‘I SPENT £12,000 ON A NEW KNEE’

ARTIST Debbie Plaskett, 61, paid £12,000 for a knee replacement in February last year, after being told she would have to wait two years to have it done on the NHS.

The married mother-of-one from Norfolk, right, was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees in November 2019 after being referred for an X-ray by her local GP.

She says: ‘I was in agony – there was basically no cartilage left inside my knee joints. I was told my only option was surgery. I’ve always been outdoorsy but I wasn’t even able to go walking with my three greyhounds. I was devastated.’

Debbie was booked in to have her right knee replaced on the NHS, but had to wait until January 2021 for the operation.

The surgery was a success, but when she went to see her doctor for a follow-up appointment, he told her she’d have to wait up to two years to have her left knee done.

‘He said I’d be better off going private if I could,’ says Debbie. She contacted her local BMI hospital, which offered her an interest-free credit agreement, as long as she paid half up front. She made the down payment using a credit card.

Although both of these will take several years to pay off, she says: ‘I took the view that I could spend two years of watching my spending or two years not being able to walk. I always feel I made the right decision – especially after seeing how long the waiting lists for NHS treatment are now. I’m back to being able to walk as far as I want without taking any painkillers.’