consultation fee and deposit - karidis

[ineedhelp]

hey guys,

sorry to start a whole new topic up, but i have a question. if i put the deposit down on the day of the consultation(£700 or so), will i still have to pay the consultation fee? i know they give it to charity, but im a bit broke at the moment coz im trying to save up for the op! besides, they only have that in place so they dont get no time wasters so surely if i put my deposit down, that shows im serious and want it done?

[phantom51red]

Hi, yes i had consultation 3 weeks ago,i paid 1000 deposit ,and 75 fee..plus 130 for blood as it would be hassle for me to arrange that at home as i work away.

[ineedhelp]

hey phantom. thanks for the reply. seems rather stupid they make you pay the consultation fee which goes to charity anyway when you put down a deposit? why do they do that seeing as it goes to charity (im getting the feeling thats the tip for the reception lady)? especially when it takes the average guy like us  2-3 years to save up the money in the first place!

so mate, what was the total cost of surgery including the blood tests and how soon did you get booked in for? did you get the blood test done there and then or is it done on the day of surgery?

[phantom51red]

The fee goes to a charity of Dr. Karidis choice,i dont mind,i got blood test there and then yes as i live in scotland ,blood test £130...still £3200 or someting like that to pay,i wanted op as soon as cause have the cash now ,but have to wait until december,he only performs op 2 days a week,and schedule busy.

[thetodd]

THe charity is StJohns hospital ;0) Hmmmm

"Charity" looks great on the books and has certain tax benefits lol. Get the bloods done on the NHS its free or get a blood clinic to do it which is about £20. Surgerys well worth it ... but darn me they charge you for breathing in private healthcare. Im just glad we got the NHS!

[Bob09]

Thetodd,

You've mentioned that you paid £20 but I can't seem to find anyone - probably me being dumb.
Could you tell me where these blood clinics are and their details?

I don't want to ask my GP but dont want to fork out £120 either.

Thanks

bob.

[thetodd]

it was just a local mobile blood clinic, check in your yellow pages there will be a few look for - Phlebotomist

[mike_ire]

hey phantom. thanks for the reply. seems rather stupid they make you pay the consultation fee which goes to charity anyway when you put down a deposit? why do they do that seeing as it goes to charity (im getting the feeling thats the tip for the reception lady)? especially when it takes the average guy like us  2-3 years to save up the money in the first place!

I'd imagine they make everyone pay the consultation fee even though it goes to charity to stop time wasters, if his consultations were free he'd probably be swamped with them!

[kingboob]

I think there are certain guidelines set out for surgeons regarding consultation fees... not 100% sure why but I imagine it is to stop clinics offering 'free' consults and then giving people a hard sell when they get to the office.

Plus hospitals / clinics actually charge the doctor for using the rooms so they have to cover overheads as well.

Nothing comes cheap in private health care...... luckily we have the NHS covers virtually everything and the tax paid is nothing compared to private insurance premiums.