private doctors

in particular, psychiatrists...

how do you go about finding them?

the nearest bupa clinic thing is an hour's drive away and my car is in the shop. i have no idea how to go about finding a doc in weston.

and for those who have been to one, what was the cost for a visit with a private shrink?

thanks.

I am not sure if you will be able to find what you are looking for, but I was able to find a private GP in London using one of the links on this site.

http://www.patient.co.uk/

I work for WPA which is also private health insurance. Normally what would happen is that your GP would refer you to a local psychiatrist, who might in turn refer to you to a psychotherapist.

I can help you if you'd like to find a psychotherapist because for some reason they are on WPA's public database. Specialists aren't on the database since it's generally assumed your GP will refer you. I think Bupa does the same so you might want to check. I"m assuming you have cover? Or are you just familiar with Bupa having clinics?

As for cost, consultations are going to be anywhere from 60-120 quid. Usually the first is the most expensive and then subsequent ones go down. And if you have private insurance, it will depend upon what kind of cover you have whether you have to pay any of that.

Most private insurance companies will also only cover a very finite period of treatment.

Hope this helps.

thanks for the answers.

i was going to go to a bupa clinic a few weeks ago when i was under the weather. that's how i know about that.

no insurance at the moment. i have insurance if i'm in vermont, but over here - nada. i don't really want to invest in it since i'll be on the nhs in a few months (when i get my student visa).

in the meantime, though, i have some prescriptions that i need to get refilled. i suppose i could go to a gp about them, but i'd rather start seeing a psychiatrist, since i'll have to do that anyway and most likely won't be using the nhs for it.

does wpa do single-visit coverage like bupa? is there anything in weston-super-mare or bristol? (hopefully i'll have my car back in a week or so.)

thanks again.

I don't sell the polices so I can't really help you with that because there are so many varieties of polices and add-ons and all sorts. But to be honest, since you already have a history, privates insurance companies won't let you claim for this because it's a pre-existing condition (unless, again, you work for a big company with a bespoke plan). You CAN however just pay to see someone privately as you already know.

What Uni will you be at? Most Unis have good health clinics. If you bring your medical records and/or a letter from your currect psych, you can then get a referral to one in your area. Many specialists will treat privately AND under the NHS so there's no reason that I am aware of to automatically rule out NHS care for this. So you might want to see someone privately first, then check out the NHS care and if that works for you, then you wont' have to pay for it! Otherwise, you can just budget in the fees for private visits.

Also, you might want to do some research into your prescriptions. As far as I'm aware, there are differences in what is prescribed in the US vs UK. I know, for example, that birth control can be an issue for some people.

I'm sure that there will be loads of private and NHS psychs in Bristol and WSM. Try www.yell.com and see what you get that way.

Good luck!