Private vs NHS - thoughts?

Thank you, that makes sense 

That’s really helpful, thank you.

This is not the case. Even with NHS assessments someone gets money for that so they could easily just diagnose everyone also. It doesn’t make any logical sense. Even if the private assessor where to diagnose you as not autistic they still get your money for it so there is no reason why they would be pressured to give false diagnoses. 

I couldn’t wait for NHS so I went private getting a registered qualified clinical psychologist specialising in Autism from this website.  I have had no problem with it.  My GP, hospital and the DWP have all recognised it.  It was shorter (fewer stages) than my nephew’s diagnosis who waited several years to get an NHS appointment. 

The other issue is they really want to interview a parent too and both mine were dead by then. 

My sister says that she has heard people say “you are getting a diagnosis because you paid for it” but I think if you are carful to get a properly qualified person it shouldn’t happen it is against the ethical code they sign up to and they could be struck off the register.  It is quite insulting to a proper Psychologist to have this suggested. 

Thanks for your reply. That isn’t why I am seeking a diagnosis.

Unfortunately I’ve had a few people tell me that ‘you get what you pay for’ and that private assessors will pretty much diagnose anyone. This is making me really worried and I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this?

Why?  A diagnosis, is a diagnosis.  No need to worry.  the fact you asked for an assessment means you probably have need of one.  If you get someone who diagnoses you as having ASD, then mission accomplished. ;)

But like I say on every one of these threads, a diagnosis is a piece of paper.  A diagnosis is not a cure or even a sticky plaster to put on your ASD.  It gives you some extra options with some decisions, but a lot of times people will ignore it or not know how to interpret it.  I have been in hospital and they have no clue what my needs were and that's doctors and nurses in a major hospital.  So if you are thinking getting a diagnosis is a magical cure for all that ails you, you are going to be somewhat disappointed.

The main thing it gives you is the means to force people to comply to the various acts of law if they discriminate against you, but doing that can also be a doubled edged sword.  I know of several people that were blacklisted by companies after making a big hoohah over treatment in a workplace.  they then found it impossible to find another job in that sector.  So they attended job interviews but were never suitable for them, ever again.  So when you wield that power, be very aware that it can come back to bite you in the posterior.  I myself was blacklisted by all the job agencies within my region for health issues.  No one ever said to me I was blacklisted, but I also never got any job from any of them after my last one.

My GP told me about ‘Right to choose’ which is a shorter waiting list and still NHS. Ask about that. 

i have heard of people who paid private not getting a diagnosis.

but yeah i do assume that private would think you want the diagnosis and are paying for it and would more likely give you what they think you think you paid for.... but as i said i have heard of someone who didnt get a diagnosis off private. 

I’m really lucky that ours covers the assessment. They did say that I could claim for therapy as long as I didn’t talk about ASD  I’m sure it might come up!

Thank you. I emailed the team that will do my assessment and they were  very reassuring. 

I am incredibly fortunate that through my husband’s job we have private healthcare which will cover a private assessment

I have private healthcare via my work too but it explicitly excludes autism support, diagnosis or treatment which is rather poor given that both my employer and the insurer make such a big play of neurodiversity. Hypocrites.

Unfortunately I’ve had a few people tell me that ‘you get what you pay for’ and that private assessors will pretty much diagnose anyone. This is making me really worried and I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this?

I did worry about this but the psychologist who led my assessment went to great pains to make it clear that she used the NHS recommended “gold standard” assessment process, she also works for the NHS and the process was much more extensive than some I’ve read of on here, so I trust the result. That was in Glasgow incidentally.

Yes true Martin, I think if you make sure they are NHS affiliated it would serve you better. 

good luck on your journey!!

But you can still use private providers who do NHS work, many do online assessments so are not geographically limited.

Thank you for reply. I should have mentioned in my original post that I live in Scotland and so Right to Choose isn’t available.

The official NICE guidelines say that adults can be diagnosed, at a minimum, by a single suitably qualified clinician, usually a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or neurologist. This is what you usually get with a private assessment.

There are two things that you need to check for a private diagnosis to be valid, the qualifications, specialisms and membership of a relevant professional medical council/society of the clinician doing the assessment - most private providers allow you to choose a clinician from those on their books - and that the company is suitably registered with the NHS. Any provider that does work through the 'Right to Choose' scheme will be suitably registered as they are being paid by the NHS to do assessments. 

I had a private diagnosis with Psychiatry UK. The psychiatrist who diagnosed me recommended a antidepressant to treat my mild depression and my GP prescribed it immediately. Like most other clinicians doing private work, the psychiatrist I had, also worked for the NHS, and was an NHS consultant psychiatrist.

Thank you for your reply. I’m so glad you got the answers you needed. Unfortunately I don’t think this is an option in Scotland, where I live. But I will certainly do some research. 

Hi LittleHouse

I am not sure if this is the way you would want to do it but here goes. Because of extended waiting times with NHS I requested a Right to choose pathway for my son (age 9). I did have to push a little and also gave the Gp all the relevant information and forms. Right to choose is everyone’s right for treatment/assessment so don’t be fobbed off by a lazy Gp who doesn’t want to spend the time filling out the forms. I found Clinical Partners who are online and affiliated with the NHS. My worry with a private diagnosis was that sometimes it is not taken seriously when it comes to support. My son does need a EHCP in place and some limited help so that’s why I went down the route of Right to choose. I have just been informed that the wait for this is 3-6 months as opposed to 3 years on the NHS. Now this has been accepted I intend to use the pathway also for myself 

Hope that is of some help to you and best of luck

Daniel said:

here in the UK 1 in every 100. Different countries use different manuals, autism is more common than we originally thought.

That statistic is not accurate, I have read that 1 in 30 people could be autistic in the UK. There are so many of us and obviously that figure doesn’t even include self identified autistics like myself! It’s so cool!

The NHS is understaffed and with the waiting lists getting so long they are in a rush. I were diagnosed in 1996 and the diagnosis process took about a year's worth of observation.

As the diagnostic criteria has been changed more people have become worthy of a diagnosis. This is a problem in psychiatry in general, the diagnosis manuals are very, very loose. So it's not private assessors will diagnose anyone, it's psychiatry has expanded the autism spectrum, in the US autism rates are 1 in every 36 people (self-diagnosis not included), in Australia 1 in every 50 people, and here in the UK 1 in every 100. Different countries use different manuals, autism is more common than we originally thought.