Healthcare options to keep you in your livelihood
Healthcare Options – Paying for the treatment you need to keep you in your livelihood: Brian’s Story
For many of us not being able to work can mean not being able to make a living. When your way of life is also you job it’s important to understand all the options that are available to you. If a procedure isn’t available on the NHS or you don’t have private medical treatment being aware of your options can mean that we are able to get the treatment we need quicker and get back to work faster.
That was the case for 63 year-old Carmarthenshire dairy farmer Brian Walters who, before his life changing total hip replacement operation, had given up hope of ever being able to work on his farm without suffering pain. However, six months on from the procedure, Brian is ‘farming his land with a new lease of life’.
Brian had the self-pay operation at BMI Healthcare after he made the decision not to wait to have the procedure on the NHS: “I’d previously had a hip replacement and so went to see the same specialist on the NHS, but when I was told I might have to wait months if not over a year before I would be pain free, I took matters into my own hands.
Brian explained: “I have to say it was very straight forward and I even found that BMI Healthcare had the very same specialist I’d seen on the NHS, so I just got a referral letter from my GP and I paid for it myself.”
Before his operation, Bryan suffered from severe arthritis in his right hip. The severe pain restricted his movements and he had to walk with a stick He also became very dependent on his wife. He said; “The constant pain from arthritis in my hip was incredible and I limped very badly, I could only walk for short distances at a time because of the pain. I found it very difficult driving our large farm vehicles, tractors were out of the question as I couldn’t get in and out. Walking the cows into the milking shed also became a challenge too.”
Arthritis of the hip joint is a common cause of pain and stiffness of the hip. Patients often suffer unnecessarily for many years when hip replacement surgery could provide them with long term pain relief. Around seventy thousand people in the UK have hip replacement surgery every year.
Brian decided to have the procedure because the incredible pain was affecting his quality of life and preventing him from doing his job and impacting his livelihood. Six weeks post operation and Bryan was walking without a stick. He now has full use of his hip and leg and is enjoying an active life again. “I was only in hospital for four days and went home on walking sticks. After six weeks I was walking unaided. I’ve had a great summer on the farm and got into farming life properly. For anyone who doesn’t have private medical insurance and who is considering paying for a procedure I would recommend it. The impact it has on your quality of life far exceeds the cost and it means you can get back to work and get back to family life faster.”
BMI Healthcare is the UK’s largest private hospital group. For more information on the ’Pay for Yourself’ options available at BMI Healthcare or their flexible finance option ‘BMI Card’ please visit: www.payingforyourself.co.uk or call: 0800 096 2695
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