Choosing between NHS and private health care
An increasing number of patients are choosing to pay for private medical care rather than waiting for NHS treatment. This is in part caused by increased waiting times for elective or non-urgent procedures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. There are obvious advantages to receiving private treatment including the speed at which a patient is likely to be seen. However, the treatment itself is not necessarily going to be better than it would be under the NHS. It is therefore important that patients choosing to fund their own treatment are aware of the implications.
Overlap with the NHS
On the whole private hospitals in England do not tend to have a completely separate workforce from the NHS. This means that a number of private clinicians will undertake privately funded work in addition to their NHS practice. A number of trusts also have private patient units operating in the NHS hospitals. This means that a patient who is paying for treatment could be seen by the same doctor at the same hospital. Health experts are conscious of the potential implications of this as it may mean that valuable NHS resources are being redirected to private patients therefore compounding the existing delays.
Standard of Care
Many patients may believe that the standard of care provided in a private setting would be different to that in an NHS setting. From a legal perspective this is not the case with clinicians held to the same standard in both instances. It is important for patients to be aware that mistakes can happen at any time in any setting.
Smaller Private Hospitals
Private care is often provided at smaller, specialist medical centres. This means that if there is a complication during or after the operation there are less resources to manage this. Therefore, patients often have to be transferred to an NHS hospital where there is greater access to equipment and care.
Access to Clinicians
It is not uncommon for private clinicians to treat the patient during the operation only and leave thereafter. The patient is then left in the care of nursing staff and doctors who are unfamiliar with their condition and treatment plan. This can present problems if the patient suffers with post operative complications and the treating clinician cannot be reached.
Insurance
If something goes wrong private patients will usually be suing the individual clinician rather than the hospital itself. The clinician should have a policy of insurance which would meet any liability. However, in practice there are instances where the clinician has not taken out appropriate insurance or the insurer refuses to provide cover for the claim. This means that any compensation awarded would need to be recovered from the individual clinician. This can make it very difficult for the patient to recover their compensation as the clinician may have insufficient resources.
Treatment under the NHS is indemnified by NHS Resolution giving patients reassurance that if something did go wrong there are funds in place to compensate. Deciding to fund private medical treatment is a big decision with many important factors to consider. As with any treatment there are risks and negligence can occur in private or NHS hospitals.
Author: Roisin Hulme, Solicitor, Clinical Negligence
