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So worried about my sister, can she go to a private hospital

PipT
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My sister is poorly with breast cancer and is now in hospital with what they thought might be bacterial meningitis, although she has been in hospital since Tuesday and they still don't know for sure. 

She was having sickness and terrible headaches for about two weeks before finally going into hospital. The hospital has dithered for days in chosing whether or not to give her a lumber puncture and when they finally tried, they couldn't do it. Now she is still being sick in hospital and there was no availability in the theatre today for them to retry the lumber puncture.

I am so worried about my sister and I can't get to see her! I can't help but feel that she is not being cared for properly at our local hospital and that the NHS is in such a mess that they are failing her right now!

I was wondering if there is any way we could get her into a private hospital where at least she would be more comfortable, but I don't know if that would be possible right now?

I can't bear to think of her suffering like this and her kids are desperately missing their mum and just want her to come home.

  • Hello PipT and thanks for posting,

    I am very sorry to learn about your sister and can understand that this must be an anxious time for you all and especially for you since you can't get to see her. 

    Since you posted on Friday, I realise things might have changed, I hope there has been some progress in reaching a diagnosis.   

    Private care can be very expensive and it isn't always straightforward to estimate what the likely costs might be. Some private hospitals might not have the same range of facilities as an NHS hospital. If the family can afford it and they and your sister wants to consider transferring her care to a private hospital, it might be helpful to talk this over with the doctors currently looking after your sister. They may be able to guide her about what would be best just now and would need to provide a summary of everything that has happened so far if she were to transfer. 

    Sometimes procedures don't go to plan both in the NHS and in private hospitals, this doesn't necessarily mean someone's medical care is falling short. 

    I hope your sister's condition has been diagnosed or will be soon so that she can be treated appropriately and hopefully start to feel a bit better. 

    If you want to talk anything over, please do give us a call on Freephone 0808 800 4040, we are available weekdays from 9-5. 

    Best wishes,

    Julia

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