I am extremely passionate about the NHS and our joint replacement unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, which is my base NHS hospital. The NHS care we provide at Maelor Hospital is second to none. Unfortunately due to an extremely large number of patients awaiting joint replacement surgery what happens before you are admitted to the ward is beyond our control. The end result is a significant backlog of patients awaiting assessment and treatment for hip and knee disorders. For this reason many patients ask me about private care.
There are some advantages of private care for your joint treatment. You can use your private insurance or self- fund your private care as you prefer.
Avoid NHS Queues
Current NHS waiting times in North Wales are about 36 weeks from GP referral to outpatients appointment and 52 weeks for an operation if needed. Of course, these are target times and unfortunately, does get influenced by various factors like ‘winter pressures’, lack of staff and bed shortage. Sometimes, eventual outcome for joint replacement can be adversely affected if the wait has been too long.
On a private basis, you can be seen within a few days to a maximum of a couple of weeks to start your much needed treatment so much sooner than would otherwise be possible.
Get seen at your convenience
Your consultation and any treatment required will be tailored and arranged according to your convenience and preferred time.
Choose your consultant
The current system in NHS does not allow ‘named referral’ to a specific consultant. On a private basis you can choose the specialist consultant of your choice based on their experience, credentials, results and of course testimonials.
“Consultant – Led” vs. Consultant Delivered” service
It is important that we have future doctors to deliver orthopaedic care to our patients. We do have a GMC and trust level responsibility to provide training to our junior doctors in NHS settings. This includes consultation and also operative training.
However on a private basis all your care will be delivered personally by the specialist consultant chosen by you.