Private NHS?

[Mojooo]

A few years back I did my ACL in my knee, it was a partial tear, I had to wait around3-4 months in total from seeing my GP to getting my MRI results and being told to NOT have surgery. I then went on to do NHS and Private physio.

A good year of playing football later I have done my knee in again, hopefully not as bad

1) Like the first time the knee has swollen up with fluid. Any ideas on how to best reduce this apart from elevate? its been 24 hours now and its annoying.

Hopefully will know how serious the injury is when the swelling goes down

As there is a chance I may have done more damage I am going down to the GP tomorrow and going to ask to have another MRI scan and see if surgery is necessary now etc

Problem is it will take 3-4 months again and i wnat to know sooner than that.

2) With some private clinics you can see a surgeon and get an MRI and results on the same day! If I pay for this private can they refer me back to an NHS hospital should I need surgery? I can pay the smaller sum to see the surgeon but not 10k for an op!

I woudl rather have my mind put at rest ASAP etc

Cheers

[nmpjt]

Yes you can, what you can't do is jump back and forth between private and nhs for the same condition ie you can pay to see the surgeon and get an MRI and then if needed get you surgery on the nhs but you can't then jump back to the private sector for your follow up at least that's the way I have always been told it works

hope this is helpful

[BigAlinEmbra]

nmpjt said:

Yes you can, what you can't do is jump back and forth between private and nhs for the same condition ie you can pay to see the surgeon and get an MRI and then if needed get you surgery on the nhs but you can't then jump back to the private sector for your follow up at least that's the way I have always been told it works

hope this is helpful

Not strictly true as you are allowed to change status from private to NHS if you want, but it's not allowed to disadvantage other NHS patients which means you can't get access to NHS treatment sooner than you would if you'd gone NHS all the way..
You're right in what you say though in that you can't cherry pick and get the expensive bits NHS and cheap bits private.

Private MRI would cost you about £2-300 I'd say.

[The_Doc]

Mojooo said:

A few years back I did my ACL in my knee, it was a partial tear, I had to wait around3-4 months in total from seeing my GP to getting my MRI results and being told to NOT have surgery. I then went on to do NHS and Private physio.

A good year of playing football later I have done my knee in again, hopefully not as bad

1) Like the first time the knee has swollen up with fluid. Any ideas on how to best reduce this apart from elevate? its been 24 hours now and its annoying.

Rest, ice, compression (not tight), elevation.

Mojooo said:

Hopefully will know how serious the injury is when the swelling goes down

As there is a chance I may have done more damage I am going down to the GP tomorrow and going to ask to have another MRI scan and see if surgery is necessary now etc

MRI will not tell you if surgery is needed. Surgery is indicated if a physical examination shows you have instability and/or you complain of symptomatic instability after a thorough go at physio (again)

Mojooo said:

Problem is it will take 3-4 months again and i wnat to know sooner than that.

2) With some private clinics you can see a surgeon and get an MRI and results on the same day! If I pay for this private can they refer me back to an NHS hospital should I need surgery? I can pay the smaller sum to see the surgeon but not 10k for an op!

easily done.
Acute MRI is dificult to intepret though with a knee full of blood. Nothing lost by waiting a few weeks and working on regaining range of movement and working on the secondary stabilisers of the knee (quads, hamstrings, etc)

I do ACL reconstructions, amoungst other things, today it has been shoulder-keyhole

[dave_s13]

^^Can't get much better advice than that really.

Might also help to start taking ibuprofen (max dose as per instructions in packet).

Also hot/cold rather than just ice can help. Stick ice pack on for 5 min then hot wheat bag for 5 mins. REpeat 3-4 times and do that a couple of times a day.

Having an MRI doesn't often change the treatment outcome at all, this is the reason medics are sometimes reluctant to shell out for them. They are a nice thing to complete the clinical picture though.

My advice would be to stop playing football. If it's gone before and the same has happened again it doesn't look good long term. I will bet you 1million turkish lira that if you carry on you will be seeing "The Doc" at around 45-55 yrs of age for a new knee. It'll be downhill from there an you'll be dead by 70

Try another sport that doesn't involve the rapid changes in direction and sudden acceleration/deceleration. Tiddlywinks or something.

Cycling and running would be better as they happen mainly in the one plane of direction.

Knees can be utter bastds when they go wrong.

Edited by dave_s13 on Friday 25th September 20:54

[Mojooo]

I have considered quitting football. I am only mid 20's so it will be sad. But I have weighed up the alternative - not being able to walk properly

I think in this case I haven't done any serious damage

I did always think if I go injured again and totally tore the ACL then I would deffo quit.

This has left me in a halfway house

I think I might have to go in goal!

[Mojooo]

Just to bump this a bit.

I ahve seen a physio who reckons it could be a Mensicus (cartilage tear) but he said to be sure wait for the swelling to do down and then wait and see, if it still doesn;t feel right push for an MRI scan and he will refer me on the NHS. He also suggested I could go and have one doen privatley in london for £200 so I know whats wrong sooner than later.

I have read up on mensicus tears and my symptom seems to match symptoms of a mensicus tear.

Either way I think I need an MRI to be sure. Now I went to see a GP the other day and he has referred me to an NHS physio, but seems to think it can be sroted with physio... but from what i read thats usually not the case..

Anyhow, say I do go for the private MRI scan and see a private OS, can they then put me on the NHS waiting list? I accept that I won;t get it 6 weeks sooner because I had the MRI done 6 weeks (or whatever) sooner privatley.

