Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All
This is my first post. My nephew is on the ASD pathway and the most recent letter is that there is still a 2-3 year wait. He attempted his life last week and fortunately is physically ok. As he turns 18 soon, he has been left with zero support. I cannot seem to get a clear answer on if we should explore a private diagnosis. I've spoken to the Community Paedrtric team today who have confirmed that he will remain on the list he is on despite his age, and a suicide attempt is not grounds for pushing further up the list, that they cannot advise on private diagnosis, and do not have an NHS approved list of practitioners, and that any mediation required as a result of a private diagnosis would have to be paid for privately (i.e. no NHS prescriptions).
It's an absolute minefield to navigate and I feel hopeless in being able to support my family.
Any advice very welcome.
Thankyou
I'm no expert, but if a private x-ray found that I had a lung problem, there is no way the NHS could refuse to treat me because it was discovered privately.
The NHS would treat emergency but routine treatment would have to come via the private sector responsible for diagnosing the condition according to their treatment protocol. There are many cases where private surgery has to be emergency repaired by the NHS (because private don't have any emergency capability), but if it's not an emergency the person goes back to the private provider.
If you wanted treatment on NHS you'd still have to join the waiting list for an NHS scan to verify the private scan. Xray might be quicker as there's usually not much of a waiting list for them, but other scans would take longer to wait for. Until the NHS received verification of the problem or diagnosis, they could not start routine treatment.