Even in relative emergencies. I'm in the UK. Years ago, my ex fell towards a glass door, and trust her arm through a thick glass pane, getting a nasty cut down her lower arm that exposed her tendons (I saw them... Not a pleasant anatomy lesson). After she was stabilised by the ER/A&E, she was told to come back in the morning (her arm was still open, but bandaged) to get properly patched up. Instead of going back to the nearest hospital, the following morning we went to the A&E of one an hour away with a good reputation for cosmetic surgery.
A&E can't turn you away. It gave her a few days of waiting in hospital (she was not a high risk patient, but they did want her available and under observation), but it gave her a leading specialist on hand surgery. And we walked out with no bill.
(and you're right - there'd still be the private options too, but in this case the NHS option had some of the best surgeons in the country in that field anyway)
A&E can't turn you away. It gave her a few days of waiting in hospital (she was not a high risk patient, but they did want her available and under observation), but it gave her a leading specialist on hand surgery. And we walked out with no bill.
(and you're right - there'd still be the private options too, but in this case the NHS option had some of the best surgeons in the country in that field anyway)