surgery - waiting time 2 years in Aus vs 3 months in UK. Can I book the UK op from here?

[doing a geographical]

Hi,

 

I need surgery for a non life threatening issue, which I discovered last week. The waiting time (as I have no private health insurance) is up to 2 years. In the UK the wait is around 90 days.

 

Could I book the surgery in the UK using a diagnosis from Australian doctors? Or would I have to do the whole process with referals etc over there??

 

Anybody has any ideas it would be great.

 

Cheers!

[Harpodom]

Hi, you'd definitely have to start from scratch in the UK, with a GP referral. How do you know its only 90 days there?

[doing a geographical]

Thanks. I just read that in an article from April in the Independent... You can pay to get it done now but it's not cheap as you can imagine.

[Guest]

I would think the 90 day wait would depend on the LHA you were under, how speedy it all was and so on. I know for my non life threatening medical problem I had to wait 6 months just over from the date of my referral till having the op.

 

As harpodom said, you'd have to go through the system here from the start.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

It's worth chatting with your Dr rather than Reading media reports.

[doing a geographical]

Thanks for the replys. Good point M2M. It looks like I'll end up doing it here then. :biggrin:

[Petals]

Here in Melbourne we have a site which shows the waiting times for the hospitals. We never had a problem with waiting and did not have health insurance for a long time. Only took out couple of years ago as we are retired now and need bits and pieces and they are usually the longer lists.

[Quoll]

You'd have to prove that you were back in UK for good as well - they are cracking down on health tourists.

 

Unfortunately you have missed the boat for private health with your current condition but it might be handy in future!

[doing a geographical]

You'd have to prove that you were back in UK for good as well - they are cracking down on health tourists.

 

 

 

Does that really apply to British citizens?

[_shel]

Does that really apply to British citizens?

 

Yes, applies to everyone, you need to be 'ordinarily resident'

 

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_074374

 

Archived due to the lovely coalition Government scrapping almost every website they have to save money.

 

But also here http://www.nwlh.nhs.uk/patients-visitors/overseas-visitors/

[Perthbum]

Are you living permanent in oz? If you are you will not be able to get treatment on the NHS which is only right. Health tourism is a big problem in the NHS robbing people who pay their taxes here of treatment.

[Guest Guest66881]

Are you living permanent in oz? If you are you will not be able to get treatment on the NHS

 

Want to bet?

[Emmylou]

Does that really apply to British citizens?

 

Yep! We didn't have to prove anything just told the consultant we were planning to stay in the UK which we are (you would need to have a permanent UK address). As for three months wait, possibly a generous estimate. From your GP's referal to seeing a consultant should take no more than 18 weeks (that is a government target) in our experience this was true. However it can be longer than that before you get surgery as depending on what you need doing they'll be scans and bloods and rpt visits to the consultant then approximately a three month wait once they decide to put you on the waiting list. OH was told that in Oz he would have to wait three years to see a consultant and in the interim he was referred to a pain specialist and physio who were both really good, but ultimately he needs an operation (we knew this as we paid privately to see a consultant to get his CT and MRI reviewed so we knew what was going on). If you decide to come home and get it done bring back all the scans, xrays, blood work you've had done and get a letter from you GP detailing where you are up to in terms of treatment this will help speed things up.

 

Certain non-urgent conditions eg. removal of gall bladder have longer waits as they tend medically manage until they become problematic - then they operate. Waiting lists for some operations are up to 18 months in certain areas (eg. hip and knee replacements).

 

Good luck

[Perthbum]

Want to bet?

That's the problem the goverment need to sort out, health tourism is something the NHS can not keep on providing, why the hell should anyone who has emigrated come back to the uk to have treatment because they cannot provide for themselves in their country of choice, it's not the UKs problem any more.

[doing a geographical]

Are you living permanent in oz? If you are you will not be able to get treatment on the NHS which is only right. Health tourism is a big problem in the NHS robbing people who pay their taxes here of treatment.

 

It's not right to say that you will not be able to get treatment on the NHS. I checked out the links and some treatments are available, some are not if you're not living there permanently.

[Perthbum]

And people knock the NHS hey, pity oz has a poor health service which means people would not ave to travel 1000s of miles for treatment .

[Guest Guest66881]

Because some of us have paid into that system for all of our working lives (me over 25 years) and we have more of a right than most who live there, if you want to talk in monetary terms.

I have seen all sorts going on over there for a long time, and your issue is not so much with poms in oz, it's more over people with head garments and the like, i ain't stupid i see what's going on, so why hide behind the thin vail of, bouncing poms?

[Perthbum]

It's not right to say that you will not be able to get treatment on the NHS. I checked out the links and some treatments are available, some are not if you're not living there permanently.

About time it was stopped then, the NHS is skint yet we invite people from all over the world for FREE health treatment...we must be blooming mental.

[doing a geographical]

About time it was stopped then, the NHS is skint yet we invite people from all over the world for FREE health treatment...we must be blooming mental.

 

I'm a British Citizen, England is my home, lucky for me its not your decision or your concern what I might pay for medical treatments if I go back there.

 

Good day madam

[Guest Guest66881]

How are they inviting anyone anywhere? They come because they want the 'best', and ok it usually comes free of charge.

The issue of none British citizens getting free care should be looked at, but ex pats being black listed after paying more than 25 years say, is just wrong.

I pay my way here now via working hard like i always have, i don't moan on and on about, i just crack on, and yes i will say again your using the 'whole' as your main attack, when it lies squarely at the feet on none British citizens who have paid not one penny into it.

How much have you paid in?

[Perthbum]

Because some of us have paid into that system for all of our working lives (me over 25 years) and we have more of a right than most who live there, if you want to talk in monetary terms.

I have seen all sorts going on over there for a long time, and your issue is not so much with poms in oz, it's more over people with head garments and the like, i ain't stupid i see what's going on, so why hide behind the thin vail of, bouncing poms?

Don't give me that we ave paid in a certain amount, that dies not give you free health care for life, you pay as you go and you or others could ave received treatment before you emigrated that cost far more than you had but in, if you do not currently pay NI or taxes in the UK you should be entilted to zero, anyway what s wrong with the wonderful oz health service that people have to come to the uk for treatment, don't you ay insuranse over there for treatment.

[Perthbum]

How are they inviting anyone anywhere? They come because they want the 'best', and ok it usually comes free of charge.

The issue of none British citizens getting free care should be looked at, but ex pats being black listed after paying more than 25 years say, is just wrong.

I pay my way here now via working hard like i always have, i don't moan on and on about, i just crack on, and yes i will say again your using the 'whole' as your main attack, when it lies squarely at the feet on none British citizens who have paid not one penny into it.

How much have you paid in?

I pay my taxes an NI, paying for a few years like some ave done who ave emigrated does not entitle you to free treatment for life does it.

[Guest]

OK am going to step in for a moment with my mod hat on.

 

The OP asked a question regarding health care in the UK and possible options.

 

This is not a reason to hijack it and debate the morals of NHS care and who should have access to it. If you wish to debate the ins and outs of accessibility to healthcare in general, I can and will split this thread and move the debate part to CTF where you can have at it.

 

Thanks

 

snifter

[fairystar32]

Is it possible to get seen by a consulatant privately?

I recently Paid to get seen privately and got most back via medicare rebate. I went with a private consultant/surgeon who also worked in the public sector (a lot of them do) and after the intital consult, which wasnt that much after rebate, I got put through the public system. I waited 3 weeks to see one consultant, 1 day for the next and 1 week for the third. (only paid out for one as I was then put through public)

I had multiple scans, seen by a few registrars and surgery within 6 weeks.