Hip replacement for 86yo DM-worth going private?

[twentyten]

Hello.My DM is finally getting to the point where she recognises she needs a hip replacement-she has suffered from arthrits for years and for the past 6 months can only go out with me in a wheelchair,and walks with a zimmer in her bungalow.
She is completely on the ball and with it but in a lot of pain-on morphine tablets.
She is terrified of hospitals- last time she was a paient was giving birth to my brother 55 years ago! She can afford to pay to go private-is it worth the £16K?And survival rate? I feel a bit a a loss as to how to advise her.

Any thoughts really wecome.thanks

Hi. I work in a private hospital in Manchester, and I personally would recommend going private. The waiting lists are much smaller than nhs and the success rate at our place is 98% which is very high. All private patients get their own room so plenty of privacy. And as far as the operation goes I would say the doctors are some of the best surgeons in the country

Hope this helps

Thank you lifeisshort!!That's really reassuring.Thanks(love the name!)

:-) thanks. The company I work for is called 'spire' they have hospitals all over the country. Might be worth her going and looking around one will make her feel much better.

Good plan-

My advice would be private or NHS make sure you research which surgeon you use. Ask for recommendations from family and friends/gp/.
Private will be nicer, as lifeisshort said, private room etc.
Good luck

you see my mum had a hip replacement and she could have had it done it one the nhs but in private hospital but decided not to -the nhs hosptial had more expereince and better after care - which is really important in the success of hip replacement - and it entirely possible it would be the same consultant as you would get on the nhs. could you go with her to the gp and have a dicussion about it - eg merits of local hosptials/surgeons/aftercare -its going to depend on the local situation really -also I would at least meet the nhs surgeon - has she been reffered?

Thanks for the comments- she had a referral letter but didn't act on it-also our local hospital has been famous for all the wrong reasons(!??!!!) so she is terrified-surgeons are the same.
Is there a care quality commision report on private hosps?

thanks for your advice-I apreciate it!

She may be able to choose and book to a local private hospital?

My advice would be nhs. Although private hospitals look lovely and the food is better,will get a private room etc (tho you may be able to get that by paying in the nhs trust specifically for a side room), a hip replacement is a serious op, wth good outcomes, but if something does go wrong ,nhs hospitals are much better equipped and staffed to deal with really unwell patients.

I'm in private. Yes the NHS has better 'emergency' facilities but we've never had a hip replacement that has needed ITU care post-op. You also won't be rushed out before being ready as is quite likely in the NHS due to bed pressures unfortunately. Like I say we take choose and book NHS patients so it may be an option.

I agree she should be able to choose a different hospital on the the NHS

All hospitals are regulated and I've worked nhs and now private and I personally believe that private is much better, I even gave birth in a private hospital.

Most private hospitals have a website and have lots of recent audit report results and even customer satisfaction comments.

A hip replacement isn't something to take lightly. A few years ago my grandfather had one done on the nhs and was ill for weeks and weeks after he has his other hip done at our hospital just weeks ago and was in for 3 days and feels like new man. He wishes he went private the first time.

At work today we did 3 hips just today and all were successful.

Don't get me wrong I know you can pay extra on the nhs and get better care but in my opinion the nhs needs getting rid of all
together.

lifeishort given your views I am not sure you are the right person to give advice - in my view the NHS is one of the best things about the UK - had amazing treatment and so have family member - not helpful either for the OP I know
this has lots of background on doctors and hospitals
www.drfosterhealth.co.uk/consultant-guide/

My dad 84 had hip op in April and is now back driving he had it done privately as he was in so much pain he couldn't wait, cost him £11000. They were good up to a point but they should never have allowed him out after 4 days. He was extremely anaemic when they did the op and more so after yet they still released him. He went home to a wife with dementia who kept him and his various helpers(myself and Dsis) up for nights on end. Another story. His social services weren't in place for another week. He would never have been released from a NHS hospital before Ss were in place. They most certainly won't release from an NHS hospital without proper social services in place. Private want the bed back for the next op.
He is terrified of hospitals but went as the pain forced it on him, he hated the posh food they had a French chef- sounded fab to me!

Thanks for all the comments and advice.Lelly your comments are really interesting as this is my concern-aftercare but I hope I can plan around that.Food etc comments are useful too!

Thank you all for your views-really useful links another as I need to do my homework!
Shows the magic of mumsnet-ta[simile]

Meant !

just to add from my mum's experience - I can't empasis how important the after care is -the hospital had up out of bed and walking very quickly and there was all sorts of help - physio and occupation health
she was out of hospital after about 5 days I think but needed ALOT of care after that and got a bladder infection which wasn't nice
That said she was in lot of pain before hand and was back to very good health in a couple of months
does your mum have friends - at least some of them will have hip replacments - my mum found it helpful to talk to other people about their experience

I have had experience of relatives having Hip Replacements under the same surgeon, one on the NHS and the other in a Private Hospital (paid for)

My husband (aged 39 at the time) had op in NHS hospital - small 4 bedded ward, all patients encouraging each other to do necessary rehab and on hand physio and therapy staff and then sent home with all necessary stuff (toilet frame, walking frame, crutches) as well as arrangements for District Nurse visit and I think link into physio when needed.

My father (75 ish at the time) had op at Private hospital and whilst facilities were great (choice of food, we could visit when we wanted) he felt that the follow up care and support my husband got was better than that he was offered (or sent home with) from the private hospital.

Both ops done by same surgeon (who was selected based on recommendation from friends and then how the others surgery had gone). I will say that my husband had a longer journey in time from referral to surgery, but that was due in part to his age and them wanting to delay it as long as possible due to liklihood of him having to have further surgeries (average lifespan of a hip replacement being 20 years.)

So personal choice I think is the best advice, listening to the experience of others including your GP as they hear about issues or complaints about particular surgeons or hospitals, identifying what is important to the you / the person needing the surgery and then making the decision.

Thanks both for your thoughts-really helpful,will see how it all goes!!

Hi depends where you live. I wouldvdef use NHS where I live as has one of the best surgeons in country and fantastic outcomes. Local private uses same surgeons but have less aftercare

Hi depends where you live. I wouldvdef use NHS where I live as has one of the best surgeons in country and fantastic outcomes. Local private uses same surgeons but have less aftercare