Knee Replacement in France for UK Resident

[leclairon]

Does anybody have experience of a UK Resident coming to France for an op if there is a very long delay for the op in UK? I believe there is an S2 Form that can be completed by both NHS and French Health Service which gives authority for the NHS to pay in the event of unreasonable waiting times. I had previously read of people coming over, mostly for hip and knee replacements.
My sister is in a lot of pain and will need of a knee replacement (according to GP) but long delays to get an MRI, then the Consultant, then a 2 year wait for the op. I thought I would try and find out some info for her.
Many thanks.

[Blaze]

I can't help you with the UK resident bit but OH had a total knee replacement a couple of years ago.

None of the waiting times were very long but there were a lot of pre-op rendezvous : you'd need as much info/xrays as possible from your GP to see a consultant/surgeon (preferably translated into French). The surgeon would want more checks done in France : x-rays, scans and MRI. He'd also give you a prescription to see the anaesthetist (OH had this on the same day as seeing the consultant). There would also be follow-up appointments after the op.

In all, you need to prepare for at least 10 different visits, not all in the same place, and the cost of an overnight stay in hospital.

Other people may well have had different experiences but Rennes, for example, has an excellent reputation for such ops.

[leclairon]

Thanks, Blaze. I guessed they would want their own scans, etc. and I thought the RDVs might be difficult to organise, pre and post op. I am just trying to gather some info at this stage. She is in a great deal of pain and it seems to have deteriorated fairly suddenly but that seems to have no bearing on the waiting time. It seems as if it is something the NHS do consider when they can't cope.

[Pathca]

Back in February the mean waiting time for an NHS knee replacement was just over 6 months Certainly my family and friends who have had various replacements have not had excessively long waits

[leclairon]

Thanks Pathca. I had checked online and it said 18 weeks but my sister said the GP told her he had people waiting over 18 months. I believe she has to wait over 2 months to see a Consultant after referral from the GP, once she can get an MRI! Her sister in law has been waiting 14 months so far for a hip replacement. It may depend on the area. It would be great if she could get it done within 6 months.

[Pathca]

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/health ... ing-route/

[leclairon]

Thank you for that. I had sent the link to my sister. As mentioned, it might be the pre and post op appointments which would be difficult, though as it is sanctioned by the NHS, she should be able to get follow up in the UK. First prize would be to get it done timeously where she lives ...

[widge]

A friend of ours (french resident) had her knee replaced, she had to wait 3 months from referal to operation, after the op she had a 3 week stay in a recoupration hospital to train and strengthen her leg through intense physiotherapy both in and out of thermal baths, I dont know what its like in the uk now but years ago it could take several weeks to even get a physio appointment after the op, and then it was the odd hour here and there, with you expected to do most of it yourself at home.

[Blaze]

A friend of ours (french resident) had her knee replaced, she had to wait 3 months from referal to operation, after the op she had a 3 week stay in a recoupration hospital to train and strengthen her leg through intense physiotherapy both in and out of thermal baths,

She must have had very good mutuelle cover because it's unlikely all that would have been paid by the secu ! Or perhaps she went privately. Most people are in for one night, though that can vary. Normally people are given exercises beforehand to prepare and strengthen the knee then physio afterwards. The preparation makes quite a difference to the recovery rate afterwards but that can depend on age, state of health/physical state and of course whether you are overweight or not !

[widge]

I dont know exactly, but she was running a small farm, so I guess all the health stuff might have been done through the business, sadly she recently died of cancer, so i can't ask I'm afraid.