what is the procedurewhere you live ?

Posted , 20 users are following.

hi all just wondering  about the difference in countries  of waiting times to get tkr ,i live in south of ireland and here if you dont have private health insurance the waiting time to get tkr is over 5yrs which is crazy to say the least so in my case my husband needed hip replacement and i needed two knees ,we had to make sure we had private insurance its cost us a fortune this year it was over 3,000 euro for insurance       and we had to have it and god knows how much it will cost next year as we have to keep paying it because my husband needs to get his knee done  in the next 12 months .is the waiting times better in your country ?

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  • Posted

    Hi Linda - thankfully I have private healthcare through my employer I live in Essex but work in London. My waiting time was only 3 months but I'm not sure what the waiting time is on the NHS (national health service). some of the others on this forum maybe able to tell you more.
  • Posted

    Hi Linda I live in Lincolnshire and went to see my GP in December 2014 he referred me NHS to a private hospital and I had TKR 11th March which was my choice I could have had it done a month earlier but it was not a good time for me.  So I think I had a really good timescale.  In Lincolnshire we seem to have a very good hospital service.  Not sure what it is like in the rest of the UK but I do have a friend that lives in Hertfordshire and he only had to wait 3 months.
    • Posted

      I, too live in Lincolnshire and had a similar experience. After being referred by my GP to a consultant at a private hospital, as an nhs patient, I saw him within 2months in Dec. 14. I was told I needed an arthroscopy to get a better idea of whether I needed a half or total knee replacement. This was carried out in Feb.15. At a further consultation I was told I needed a total knee replacement. i only waited 8 wks and had my surgery on 13th may 15. 5 weeks ago. I feel I was extremely lucky to be done so quickly and at a private hospital as an nhs patient.
    • Posted

      Forgot to ask. Where about in Lincolnshire are you?  I live just north of Lincoln.
    • Posted

      I live in Long Sutton which is 15 miles from Kings Lynn and 15 Miles from Spalding so just inside Lincilconshire
    • Posted

      Where did you have your operation done? Mine was in Lincoln. 
  • Posted

    hi linda the procedure in my hospital in west yorks is once your GP has referred you the consultant has to see you within 6 weeks and your treatment has to start within 18 weeks or you breach and the hosp get fined!!!! the first time I saw the cons in june my op was dec but when I went for my pre op I had a blister on that ankle so I started my 18 week wait again but had the op 5.3.15.
  • Posted

    I am in N Ireland, ours is maybe a little different; we are referred to ICATS were an assessment takes place - they do all they can to postpone any surgery, especially if you are under 65. They insist that you take pain meds every day, offer you steroid injections, exrrcise and lose weight etc. if you follow the regime (after about 1 year in my case) then you will hopefully be offered the op. You are then on the list and you should have your op within about six months.
  • Posted

    Hi Linda.  I'm in Canada and I waited 18 months.  If you have to have a second knee done, which I do, they will do it within four months if you wish but I am not ready to go there.  I'm eleven weeks and can't imagine going through this again anytime soon.  Every Canadian citizen has healthcare.  You can get  a  joint replacement sooner but I chose to wait for a particular surgeon who is considered one of the best in the field.
  • Posted

    Im only 36 and had to wait until my knee had almost completely crumbled away. The NHS didn't want to touch me because I was too young. Problem I have now though is I was left too long (waited 5 years) that it's so complicated now. I wasn't able to be operated on in certain hospitals (needed access to certain equipment), couldn't operate at a weekend and surgery took 4 hours. It took a year from when I was told surgery definitely had to happen for it to go ahead. I had two surgeries in Feb and I'm now waiting for third at end of July.

    Annoying part is I have private health care but it doesn't cover my knee as it was a pre-existing condition. I live in Cheshire but had my surgery at a specialist unit in Liverpool.

    • Posted

      My surgeon was Prof Deehan in Newcastle. His speciality is knees & lower limbs. Id recommend him to anyone even if they have to ravel
  • Posted

    I'm in the States and I only had to wait 3 weeks before my surgery.
  • Posted

    I'm in the US and 30 to 60 days is normal unless the patient opts for a longer wait. 5 years of being in pain and walking impaired just is unimanageable.
  • Posted

    No waiting time if you have private insurance in Australia.  We pay $1500  per year and have done for the past 40 years.  I think if you don't have private cover here, it is a wait of about 8 months.  5 years seems awful.   
    • Posted

      I live in Australia as well & had to wait 12 mths to get an appt. With the surgeon. Then you go on the waiting list which is 12 mths. I ended up borrowing the money & had both done at once. I worked out that what I saved over the years of not paying for insurance, was probably equal to the cost of the surgery etc. 

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