The reason why this famous TV doctor travelled 360 miles for surgery

TV doctor Hilary Jones went on a 360-mile round trip for surgery to bypass his local NHS waiting list.

The popular doctor from Kent underwent a second hip replacement in a hospital in Birmingham, 180 miles from home, to reduce his waiting time for treatment.

Now, the 72-year-old is speaking out about his surgery to show others awaiting treatment that they can also fast-track themselves if they’re able to travel.

He took advantage of NHS Patient Choice after discovering a hospital that had almost no waiting list in the middle of the country.

Patient choice in the NHS provides patients with a legal right to choose where they receive their NHS healthcare services, including hospitals and other providers.

This will include many private hospitals if they provide services to the NHS and it does not cost the health service any more than a referral to a standard NHS hospital.

Speaking after his procedure, 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.’

Hilary added that he was in a position to travel to make the operation sooner, adding: ‘People don’t want to be on a waiting list. They want to get on with their lives.

‘Every single person who looked after me was amazing and couldn’t have done any more. I am delighted with the result so far.’

It 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.

The poll found respondents were happy to travel up to 60 miles if it meant they’d be seen within three to four weeks. One in 10 said they’d travel over 200 miles if they could get an NHS surgery within a month.

Of those polled, 36% are currently on a waiting list and 17% have been in a queue for more than a year.

Last year, statistics from the Liberal Democrats found that more than half of Brits using private healthcare say they decided not to use the NHS because of the length of the wait.

The research also found that one in seven people in the UK decided to turn to private medical care in the past year.

Among their reasons for doing so were the lack of availability in NHS treatments and the difference in quality of care.

But 54% of people cited the extent of the wait times as the main reason why they or a member of their family went private.

After the general election last year, Labour promised to return to meeting NHS performance standards, meaning ‘patients should expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral for consultant-led treatment of non-urgent health conditions’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.