Although the medical treatment you receive in a private hospital will be similar to that available at any NHS hospital, there are some basic differences between the two systems.
As with the NHS, you will have to be referred to see a consultant privately by your GP. Most GPs have contacts with particular consultants (and private hospitals) to whom they tend to refer patients. If there is a private hospital you particularly want to go to, or a consultant you have some reason to prefer, you can ask your GP to make an appointment for you.
After your visit to your GP, you are unlikely to have to wait longer than a week or two before you see the consultant at an out-patient appointment. Your appointment may be at the private hospital where your operation is to be carried out, at an NHS hospital which has private wards, or at the consultant’s private consulting rooms. Once the decision has been made to go ahead with surgery, you will probably be able to enter hospital at your convenience within another week or two.
You will receive confirmation of the date of your operation from the Bookings Manager of the hospital you are to attend. You will also probably be sent leaflets and any further relevant details of how to prepare for your admission to hospital. Do read these carefully, as knowing how your particular hospital organizes things will help you to be prepared when you arrive for your operation. You will also be sent a pre-admission form to fill in and take with you when you are admitted.
If your operation is being paid for by insurance, you will be asked to take a completed insurance form with you when you are admitted to hospital. You should have been given some of these forms when you first took out your policy, but your insurance company will be able to supply the correct form if you have any problems. If you are covered by company insurance, the form will probably be filled in and given to you by your Company Secretary.
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