Discussion
Hi all. My local doctor's surgery is booked until 2050. I'm 50 years old and would like a health check / blood tests
Looking online it seems I can pay for a blood test. I would like to buy one that tests for as many issues, conditions, level, etc.
Has anyone done the same and can recommend a good blood test supplier ?
Simon
Looking online it seems I can pay for a blood test. I would like to buy one that tests for as many issues, conditions, level, etc.
Has anyone done the same and can recommend a good blood test supplier ?
Simon
These 'requests' seem to come up quite often, there is clearly money to be made here, am sure someone has already monetised it.
Blood test->pay NHS labs to process using standard R&I costings (NHS labs have legal quality assurance standards)->'triage' the results using some AI/ML algorithm->pay a GMC registered practitioner to 'screen' RAG rates results and put their name to it. You can probably do 60-100 in an hour assuming the AI bit works and RAG rating is correct. Will need insurance for the 0.1% of missed stuff though, and it'll be mind numbing/soul destroying 'work', so the hourly rate needs to be mega to incentives anyone to sign off the results.
But BUPA or similar must be doing this already?
Blood test->pay NHS labs to process using standard R&I costings (NHS labs have legal quality assurance standards)->'triage' the results using some AI/ML algorithm->pay a GMC registered practitioner to 'screen' RAG rates results and put their name to it. You can probably do 60-100 in an hour assuming the AI bit works and RAG rating is correct. Will need insurance for the 0.1% of missed stuff though, and it'll be mind numbing/soul destroying 'work', so the hourly rate needs to be mega to incentives anyone to sign off the results.
But BUPA or similar must be doing this already?
Edited by gangzoom on Thursday 26th January 23:57
I had to have a FBC, Full Blood Count done recently not had one for years. Could not be bothered with the wait time on the NHS,let alone 45 min wait on the phone just to get through. Booked into local Spires. 100.00 For a Initial GP consultation, then 170.00 for the Full Blood test, and another 100.00 for the GP to go through the results, all good. But still nice to know. Less than a cost of one Tyre for my RS, money well spent Imo.
Spoke with GP today on the phone, he called me after booking appointment via the surgery website at 8am. He agreed FBC. Called for an appointment at my local surgery, 20 Feb at a time and day that suits me. That wait is reasonable to me given the NHS workloads and I'm not an urgent case. I won't be paying £370 to find out earlier and what a great earner that is for Bupa. The more they get through their doors it reduces the queue in the NHS 
I can't work out why someone would want a FBC just for the sake of it unless someone has prompted it ie a medical professional. Over 50 you are entitled to a health check I believe, so if there's nothing immediatley wrong I'd book in and wait.
If there's an urgent reason why someone needs a FBC then that's what A&E is for, and then the doctor will decide.
I can't work out why someone would want a FBC just for the sake of it unless someone has prompted it ie a medical professional. Over 50 you are entitled to a health check I believe, so if there's nothing immediatley wrong I'd book in and wait.
If there's an urgent reason why someone needs a FBC then that's what A&E is for, and then the doctor will decide.
Edited by Armitage.Shanks on Friday 27th January 23:18
APOLO1 said:
Booked into local Spires. 100.00 For a Initial GP consultation, then 170.00 for the Full Blood test, and another 100.00 for the GP to go through the results, all good. But still nice to know. Less than a cost of one Tyre for my RS, money well spent Imo.
Well this the reality of privatised medicine. A set of FBC and UEs test at a validated NHS lab for research is around £20 (the actual true cost is alot less- pennies for the consumables).Any one with more than 12 months of clinical experience after qualifying from medical school shouldn't need more than 30 second to go through a set of normal results.
So it's good you got reassurance but someone has made alot of £££ for no real 'work' - Astounding levels of profiteering, whilst amazing customer satisfaction at the same time, win win for all it seems.
It's easy to see why the clinical 'efficiency' of a private health care system is awful compared the NHS.
Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 28th January 09:32
gangzoom said:
APOLO1 said:
Booked into local Spires. 100.00 For a Initial GP consultation, then 170.00 for the Full Blood test, and another 100.00 for the GP to go through the results, all good. But still nice to know. Less than a cost of one Tyre for my RS, money well spent Imo.
Well this the reality of privatised medicine. A set of FBC and UEs test at a validated NHS lab for research is around £20 (the actual true cost is alot less- pennies for the consumables).Any one with more than 12 months of clinical experience after qualifying from medical school shouldn't need more than 30 second to go through a set of normal results.
So it's good you got reassurance but someone has made alot of £££ for no real 'work' - Astounding levels of profiteering, whilst amazing customer satisfaction at the same time, win win for all it seems.
