Private V NHS - TKR

I'm not sure how much pain your dealing with? I do know that a lot of places have financial assistance and Medicaid /medicare.I dont quite understand the 22 week waiting period? If this isnt something that can wait that long ,then i would check into other options to having the surgery. Im sorry I couldnt help much but I do hope you find answers soon.

Hi Freestork. I had the same dilemma in may 2015 I was classed as urgent and given a date of 6th July 2015. HOWEVER I was cancelled through no fault of my own 5 times and finally got my urgent surgery 3rd October 2016. 15 months after my first date. I seriously considered going private but my closest friend is an anesthetist who worked private for 7 years then returned to the nhs last year taking a huge paycut as he had lost confidence in the private system. He said tkrs were done like an assembly line with only 30 minutes for each procedure. AS time is money. There are quite a few post op complications but these are shipped off to the nhs so the private hospitals do not show these in their statistics. He convinced me that waiting for the nhs was the better option. And seeing as I ended up in critical care for 48 hours post op I'm so glad I waited. I wouldn't have wanted to be put in an ambulance and sent elsewhere in the state I was in. THE aftercare on my nhs ward was fantastic. Good luck with your surgery. Keep plugging away at your health trust for a date. K x

I waited 6 months having initially been told 6-8 weeks wait. My consultant although does private work put me off the idea. It's really personal preference - if you have medical insurance go for it - if not be patient and wait. As for me it was worth the wait my local NHS hospital was fabulous.