TV doctor Hilary Jones skips the NHS waiting list for surgery – and you can too with little-known trick
The popular GP, 72, from Kent, underwent a second hip replacement in a hospital in Birmingham, using an NHS referral service to fast-track the op.
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Now, he is speaking out about his own surgery to show others waiting for treatment that they can also fast-track themselves - as long as they're happy to travel.
Hilary was told he had moderately severe osteoarthritis in 2018, after suffering from hip pain.
He had his right hip replaced weeks later on the NHS.
But in October last year, the GP found out his left hip would also need surgery, after struggling with mobility.
When he was told he'd have to wait over a year for hip replacement in Kent, he took advantage of an NHS loophole few people know exist.
It's called NHS Patient Choice and it provides patients with a legal right to choose where they receive their NHS healthcare services, including hospitals and other providers.
This includes many private hospitals, as long as they provide services to the NHS and it does not cost the health service any more than a referral to a standard NHS hospital.
Hilary discovered a hospital in the middle of the country that had almost no waiting list and decided to make the 360-mile round trip for surgery.
At his local hospital he would have waited more than a year but this took half that time.
Speaking after his procedure at Practice Plus Group 's new hospital in Birmingham, Hilary said: 'It was 180 miles from my home to Birmingham - but as it's a new hospital and it's a private hospital that treats NHS patients, they could get me in very quickly just with a referral from my GP.
'I'd do it again in a heartbeat for faster, quality care and highly recommend it.
"Patient Choice gives people real power - they just need to know it's there.
"The NHS App is going to be developed further to make this easier, and you can speak to your GP about your choices.
'You can choose to be referred to a private hospital at the outset, or you can switch hospitals like I did if you're facing delays locally.
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"It's free for the patient and costs the NHS no more than if that same patient had their op at an NHS hospital.
"For people like me, who are lucky enough to be mobile despite needing an operation, it makes complete sense to find a hospital that can do your operation sooner so you can get on the road to recovery sooner.
'People don't want to be on a waiting list. They want to get on with their lives.
'Every single person that looked after me was amazing and couldn't have done any more. I am delighted with the result so far.'
The news follows a poll of 1,000 adults suffering from chronic aches and pains - including those in need of hip and knee replacements - which revealed people in need of NHS operations would be willing to travel if it meant they could get the surgery they're desperate for, sooner.
On average, respondents were happy to travel 60 miles if it meant they'd be seen within three-to-four weeks, or 49 miles for a six-to-eight-week timeframe.
TIMELINE OF THE NHS WAITING LIST
THE NHS waiting list in England has become a political flashpoint as it has ballooned in recent years, more than doubling in a decade.
The statistics for England count the number of procedures, such as operations and non-surgical treatments, that are due to patients.
The procedures are known as elective treatment because they are planned and not emergencies. Many are routine ops such as for hip or knee replacements, cataracts or kidney stones, but the numbers also include some cancer treatments.
This is how the wait list has changed over time:
August 2007: 4.19million – The first entry in current records.
December 2009: 2.32million – The smallest waiting list on modern record.
April 2013: 2.75million – The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition restructures the NHS. Current chancellor Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary.
April 2016: 3.79million – Junior doctors go on strike for the first time in 40 years. Theresa May is elected Prime Minister.
February 2020: 4.57million – The final month before the UK's first Covid lockdown in March 2020.
July 2021: 5.61million – The end of all legal Covid restrictions in the UK.
January 2023: 7.21million – New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to reduce waiting lists within a year, effectively April 2024.
September 2023: 7.77million – The highest figure on record comes during a year hit with strikes by junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance workers.
February 2024: 7.54million – Ministers admit the pledge to cut the backlog has failed.
August 2024: 7.64million – List continues to rise under Keir Starmer's new Labour Government.
September 2024: 7.57million – A one per cent decline is the first fall since February and a glimmer of hope.
December 2024: 7.46million – The list has fallen for four consecutive months.
January 2025: 7.43m – still falling but slowly, likely due to added strain on emergency services and more cancellations due to illness over winter.
And one in 10 would even travel over 200 miles if they could get the NHS surgery they need within a month.
Of those polled, 36 per cent are currently on a waiting list, and 17 per cent have been in a queue for more than a year.
But 55 per cent had no idea that under NHS Patient Choice, you can choose to travel to a hospital outside of your area that has a shorter waiting list - often a private hospital that treats NHS patients.
Those surveyed had similar motivations to Dr Hilary, with 55 per cent simply wanting to resume normal activities sooner, and 68 per cent wanting to avoid prolonged discomfort and pain.
For 63 per cent, avoiding the stress of waiting was also key.
However, 88 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, believed the option to choose your hospital needed to be promoted more widely.
Commissioned by Practice Plus Group hospitals, which treat NHS patients as well as those who choose their Wellsoon private healthcare option, the survey also revealed 35 per cent of those who would consider going private to beat the waiting lists would travel for more than 90 minutes if it meant saving £2,000 or more on the cost of paying for a hip or knee replacement.
Jim Easton, chief executive, added: 'It's fantastic for patients that in the NHS 10 year plan, the government has renewed its commitment to using capacity in the private sector and to creating a new patient choice charter to ensure the NHS is receptive and reactive to patient preferences.
'To achieve the ambitious waiting time targets, we also need more people to know that they can travel outside of their immediate area if they find a hospital that can see them sooner.
'It is important people realise they have the power to be proactive and get their treatment sooner, get back to work and back on track as soon as possible.
'Dr Hilary found this at our Birmingham hospital which currently can see people in a few short weeks.
'We're proud to have been able to help him and wish him a speedy and healthy recovery.'
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