Going private

Douglas1970

Hi

I got diagnosed with needing both hips replaced in December privately and told to be seen by a NHS consultant it will take 40 plus weeks to get on a waiting list that will take years minimum 2.

Feels like need to go privately as struggling to put socks on but costs and information seems prohibited/ limited.

What can I expect from private as thru care and what do I need to consider. Feels like all i geared to the operation rather than recovery. Feels overwhelming to also decide on which privately provider to go fir and how far to travel. I am in Central Scotland so can go to any major city.

I suppose my thought is vale for money and good care is balancing act but fear I can only afford one hip to be done privately and means taking our a loan for 4 years...

Looking for anyone who is experiencing the same. Very hard to hear 4500 people on waiting list in NHS Lothian to see a consultant...

Feels to me the pandemic has made my hip worse due to working from home and that it will taking years on the NHS and many will suffer quality of life issues.

Pointers and thoughts most welcome

stickywicket

I had both my THRs years ago at an NHS teaching hospital. Both great. My husband had his first at a private hospital on the NHS as, pre-covid, they didn't want you waiting too long. During covid he paid for his other hip, a t a different hospital as we were 1hr, from the nearest private one and his previous one was further.

We went for the nearest private hospital as even that was 1hr away and we knew he'd have to be driven there for the op and then back later. By googling the name of the hospital I could read up on their ortho surgeon's. We chose one who did revision surgery (It's more skilled) and who treated a National sports team. Others were quicker but we wanted good not quick.

All went well. He knew the physio drill from before and his post op appt was by phone due to covid. I should emphasise the physio. He really worked hard at it both pre and post op.

I should also mention that @Lilymary , @RogerBill and @Coddfish all had private THRs recently and documented them well on here, maybe on 'Living With Arthrits' or maybe on 'Say Hello'. Happy searching!

Oh, and Mr Sw's cost about £1,200 - £1,300 all told.

Coddfish

Hi @Douglas1970

i had a single hip replaced privately with a consultant of my choice at a Spire hospital. I paid £200 for the initial consultant appointment, £160 for the x-rays, then took out a fixed price package for the surgery and aftercare, costing just over £13k. It covered pre-op, the operation, the hospital stay, postoperative checkups and physio until I was happy. Money well spent.

Lilymary

I chose to have my THR privately after a year of waiting, only to be told it would be another 18 months on the NHS or 3 months privately. I was in so much pain and walking with such difficulty despite handfuls of drugs that I caved in and went private.

I had already been referred under the NHS (at my request) to a hospital that specialised in joint replacements, when I chose to go private and chose my surgeon based on a friend’s recommendation, who had a similar expectations of her new hip as me. It was the same surgeon, same hospital, same theatre, same ward etc as if I had gone NHS. Basically all I was paying for was getting it done 18 months early. I confess it really hurt to have to pay for what others get for free, but I simply couldn’t cope any more. The surgeon and anaesthetist got their fee but the bulk of the money went, via them, to the NHS for the drugs and hire of the theatre, bed and staff etc etc. As I don’t have much other experience of surgery on the NHS or privately, I can’t tell you whether it was a better experience than on the NHS, but I suspect it was little different, and quite unlike my sister’s experience of both TKRs in a private hospital in London where they were treated like hotel guests.

I wish I could say it only cost £1,200, perhaps the going rate is cheaper in Scotland, but most reports on this forum have quoted figures in excess of £10,000. Had we not had some savings put by, I would have taken out a loan. Without surgery last year I would still be in excruciating pain 24/7 and unable to work by now, so I’m afraid that for me it was a no brainer, or maybe an act of desperation. While I resent the cost, I don’t regret the decision.

Bella59

I had my right hip replaced nearly five months ago at Spire hospital.Operation went well and I am pleased with the result.Unfortunately Nhs list for hip replacement is long in Lothian area.I myself am at the moment trying to arrange operation on left hip.My hip pain is severe and I am toiling to walk so I cannot wait another year to eighteen months on nhs.I hope to get my operation in April.By the way cost in Scotland for operation is roughly £13,000 I think Sticky missed out a zero by accident.I must admit I preferred her price.

Ellen

Hi @Bella59

Lovely to meet you and welcome you to the Online Community.

@Douglas1970 apologies for hijacking your thread I just wanted to welcome @Bella59

Bella I am very pleased to hear your operation on your right hip went very well. I have to agree Stickywicket's price was much better!

By the way have you seen this:

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/56263/waiting-for-a-joint-replacement

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/healthcare-professionals/professional-network-and-clinical-updates/network-news/june-2021-network-news/support-package/

Best wishes

Ellen.

Mike1

What gets me is that if you are in the fortunate position to afford to go private you sometimes end up with the same consultant that would have done the operation under the NHS. This is certainly the case with someone I know who needs a knee replacement and the consultant she saw under the NHS actually said he could do it quicker if she went private. I think that this is abhorrent.

stickywicket

Whoops! Well done @Bella59 for spotting my not-so-deliberate mistake😁 Please note all who were thinking of flocking to Scotland for their bargain basement orthopaedic operations, numbers are not my strong point. Yes, I did mean £12,000 - £13,000.

@Mike1 I had the greatest respect for my first rheumatologist for never taking private work. However, I confess that another factor (which I've only just remembered) when researching a private orthopaedic surgeon, was if they were qualified to work in the NHS. It seems not all are. A friend, at a different private hospital for a wholly different op, was left unmonitored overnight and found in a coma next morning. He wasn't expected to live but the NHS pulled him back.

Mr SW's first hip surgeon worked in both sectors and, I later discovered, trained my own orthopaedic consultant when he was a junior doc. It's complicated.

Lilymary

@Mike1 I agree, it seems utterly wrong that you get exactly the same package, but effectively "pay to queue jump". However, the theatre time is allocated by the NHS, and the consultants have to buy that time, when they make it available. When I had mine done, it was the first hip surgery they had done in about 6 months due to restrictions, and while the NHS was willing (at very short notice and I gather after a LOT of cajoling from the surgeons) to release just one day a month for private surgery, at that time the NHS wasn't doing any ortho surgery at all other than trauma care (cf elective surgery). I couldn't face another 18 months in so much pain, so I ditched my principles and paid.

The salve to my conscience was that the vast majority of what I paid went to the NHS for use of the theatre, staff, drugs etc, so I have underpinned the NHS rather than just lining the pockets of the surgeon, and I have cleared one space off the NHS waiting list. What does seem wrong is that the NHS weren't offering exactly the same surgery at a time when they would allow private surgeries in the same theatre and wards. (The private wards were, ironically, closed at the time so we recuperated in the NHS ward, which even more ironically were nicer than the private wards as they had been recently refurbished.)