Private to public?

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My 21 month old daughter was referred to an opthamologist at 8 months old. We were told that the public waiting list wad over a year long in our area, so we went private in the mean time. She has been attending a private opthamologist for almost a year now.

We have just received an appointment for her to go to her first public visit in July.

Can I now go public? We really can't afford going private, at €160 a visit and €100 for each pair of glasses, and she will have to wear glasses for the rest of her life.

foodaholic

We where in the exact same position. I paid to have her go private and got a letter 2yrs later.
I went to the public appointment for a second opinion and all was well

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foodaholic wrote: »

We where in the exact same position. I paid to have her go private and got a letter 2yrs later.
I went to the public appointment for a second opinion and all was well

That is good to know. I was afrad that I will turn up to the public appointment and they will say, she has already seen someone privately so she has to be taken off the list.

I have an appointment with the private opthamologist 2 days later and am afraid to cancel it in case the public consultant won't see her.

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Carmelo Refined Collie wrote: »

That is good to know. I was afrad that I will turn up to the public appointment and they will say, she has already seen someone privately so she has to be taken off the list.

I have an appointment with the private opthamologist 2 days later and am afraid to cancel it in case the public consultant won't see her.

The bigger worry would be that the appointment is cancelled at the last minute as is often the case.
Keep the private appointment until she sees the public and then cancel. 2 days notice should be adequate.

Drdoc

I wouldn't worry, people switch from private to public all the time due to ongoing costs etc. Just because you started in the private system in no way means you're obliged to continue attending them. A public consultant cannot refuse to see you on these grounds (antenatal care is a bit different I know).
But like the previous poster said, don't cancel your private one until your public one goes ahead in case it gets postponed for some reason.

January

Axton Gigantic Plank wrote: »

The bigger worry would be that the appointment is cancelled at the last minute as is often the case.
Keep the private appointment until she sees the public and then cancel. 2 days notice should be adequate.

Not very often... I've never had an opthamologist appointment cancelled on either of my daughters and we've been in the system since the eldest was 6 months old.

You can switch to the public system. In fact, depending on the area you live you could end up seeing the same person you were seeing privately in the public clinic.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

January wrote: »

Not very often... I've never had an opthamologist appointment cancelled on either of my daughters and we've been in the system since the eldest was 6 months old.

You can switch to the public system. In fact, depending on the area you live you could end up seeing the same person you were seeing privately in the public clinic.

Yes I thought that too. She could have the same doctor, so maybe I should cancel the private appointment now. I will try and find out who she will be seeing first.

wmpdd3

This is the way it is in Waterford, same guy, he does 2 days private and then one morning public clinic in the hospital.

After a year on the list, we were told to pay and see him privately as my sons sight is so bad he would be a priority on the public system. So after I saw him privately, he referred my son to his public clinic in the hospital, such a mad situation.

Hello Lady!

In the private system if you pay to see the consultant thats who you see. In the public you will have an appointment for x consultants clinic meaning you possibly will see the consultant at your visit but most likely will be seen by one of their team. Just something to bear in mind.

Penny Dreadful

Hello Lady! wrote: »

In the private system if you pay to see the consultant thats who you see. In the public you will have an appointment for x consultants clinic meaning you possibly will see the consultant at your visit but most likely will be seen by one of their team. Just something to bear in mind.

For your first visit it shouldn't be anyone other than the consultant that sees the patient. Best practice would state that the first time a patient attends they should be seen by the consultant. You can insist when you get to your appointment.

Ms2011

My son had a public appointment cancelled in Crumlin hospital so we decided to go private in Temple St. He saw a consultant & had ultrasounds in Temple St. & in the meantime got a new public appointment in Crumlin & had his surgery there.

RebelButtMunch

foodaholic wrote: »

We where in the exact same position. I paid to have her go private and got a letter 2yrs later.
I went to the public appointment for a second opinion and all was well

This