i went private, but, also found that the appointments went all that long either. I did have scans evey check up, but, i dont think that is the norm. I dont know of to many people that went private that still had scan every visit.
Your visit sounds very similar to the private ones really. Public or private, i guess they can still only check the same thing, its just the people you see, and where you see them, and how much money you do/dont have to hand over.
We are considering, sorta, going public next time around.