Chrissy (re research programme etc.)

[Guest guest]

Hi Chrissy,

Thanks for the advice. I certainly will make sure they knock me out

before the tests, especially the ERCP!! I had on in 1988 and it

triggered a bad attack but it only lasted a two or three days, as I

recall. I'll make sure they keep me in as well so that I have proper

surveillance and pain meds. It's a metter of balancing risks and I

think even the possibility of earlier cancer detection makes the

ERCP risk worth taking. Anyway, that's if nothing sinister turns up

in the EUS. Did I tell you that the delay was a mix-up? I should

get my date for the EUS to-day. They were quite apologwtic when I

rang them yesterday.

Chrissy, there's no question of insurance at all. Everything

is " free " under the NHS anyway. We ALL pay national insurance out of

our salaries or wages and then all procedures, surgeries, tests etc.

etc. are free at the time of use. That's how the system is now,

anyway. There's a FIXED price for medicines prescribed, whatever

they are. I'm not sure what it is per item at the moment, but a

fraction of the real price, of course. Because I have prescriptions

all the time, I choose to pay for an annual certificate to cover

everything rather than paying item by item as I go along; the annual

certificate is cheaper. Thank God for the system because Creon would

be very expensive otherwise. Jim has prescriptions free now because

he's 60. Two years to go for me! If you are unemployed or have

certain conditions such as diabetes or thyroid problems, all your

prescriptions are free anyway. I don't know how they choose which

chronic conditions qualify for totally free prescriptions. They

certainly don't want anyone not to have their medication because of

the price. Children also have free prescriptions.

When the NHS started after WW2, ALL prescribed medicines were

completely free for EVERYONE!! Can you imagine?! That had to change

of course.

I do have a small private insurance. Mine will pay for anything I

need if the NHS can't do it within six weeks. There is a waiting

list in most places for hip replacements, for example, so people who

have private insurance might choose not to wait and have it done

privately.

However, Chrissy, when it comes to stuff as complicated as

pancreatic surgery, university research etc, it's often too big for

the private arena and needs NHS facilities. It's all NHS and done at

the big teaching hospitals attached to medical faculties at the

universities. They will be using the laboraties at the university to

analyse the samples. The universities are state-funded, as well as

receiving funding from private sources for particular research

projects. Nobody on the pancreatic team at the Liverpool Royal, as

far as I know, does any private work.

I know it's complicated!! I don't understand it all myself. Some

docs do both private and NHS work. My gynaecologist, for example,

has a superb reputation and works for both the private and the NHS

sector. He might do a hysterectomy in the local NHS Women's Hospital

(excellent) or in the local private hospital (posher rooms, nicer

food etc. etc.). You'd get your choice of date if going privately.

You might have to wait a little longer (unless emergency, of course)

on the NHS. I must ask more about this. I'll let you know more.

Of course, it is wonderful not to have to worry about payment but

there is a downside. Sometimes you have to wait for things and the

hospitals are not like private ones. For example, at the Royal,

there are six patients in a ward whereas a private hospital would

give you a lovely room to yourself with en suite facilities. My

local private hospital is wonderful and you'd feel VERY happy having

anything routine done there, eg. hysterectomy, hip replacement etc.

etc. Most things really. You perhaps would NOT want a TP there,

however. In any case, the surgeons I see (the best ones locally for

this condition) don't operate there, only in the NHS hospital!!

Figure all this out!!! I can't!!

In general. advice is that the best results for pancreatic disease

are achieved with dedicated specialist pancreatic teams. I'm

fortunate to have one in Liverpool and they don't do private work.

In other words, even someone with excellent private insurance would

be wise to choose to be treated by Professor Neoptolemos and his

team on the NHS and have any surgery done at the Royal!! Some

private insurance policies will pay you a daily fee if you choose to

be, or have to be, treated in an NHS hospital. It would buy a whole

new wardrobe of night clothes, lovely food for someone to bring in,

luxury toiletries etc. etc. and more besides. Depending on how long

you were in, you could stash up quite a bit of cash! Come to think

of it, my policy does that! Perhaps I'll have that TP just to get

some cash!!!!

Do take care. I'm thinking about you to-day with Dr . Hope it's

all positive.

With my love,

Fliss

PS : So far from ME paying, I think THEY should pay ME for being in

the programme!!! Only joking!