Is this true ?

Simon2015

I rang my consultants office and asked if I could get a private appointment with him. His secretary told me I could but that if I did I would have to drop out of the public system and no longer be able to see him publicly beucase of "HSE regulations".

This is strange because I have seen other Doctors before both in the public and private system.


Is it really the case that if you go private you lose your right to use the public system ?

Xeyn

That is incorrect. You do not lose your right to be treated in a public stem merely by using the private system. You can use both as needed.

Corruptedmorals

Where I work, new patients who are on the public waiting list and who opt to go private are cancelled off the public list. They can opt to have follow-up publically and plenty do this and some patients switch back and forth more than once but every effort is made so that they are not on both systems at the one time for the same appointment.

Switching can be a hassle sometimes especially if different systems are used, but there definitely isn't anything official against it.

Simon2015

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

Where I work, new patients who are on the public waiting list and who opt to go private are cancelled off the public list.

Is this a new development ?

RobFowl

The confusion here is (I think) that patients cannot switch back and forth between the public and private system attending the same consultant.

Simon2015

RobFowl wrote: »

The confusion here is (I think) that patients cannot switch back and forth between the public and private system attending the same consultant.

I actually seen a consultant last year in both systems and there was no problem.

The problem I have now is that if I see my new consultant in the private system I'm told I will lose the right to have blood tests in the public system.

Corruptedmorals

Simon2015 wrote: »

Is this a new development ?

No. It's done to free up public waiting lists, since they will have already been seen. We take the referral letter and cancel them, rather than have people take up public waiting lists unnecessarily.

People who want to go public after being seen private are facilitated and the opposite holds true. Any tests referred from an appointment are usually default from your designation at that appointment- depends on the test and the private facilities available.

Tree

Ahhh, you can be referred to get your bloods done on the public system by your gp or a public consultant. Private consultant can only refer you for private bloods. That's different to seeing the consultant again.

huskerdu

You cant use a private appointment to skip the queue for public treatment, but you can attend a private consultant for one condition and at the same time be a public patient for another condition.

If you are put on an 12 month waiting list to see a public consultant. This may result in an operation, which has another 6 month waiting list.

You decide to pay to see the same or another consultant privately, who does recommends an operation. You cant ask to be put on the public waiting list for the operation, thus skipping the queue over the people waiting to see the consultant publically.

However, I have heard that this rule is not always applied fairly and if the private consultant discovers something urgent, they often can get you urgent public treatment.

huskerdu

You cant use a private appointment to skip the queue for public treatment, but you can attend a private consultant for one condition and at the same time be a public patient for another condition.

If you are put on an 12 month waiting list to see a public consultant. This may result in an operation, which has another 6 month waiting list.

You decide to pay to see the same or another consultant privately, who does recommends an operation. You cant ask to be put on the public waiting list for the operation, thus skipping the queue over the people waiting to see the consultant publically.

However, I have heard that this rule is not always applied fairly and if the private consultant discovers something urgent, they often can get you urgent public treatment.

Dingle_berry

Simon2015 wrote: »

The problem I have now is that if I see my new consultant in the private system I'm told I will lose the right to have blood tests in the public system.

Public (hospital) diagnostic labs process samples for private patients in their catchment area. With the exception of GP patients, a private patient should be billed for this. For the same reason a private patient is charged for the consultants time, hospital bed, etc.

The public system won't refuse to process private samples. The private patient will be charged though.