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.

The Greek Isle of Hosp

The first week of the Summer Holidays I was meant to be jetting off to the Greek Island of Zante. Instead, we joke, I ended up in The Greek Isle of 'Hosp.' Broomfield Burns Unit, to be exact. Not exactly fun in the sun.

Since then, I have spent hours and hours in the Unit, being 'put back together.' Stitched, scraped, poked and prodded.

I had an appointment today that I have been waiting weeks for. Unfortunately, it was all a bit of a shock. I've been battling a livid and disfiguring rash that appeared a week after my skin grafts, in August 2011. It's been there quite a while! It started off looking like impetigo. Once the impetigo cleared up it left behind bright red, inch-wide, raised patches, around the outline of my grafts. These have never receded. Sometimes the skin breaks or blisters and I've had other smaller patches appear on the back of my arm. Other than that though, it's barely changed.

I've had many, many people look at the rash including Burns Nurses, Surgeons, Doctors, Physio and a Dermatologist. I've had lots of antibiotics and topical creams but nothing has made a difference.

Today I had a surgeon look at the rash. He declared it to no longer be a rash at all. He says that it's now hypertrophic scarring. He said I may have once had a rash which damaged the already fragile skin, causing it to scar. I am horrified. I went to the hospital thinking I had a rash that would vanish with the right treatment, only to be told that I have 50% more scarring than I thought.

NOT a good day.

I've been instructed to treat it as a scar tissue with massaging and silicone and then come back in 3 months. They didn't seem to really understand why I was so upset. From where they're standing, my arm is red and damaged. What's a little more damage? As long as I'm not going to keel over, they don't seem too worried. How my body looks seems of very little concern.

But the NHS is only there to get you out of harm's way. After that, there is very little interest in patients. This is what I'm slowly beginning to discover.

For instance, to me the compression vests are a matter of urgency, necessity. Without them my scars will become hypertrophic (raised) and will heal badly. However, the NHS have forgotten to order one of my vests; so I have only one to wear. I need to wash them daily, yet wear them for 24 hours. With merely one vest, this doesn't work. They also need replacing every 3 months to work as efficiently as possible but mine are over 4 months old.

Although I will still attend my appointments at 'Hosp' for basic care, I am going to go and see a private consultant as soon as possible. I want to find out the options available in the long run, to make my arm and chest look as good as possible. There must be lots of cosmetic procedures that I could opt for if necessary. This is something the NHS won't even mention, let alone offer. I also want a second opinion on the rash/scarring. I have spent 5 months being told it's a rash and suddenly it's scarring? I'm really not sure who to believe!

I'm starting to find it very difficult being a patient. I'm running out of patience!