Hi,
I’ve recently been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and after a horrendous initial experience at my hospital, I’m looking to go private for surgery.
I fully understand that the terms and conditions of the forum forbid naming healthcare professionals of course, so was wondering if anyone might be able to recommend a clinic/hospital in the Winchester, Bath area and alternatively Southampton area please?
Many thanks in anticipation.
Take care everyone.
xxx
Hi bluebell
As if a diagnosis isn’t bad enough, to have a horrendous hospital experience is not the way you want to start. I’m sorry it’s happened to you. This is not an easy time for you and I’m sure we all feel for you.
I don’t live in your area but I wanted to say that, in 2018, not having been told about the 2-week NHS promise, I opted for surgery in the private sector in the (mistaken) belief that things would be quicker and easier. I moved over to the NHS for the adjuvant therapies and I have to say that my experience in the public sector was way better (and continues to be so) than my private sector experience. It’s true there was less waiting time and I saw the same consultant each time but, from inaccurate ultrasound to oversights in supporting me through my mastectomy, to callous aftercare, I wasn’t impressed. Paying for a service doesn’t mean better treatment. Your consultant will work in both NHS and private healthcare. You will have privacy and more immediate access to scans, you’ll be able to dictate terms more easily (I wanted to go home the same day), but mistakes are still made and busy staff can still be brusque and overlook key issues. When you get your recommendation, think carefully. If you need adjuvant treatments quickly (chemo, radiotherapy…), the cost will be prohibitive and certainly where I am, I would have had to pay for the privilege of going to the NHS hospital and using NHS resources because private hospitals are generally smaller and lack certain facilities like radiotherapy.
This is not a good start for you but if your experience in your opinion gives you cause for complaint, you should contact the hospital’s Patient Liaison service (PALS) and register your dissatisfaction at how you were treated. It’s impossible for us to make any judgment but do remember that your shock and fear must be factored into whatever happened. In my case, I was told there was no sign of breast cancer and I had nothing to worry about. 5 weeks later, 5th diagnosis, I had 2 tumours and most lymph nodes infected! Plus undetected metastasis. I hope you get a sound recommendation and treatment moves on swiftly.
All the best,
Jan x