Private Medical Aid is designed to cover the costs of private medical treatment for a disease, illness or injury that are likely to respond quickly to treatment, aiming to return you to the state of health you were in immediately before suffering the disease, illness or injury, or which leads to your full recovery.

The NHS is one of this country’s finest achievements and strives to make quality healthcare available to all. But with an increasingly elderly population putting more demands on this service, people may find that they have to wait longer than they are comfortable with to receive treatment.

Private medical insurance is a way of making sure you and your family receive prompt access to the treatment you’re covered for; one less thing to worry about when you’re ill.

In most cases, having health insurance means you’ll receive treatment in comfortable, private facilities. Most of the 250 quality-assessed hospitals in our directory offer en-suite rooms with TV and radio, which will be music to the ears of anyone who has spent time trying to rest and recover on a busy hospital ward.

There are over 30 different companies offering Medical Aid cover and L Wood & Co Ltd will advise on which is the best to cover your needs.

Medical Aid Insurance caters for the individual, couples and families, and company schemes of all sizes. Overseas Medical Aid is also available through some insurers.

The advantages include:

• No queues: although waiting times on the NHS have improved, with a maximum of 18 weeks between referral and treatment, you won’t have to wait this long for private treatment.
  
  
• Peace of mind: if the worst happens, your treatment will be as quick as it can be. Many people are also concerned about the problem of MRSA in NHS hospitals.
  
  
• Choice: you can choose your consultant and where you want to be treated, with the proviso that some policies restrict treatment to set lists of hospitals.
  
  
• Private room: you don’t have to worry about being on a mixed-gender ward. Depending on your policy, you may have an en-suite bathroom.
  
  
• Unrestricted visiting hours.
  
  
• Personal care: a retinue of medical students won’t accompany your appointment with the consultant, you won’t be kept waiting for hours to see them and you will have more time to discuss your symptoms.
  
  
• Continuity of care: you are likely to be seen by the same consultant throughout your treatment.
  
  
• Specialist claim team: your insurer may have a team that deals specifically with a certain type of condition, such as cancer, who can help advise you.

To find out more and to discuss your needs, please contact us on 01274 515 747 or email us at mail@lwood.co.uk