‘No one’s being honest about it’: how NHS crisis forces patients to go private

Rosemary Duff, 71, had both hips replaced privately because the NHS waiting time was too long for her to endure. Photograph: David Levene/The Observer

When Rosemary Duff heard how long she would have to wait for a hip replacement operation on the NHS, she felt she had no choice but to dip into her savings.

“I waited a month to see my GP, then another four months to see a consultant. His opening words were ