It is wise to take medical advice before considering paying for treatment or investigations privately. There is a risk of being or appearing to be biased if a line manager does not take such advice.
Sometimes the answer is clear. This is often the case for a private physiotherapy/chiropractor/osteopath assessment (usually around £25 to £30 per session) as they can help someone with say, back pain, or other musculo-skeletal disorders rather than waiting for the NHS physiotherapy service or for ‘rest’ to make things better.
Paying for a private MRI scan or X-ray rather than waiting 6 weeks to 3 months or more is also useful in progressing matters. On the other hand, there are situations where it is less clear that private intervention will help.
If we take the example of someone with stress, anxiety or depression, there is evidence that some people will find cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) very useful and allow a return to work much earlier than other treatments or rest.
However, CBT is relatively expensive (around £1,200 for 6 sessions) and it may not help if there are fundamental problems with the employee’s family life, work or physical health unless these are addressed first.
Mental health problems need medical assessment before deciding on private interventions.