NHS knee and hip operations go private as demand soars

THOUSANDS more Nhsfunded hip and knee replacements are being carried out privately than five years ago, figures reveal.

Almost one in three Nhsfunded knee replacements and one in five hip replacements are now being carried out by independent healthcare providers.

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) said soaring demand and long waiting lists were to blame. It warned this was having a negative impact on young surgeons, who were unable to access training opportunities in the independent sector.

The data, published in response to a parliamentary question by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the Labour peer, shows 28,700 Nhsfunded knee replacements were carried out by independent providers in 201617. This represents nearly 30 per cent of NHS replacements that year, compared with 20 per cent in 2012-13 when there were 16,688.

Meanwhile, 22,872 NHS hip replacements were carried out privately in 2016-17, accounting for just under 20 per cent of the total. This was an increase from 2012-13, when there were 14,427 undertaken by private providers, or 14 per cent.

Prof Derek Alderson, president of the RCS, said: “Faced with growing demand for services and unacceptably long waiting lists, the NHS is increasingly looking to the independent sector to relieve some of the pressure.”