Private health care; to pay or not to pay?

The NHS are there to save lives. They provide a service that, in an emergency, excel. Think about it. Something happens and an ambulance arrives and takes you to hospital. You are treated by professionals, kept warm and dry and fed. Although you pay for this in your taxes, it is effectively free of charge. No one asks for your credit card before they put you on the stretcher. "Sirens on? That's an extra £20...."

The NHS have many failings; you only have to open the nearest newspaper to name a few. Yet, in an emergency situation they do their job well. Their job is to save lives and act quickly. In my experience, they achieved this. However, after I was out of harm's way I found the aftercare somewhat lacking. I was no longer 'ill.' The skin on my grafts had taken and no open wounds were present. I was no longer at risk of infection, loss of limb and so on. I suddenly found myself sliding down the priority list.

It was time to turn my attentions to that parallel Universe, Private Healthcare.

At first I wanted to exhaust all other avenues and save myself money but it became apparent that to get more attention, I would have to pay for it. The vivid red patches around my graft still glare at me every time I peel off my compression vest, lurking under the blurry headings of rash slash scars slash 'unfortunate reaction.' I needed to get more clarity than the NHS had offered over the last 5 months.

It's difficult to know how to find someone. You can:

1) Ask another health professional to recommend someone to you e.g. a Physiotherapist. Medicine is often a small world like any specified sector and people know each other.

2) Ask your Doctor for a referral - be aware you could be referred to anyone the Doctor chooses.

3) Ask your Doctor for a referral to someone specific that you have researched on the internet or got a recommendation for.

4) Call a local Private hospital and ask for a list of their consultants.

I'm pleased I've begun the foray into Private Healthcare as already avenues have opened up for treatment. The Dermatologist I have seen said they definitely need to look into this rash/scarring/reaction. She has given me some steroid cream to try to control the inflammation and is considering a punch biopsy to see what is happening to my skin. The issue with a punch biopsy (where they literally hole-punch out a small piece of the area) is that as I am experiencing unusual reactions, it could possibly cause something unwanted to happen. This is under consideration and when I return in 4 weeks hopefully the Dermatologist will have a little more idea of what we should do.

I will also be referred to their Burns Consultant to discuss my options in the future, should I not be pleased with the healed result. So far, the NHS have refused to discuss this with me. They say it's too early to talk about but I suspect it is because I will not be offered cosmetic intervention on the NHS; my final condition will be more aesthetic than life-threatening.

Paying for your healthcare really does have it's benefits. I am very lucky that I am able to do this but I am also aware that lots of people in my situation wouldn't have this option. It still remains to be seen whether or not being in these professionals care makes any difference to my overall recovery. Yet the NHS's action was to write me off with extra 'scars' at a glance whereas the Private Dermatologist wants to look in to it, find an explanation and perhaps a treatment. I know who I agree with...it's just a shame you have to pay to be heard.