Families are paying thousands of pounds from their life savings for private healthcare as NHS bosses admit they may not be able to reduce waits of more than a year.
The Mirror today reveals the cost of treatment based on 26 private hospitals as profit-making health firms line their pockets from the pandemic.
Analysis of the average price for 14 of the UK’s most commonly required treatments shows a hip replacement will set you back £12,198 and a knee replacement £13,205.
Everyday procedures cost thousands, with wisdom tooth removal at £2,350, tonsil removal at £2,772 and hernia repair at £3,352. And cataract surgery costs £2,518, according to the research by My Tribe Insurance.
The admission about year-long waits comes in NHS England planning documents for the next six months.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard told its board meeting: “We can and should assume things will get even tougher over winter.”
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More and more patients awaiting an NHS operation are reportedly turning to private healthcare and going in to debt.
The health service, which is preparing for a winter surge in Covid cases, has a record 5.6 million waiting list.
The NHS England planning document called for two-year waits to be ended, but stated trusts should “hold, or where possible reduce the number of patients waiting over 52 weeks”.
The document acknowledged recent “non-elective pressures, including a rise in Covid-19 admissions as well as workforce supply constraints” had slowed the catch up for planned treatments.
It comes as latest NHS data for July showed 293,000 people had waited this long for elective care. Some 7,800 of these patients had been languishing on the waiting list for more than two years.
The NHS Constitution states that patients should wait no longer than four-and-half months for procedures deemed non-urgent.
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It comes as the NHS was given just over half the extra £10billion a year trust leaders said was needed to help them clear the waiting list.
The Government funding over the next three years fell short of what NHS Providers calculated was needed to help the NHS “live with Covid”.
The BBC’s Panorama programme this week obtained data showing on average, waiting lists have grown by 50% in the most deprived parts of England since the start of the pandemic, compared with nearly 35% in the most affluent areas.
Ms Pritchard said: “There are new challenges that we must meet over next six months, in particular the seasonal pressures over winter that are likely to be intensified by the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have seen sustained pressure on urgent and emergency care services throughout the summer and managing this is going to continue to be a key focus across the second half of the year.
“Looking after staff over this period will be crucial as we also strive to keep up the momentum on recovering services and addressing care backlogs.”
‘Life isn’t worth living’
Brenda Pugh, pictured above , had to give up her job at a law firm in 2019 after being diagnosed with arthritis.
The 61-year-old was unable to work due to the pain, which she says is like “walking on jagged glass” if she moves.
As the pandemic began, she was told she needed a double hip replacement and now has to use crutches.
She has written to her consultant, begging him for the op.
Brenda, of Petersfield, Hants, is one of 62,000 patients who have been waiting more than 12 months to get joint replacement surgery and she told the BBC’s Panorama: “I can’t carry on like this. My life just isn’t worth living.”
The cost to have the surgery privately would be about £12,198 per hip but she says there is no way she can afford that.
Private cost
Knee replacement
£13,205
Hip replacement
£12,198
Shoulder replacement
£11,020
Slipped disc removal
£7,988
Abdominal hysterectomy
£7,089
Gallbladder removal
£6,199
Knee arthroscopy
£3,673
Laparoscopic hernia repair
£3,352
Tonsillectomy
£2,772
Cataract surgery
£2,518
Wisdom tooth removal
£2,350
Colonoscopy
£2,063
Carpal tunnel release
£1,993
Gastroscopy
£1,670
* Analysis for the Mirror by My Tribe Insurance showing the average cost per op
