smaller public hospitals. There may be some sort of an agreement between the private and public hospitals to carry out lab tests for a fee.

So you'd feel that if the dr had made arrangement to have his own "rooms" he should be an equally safe bet as a dr in public hospital ,or would you fear you might get inadequate testing for the above reason?

Robroy36

If you suffer severe trauma such as a car crash then public hospitals are the only ones properly equipped to take care of messy, serious cases like these.

Spook_ie

I can only speak from experiences of Dublin/Galway private hospitals. I've had 6 surgeries in under 5 years, plus numerous biopsies/cross matching for blood transfusions/tissue sampling for infections etc and all the testing was done in the hospitals that I attended.

Mrs OBumble

I've had a number of pregnant women tell me that they would go public next time: if you're private, it's only your consultant who can care for you, whereas if you're public and the sh*t hits the fan, someone will see you. (I have no idea
about this is practise - am just repeating what I've been told.)


That said, OP, in your case I'd be wary of the GP's statement: it may be that the full range of tests aren't covered under insurance as would be available in the public system, but I'm skeptical that they would not be available at all. Some GPs have ideological positions that (older) people should be cared for in the public system, so choose to wait for public care then refer for it privately. Could you try a 2nd opinion from a different GP?

_Whimsical_

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I've had a number of pregnant women tell me that they would go public next time: if you're private, it's only your consultant who can care for you, whereas if you're public and the sh*t hits the fan, someone will see you. (I have no idea
about this is practise - am just repeating what I've been told.)


That said, OP, in your case I'd be wary of the GP's statement: it may be that the full range of tests aren't covered under insurance as would be available in the public system, but I'm skeptical that they would not be available at all. Some GPs have ideological positions that (older) people should be cared for in the public system, so choose to wait for public care then refer for it privately. Could you try a 2nd opinion from a different GP?

I am skeptical in this regard too. I think maybe another opinion might be a good idea. It seems mad to leave someone quite ill for a year without knowing exactly what's wrong,blood tests indicate "something" is wrong but not what.You'd think a private consultant could at least rule out the more serious issues.

Thank you for the replies everyone. If anyone else is of the opinion that using a private appointment is a bad idea let me know!

huskerdu

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I am skeptical in this regard too. I think maybe another opinion might be a good idea. It seems mad to leave someone quite ill for a year without knowing exactly what's wrong,blood tests indicate "something" is wrong but not what.You'd think a private consultant could at least rule out the more serious issues.

Thank you for the replies everyone. If anyone else is of the opinion that using a private appointment is a bad idea let me know!

Its really hard to make a sweeping generalisation.
I know loads of people who have had great experiences of being treated as a private patient.

I also know of two very serious cases, where an elderly patient did not receive adequate medical care in a private hospital after complications in routine surgery , where the hospital was not equipped for the complications.

Its hard to believe that your GP is correct, that there are no private consultants who can deal adequately with your mothers case, unless she needs an specialist in geriatics ( Not much private work in Geriatics, I believe, so the expertise is in the public system).

The GP might just be wrong or might have a point in your mothers case. #
I would look for a second opinion.

_Whimsical_

My mum would not be of an age to be into geriatric territory at this point, she needs an immunologist. I appreciate your input though.

Jentle Grenade

I think your GP was in a roundabout way trying to dissuade you from going private because of the actual upfront costs involved in private treatment. The costs for private care in public hospitals can start to add up pretty quickly; you can be charged for scans, lab tests, some day cases depending on your cover along with your regular private consultants fees.

A lot of patients are blindsided by the costs when they are armed with a hefty private insurance plan which might "cover it all" in theory but in reality cover very little as an outpatient.

Best thing to do is have another, more frank conversation with the GP about the merits of public v private in your mum's case to see if this is where he's coming from.