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GP Stitches removal refusal.
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Pwd1690
Posts: 1 Newbie
Because of the very lengthy hospital waiting lists and the effect of not being able to get a knee replacement on my every day life we opted to find the money to go privately.
To the hospital which the closest to us is Aberdeen which is a two hour drive each way.
The operation is planned for the 20th May and so as to avoid the 4 hour round trip after knee surgery i went to my local GP surgery and told them about the operation.
I asked do I need to book to get mystitches out.
They said they would not do that as I had gone privately.
I am 71 and my wife is 76, We have managed to fund the operation ourselfs having saved the NHS a huge amount of money and not going on the waiting list and the Local NHS surgery refuse to remove the stitches.
To the hospital which the closest to us is Aberdeen which is a two hour drive each way.
The operation is planned for the 20th May and so as to avoid the 4 hour round trip after knee surgery i went to my local GP surgery and told them about the operation.
I asked do I need to book to get mystitches out.
They said they would not do that as I had gone privately.
I am 71 and my wife is 76, We have managed to fund the operation ourselfs having saved the NHS a huge amount of money and not going on the waiting list and the Local NHS surgery refuse to remove the stitches.
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Comments
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That’s awful! My mum had her hip replaced privately last year in Glasgow. The surgeon referred her back to her GP for physio and aftercare, including removing the stitches.
Did you get a referral from your GP to go private? Mum’s surgeon asked for that so that her care would be joined up.0 -
I think it is upto the surgery to devise their own policy on post-operative care for privately carried out surgeries.
While everyone can understand your logic that you have saved the NHS money, you have paid for a private procedure and removing the sutures is and should be part of that procedure. That the hospital is a long way away, is not the GP's fault and it should be something you considered when deciding to go private.
I would discuss it with the hospital whether you can remove the sutures yourself, or whether they can use an alternative sutures that will dissolve in time so that removal is not necessary. It might cost a little more for these sutures, but if that saves a four hour round-trip it will be well worth it.
Good luck with the op!The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.1 -
So how come everyone who gets botched surgery in Turkey gets the NHS to put it right? Utterly ridiculous.
Mr Generous - Landlord for more than 10 years. Generous? - Possibly but sarcastic more likely.5 -
Mr.Generous said:So how come everyone who gets botched surgery in Turkey gets the NHS to put it right? Utterly ridiculous.
The NHS 'putting it right' would be giving them the results they initially wanted (on top of repairing damage), which doesn't happen unless medically necessary.0 -
Pwd1690 said:Because of the very lengthy hospital waiting lists and the effect of not being able to get a knee replacement on my every day life we opted to find the money to go privately.
To the hospital which the closest to us is Aberdeen which is a two hour drive each way.
The operation is planned for the 20th May and so as to avoid the 4 hour round trip after knee surgery i went to my local GP surgery and told them about the operation.
I asked do I need to book to get mystitches out.
They said they would not do that as I had gone privately.
I am 71 and my wife is 76, We have managed to fund the operation ourselfs having saved the NHS a huge amount of money and not going on the waiting list and the Local NHS surgery refuse to remove the stitches.
As for saving the NHS money, irrespective of waiting lists, would you have met the threshold for knee surgery on the NHS?
The private services will basically do a knee surgery on request. I know this from direct experience - earlier in the year my MiL decided she needed a new knee, called on a Thursday, saw the consultant on the following Monday and was given a quote straight away. No Ultrasound or MRI or similar investigation to establish root cause of the pain and stiffness, no history taking (there was no prolonged history of knee trouble). She was booked in for a fortnight later. Never went because, by the weekend, her knee was better so she cancelled. Gave me quite a poor opinion of the professionalism of private health care providers.1 -
Grumpy_chap said:Pwd1690 said:Because of the very lengthy hospital waiting lists and the effect of not being able to get a knee replacement on my every day life we opted to find the money to go privately.
To the hospital which the closest to us is Aberdeen which is a two hour drive each way.
The operation is planned for the 20th May and so as to avoid the 4 hour round trip after knee surgery i went to my local GP surgery and told them about the operation.
I asked do I need to book to get mystitches out.
They said they would not do that as I had gone privately.
I am 71 and my wife is 76, We have managed to fund the operation ourselfs having saved the NHS a huge amount of money and not going on the waiting list and the Local NHS surgery refuse to remove the stitches.
As for saving the NHS money, irrespective of waiting lists, would you have met the threshold for knee surgery on the NHS?
The private services will basically do a knee surgery on request. I know this from direct experience - earlier in the year my MiL decided she needed a new knee, called on a Thursday, saw the consultant on the following Monday and was given a quote straight away. No Ultrasound or MRI or similar investigation to establish root cause of the pain and stiffness, no history taking (there was no prolonged history of knee trouble). She was booked in for a fortnight later. Never went because, by the weekend, her knee was better so she cancelled. Gave me quite a poor opinion of the professionalism of private health care providers.I had knee problems in my early 30s, I damaged it quite badly and had 4 knee ops. I was told I would get arthritis and would need a replacement. I saw a Consultant when I was 58 and he took one look at the X ray and said he couldn’t do anything apart from replace it as it was such a mess.. I had it done 17 weeks later.
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The difference is, MurphyBear, you had a 20+years history of knee issues which MiL did not.0
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Have you tried your District Nurse?
Let's Be Careful Out There0
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