Based on past experience with the NHS I am worried the physio will be reluctantly to refer me to see a surgeron/have MRI as my previous experience has been liek that.

Any thoughts?

[working class]

nmpjt said:

Yes you can, what you can't do is jump back and forth between private and nhs for the same condition ie you can pay to see the surgeon and get an MRI and then if needed get you surgery on the nhs but you can't then jump back to the private sector for your follow up at least that's the way I have always been told it works

hope this is helpful

Wrong. You can jump back and fourth, i have been doing this the last few months with my knee problem. I paid to see a top knee surgeon, then from that he put me on his nhs waiting list, scans and futher follow up consultations.

[Mojooo]

when you say his - what do you mean?

does he not have to just put you through the system and you end up wherever you are? or he can specifically put you on his own waiting list - but what if he has a big queue - could he put you elsewhere?

[The_Doc]

Mojooo said:

when you say his - what do you mean?

does he not have to just put you through the system and you end up wherever you are? or he can specifically put you on his own waiting list - but what if he has a big queue - could he put you elsewhere?

Once you meet a consultant you tend not to get sucked back into the triage-nightmare that exists between GP and secondary care.
You simply switch from sector to sector with a letter from his private secretary to his NHS secretary.

Some consultants still manage their own NHS waiting lists, but the hospital manager bods hate this as they cannot control it (and fk around with poeple's care, just to hit targets)

Ooops, got a bit cynical there....

[Mojooo]

Thanks

Does anyone have an idea of the costs involved to see an OS and get an MRI scan at the big private hospitals? Or are there any clinics you can recommend?

I will be self paying and I am quite poor so I will be limited in choice no doubt!

[working class]

Mojooo said:

Thanks

Does anyone have an idea of the costs involved to see an OS and get an MRI scan at the big private hospitals? Or are there any clinics you can recommend?

I will be self paying and I am quite poor so I will be limited in choice no doubt!

Where abouts are you? My consultant charges £160 for the first consultation, then £100 for every one after. However, he is one of the best in the country, his client list reads like a whos who of whos who.
Mri scan prices vary, use google, if you are in the midlands i know of an retired radiologist who does a mobile Mri scan service believe it or not, i think it is around £250, i can get you his number if you want it.

I also suggest you join knee geeks, its a forum for all knee related problems, some very informative people on it.

Pm me if you would like to know anything else.

[Mojooo]

working class said:

Mojooo said:

Thanks

Does anyone have an idea of the costs involved to see an OS and get an MRI scan at the big private hospitals? Or are there any clinics you can recommend?

I will be self paying and I am quite poor so I will be limited in choice no doubt!

Where abouts are you? My consultant charges £160 for the first consultation, then £100 for every one after. However, he is one of the best in the country, his client list reads like a whos who of whos who.
Mri scan prices vary, use google, if you are in the midlands i know of an retired radiologist who does a mobile Mri scan service believe it or not, i think it is around £250, i can get you his number if you want it.

I also suggest you join knee geeks, its a forum for all knee related problems, some very informative people on it.

Pm me if you would like to know anything else.

Hi
I am right down South. In Hampshire.

I would travel to have the MRI and consult done but I cannot afford to have the surgery done privatley. I can get an MRI done at Waterloo for £200 so I am thinkign of having one of them done first, taking it to the consult, so the OS can hopefully tell me if I need surgery then and there - as opposed to going back and finding out for another £100! ???

If your guy is down south please PM me his details?

I have 3 private hospitals within 20 miles so i will call them up for prices tomorrow - unfortunatley i don't know if any of them are mega good (though you woudl expect a good standard anyway of course)

I am on knee geeks, thanks.

Edited by Mojooo on Sunday 11th October 19:33

[working class]

Mojooo said:

working class said:

Mojooo said:

Thanks

Does anyone have an idea of the costs involved to see an OS and get an MRI scan at the big private hospitals? Or are there any clinics you can recommend?

I will be self paying and I am quite poor so I will be limited in choice no doubt!

Where abouts are you? My consultant charges £160 for the first consultation, then £100 for every one after. However, he is one of the best in the country, his client list reads like a whos who of whos who.
Mri scan prices vary, use google, if you are in the midlands i know of an retired radiologist who does a mobile Mri scan service believe it or not, i think it is around £250, i can get you his number if you want it.

I also suggest you join knee geeks, its a forum for all knee related problems, some very informative people on it.

Pm me if you would like to know anything else.

Hi
I am right down South. In Hampshire.

I would travel to have the MRI and consult done but I cannot afford to have the surgery done privatley. I can get an MRI done at Waterloo for £200 so I am thinkign of having one of them done first, taking it to the consult, so the OS can hopefully tell me if I need surgery then and there - as opposed to going back and finding out for another £100! ???

If your guy is down south please PM me his details?

I have 3 private hospitals within 20 miles so i will call them up for prices tomorrow - unfortunatley i don't know if any of them are mega good (though you woudl expect a good standard anyway of course)

I am on knee geeks, thanks.

Edited by Mojooo on Sunday 11th October 19:33

No he is in birmingham but it would be worth the drive?

[Mojooo]

PM'd you - think I might know who you are on about

[working class]

Mojooo said:

PM'd you - think I might know who you are on about

ok mate, cant access my email account till midnight, i am at work, i will reply asap!