Paying for treatments not available through the health service

Using a private medical service means by-passing the free or subsidized National Health Service and opting to pay for your healthcare. People normally go private to improve the quality of the healthcare they receive, enjoy better health facilities and decrease waiting times to see specialists. In fact avoiding long hospital waiting lists is the main reason people opt to go private. The NHS target for referral to treatment is 18 weeks which for some people can be the difference between life and death. Whilst the NHS offers a perfectly good standard of care in most case, there are some instances in which the NHS is unable or unwilling to deliver healthcare for example where the budget available cannot permit the procedure or medication to be offered. The benefits of UK private medical care services include choosing the healthcare professional who treats you, having your own hospital room and therefore more privacy, cleaner rooms, better visiting hours for family and friends and an increased availability of medical procedures.

The NHS does not aim to provide lifestyle treatments and nor should it. By lifestyle treatment we intend any procedure or treatment someone requires which is not to prevent a life threatening illness or is not medically necessary. Lifestyle treatments include cosmetic surgery or procedures, travel health and aesthetic dentistry. Aesthetic plastic surgery that is not intended to treat burns or reconstruct damaged tissue or restore the form or function of a part of the body affected by an accident or condition cannot be subsidise by the National Health Service. Surgery that is performed in order to enhance a part of the body by making it conform to an aesthetic ideal must be paid for. Common cosmetic procedures include abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), breast augmentation and rhinoplasty (nose job), however lunchtime liposuction, botox and filler are becoming more common because they are far less invasive procedures and have quicker healing times and results.

Medications for travelling such as Malarone, the anti-malarial tablet, are not included in the NHS package. Malaria is a disease which affects tropical and sub-tropical countries, and cannot be contracted in the UK. As the individual chooses to holiday in a risk zone, there is no reason for the NHS to subsidize their lifestyle choice. Malarone and other similar medications must be obtained on a private prescription and the medications paid for in full.

Dentistry is another common area of health for which people prefer to pay for their treatments. The NHS subsidises some procedures such as a check-up, however may not subsidise the cost of x-rays, white fillings or expensive reconstruction work.

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