Anyone who has been in pain will know and understand the agony of ‘the wait’. Waiting for an operation, for whatever reason, to improve the quality of life shouldn’t have to be waiting in vain. It doesn’t help either if doctors cannot decide what the actual problem is and you’re being pushed around from doctor to doctor as they strive to arrive at a diagnosis which was pretty obvious to begin with. This does nothing to instil the much-needed confidence in the capability of the doctors.

The purpose of this article is to bring to light how I was able to fast-track my operation for a hip replacement. This is not a well-known fact and something that will not be randomly mentioned by your doctor or GP. I found out through a very good friend as I sat and offloaded my woes. 

“You should call Care UK,” she said. Up until that moment I had never heard of Care UK. I decided to do my own research. I called their main office and they told me that if I wanted to have my hip replacement through them it would cost me £8000. I had already considered going private and given that I could no longer walk without a walking aid and countless painkillers, I was seriously considering paying this. However, a further conversation with my friend got me thinking again. She suggested I contact my GP and ask him for a referral to the Care UK clinic in East London – the one which would be most convenient for me. They have clinics scattered around various locations in the UK.

Thinking this would be a doddle, I went to speak to my GP. He was adamant that he had never heard of Care UK but said that he would look into it. I left it with him and waited. I heard nothing for a week and so decided to call them. It transpired that the GP and his secretary could not find the clinic I was talking about – yet I had called them myself. I gave them the details and asked them to look it up again which they did. On speaking to them again, I was not too pleased to discover that the GP was unwilling to carry out the referral as it was out of the Birmingham area. 

Naturally, I was fuming so my son rang the surgery and read them the riot act. The facts about the rights of all patients in the UK are clearly stated in the documentation of Care UK. A patient has the right to have their treatment anywhere in the UK in any hospital of their choice. No-one has the right to dictate otherwise. Needless to say, the following day my referral had been submitted to the treatment centre in East London. I was able to book an appointment immediately to have my first consultation. The turnaround time between the first appointment and the actual admittance date is a maximum of eight weeks. Had I still been on the NHS waiting list I would still be waiting, for a very long time. I am not in any way slamming the NHS and absolutely understand their restraints and problems but if you can find another way to ease your pain then why not?

As the date for my operation draws closer, I feel relieved that the pain will soon be over. If anyone reading this has a similar issue please don’t be afraid to speak to your GP about other options. They can also do referrals to private hospitals in Birmingham if the hospitals have the spaces. Care UK have been a godsend for me and it’s frustrating that I would never have known anything about it had I not had that very useful conversation with my friend. I hope this serves to enlighten other readers too.