It's easy to see why the clinical 'efficiency' of a private health care system is awful compared the NHS.
Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 28th January 09:32
popeyewhite said:
I was not offered - told I'd need to makes an appointment with an endo - the 'full' panel of tests with my GP, so went private. No brainer IMO, regardless of cost.
I guess that is the 'sad' thing. It would have been a NHS trained(likely practicing) clinician, lab, nurse etc who actually did all the 'work', you got the service you wanted, but the real beneficiary is Spire.Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 28th January 11:25
gangzoom said:
So it's good you got reassurance but someone has made alot of £££ for no real 'work' - Astounding levels of profiteering, whilst amazing customer satisfaction at the same time, win win for all it seems.
That's always going to be the case. People are happy to pay for private medical treatment and the industry is happy to set its own (high) price especially when you don't want to wait in a queue, and to some that's 'good value' as we're all free to choose. Do I pay £370 or wait 3-weeks and get it for free when the results come back in the 'MyChart' APP with a grading scalar? Let me think about that.................
gangzoom said:
popeyewhite said:
I was not offered - told I'd need to makes an appointment with an endo - the 'full' panel of tests with my GP, so went private. No brainer IMO, regardless of cost.
I guess that is the 'sad' thing. It would have been a NHS trained(likely practicing) clinician, lab, nurse etc who actually did all the 'work', you got the service you wanted, but the real beneficiary is Spire.gangzoom said:
I guess that is the 'sad' thing. It would have been a NHS trained(likely practicing) clinician, lab, nurse etc who actually did all the 'work', you got the service you wanted, but the real beneficiary is Spire.
The Initial GP that I saw for the consultation at Spire, was the very same person that I see at my local GP NHS Practice, he had to excuse himself for the consultation on the results. I have no problem in using the NHS but the wait time to get booked in is just to long, I gave up trying to even book an appointment after 3 days of trying. Easier for me just to book in at Spires, all done and finished within 5 working days.Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 28th January 11:25
We have an appointment-only phlebotomy service around here. My GP wanted me to have a blood test for annual CHD check. Phoned the appointment line, booked and seen the next morning for bloods, seeing the GP next week. NHS all working perfectly here...which highlights the big problem - why can't the same efficient service work everywhere?
APOLO1 said:
I had to have a FBC, Full Blood Count done recently not had one for years. Could not be bothered with the wait time on the NHS,let alone 45 min wait on the phone just to get through. Booked into local Spires. 100.00 For a Initial GP consultation, then 170.00 for the Full Blood test, and another 100.00 for the GP to go through the results, all good. But still nice to know. Less than a cost of one Tyre for my RS, money well spent Imo.
£400 to save a phone call and a short wait on a non-urgent test? Badda said:
£400 to save a phone call and a short wait on a non-urgent test?
Often the NHS doesn't offer a full panel of tests, or it's have the primary test, wait three months for the doctor to phone with the result and offer further tests when he's made the appointment. Then wait for THAT appointment. Then wait for another call from the GP, AGAIN.£400?
I had full blood, lipids, prostate, liver, kidney, testosterones, estradiol, thyroid, and more done in one visit, and result took 2 weeks. Doctor consultation before and after plus test and analysis £300. So yes, quite expensive, but thorough and professional. GP are called general practitioners for a reason.
Badda said:
£400 to save a phone call and a short wait on a non-urgent test?
It was not a none-urgent test the issue that I had required the tests to be taken ASAP. For 3 days running I tried to get through to my GP, each time the wait was between 20 and 45mins at which point I just gave up and picked the phone up to Spires. What I paid is for me a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind,Armitage.Shanks said:
If there's an urgent reason why someone needs a FBC then that's what A&E is for, and then the doctor will decide.
Whilst my condition was not life threatening it was extremely painful, along with at the time the advice was to stay way from AE unless you really do need it, this aside the very long wait time if I had gone there, so this AE visit was not an option. The advice to get a FBC asap was given privately over the phone by a Consultant. Edited by Armitage.Shanks on Friday 27th January 23:18
Afternoon all.
It wouldnt be pistonheads if the initial ask was ignored :-)
My question is aimed to those who have had private blood tests, who company did they use, what was the blood test they had, and experiences.
At the moment my searches keep going back to Numan. £98 for 41 different checks. Anyone used Numan before ?
SBK
It wouldnt be pistonheads if the initial ask was ignored :-)
My question is aimed to those who have had private blood tests, who company did they use, what was the blood test they had, and experiences.
At the moment my searches keep going back to Numan. £98 for 41 different checks. Anyone used Numan before ?
SBK
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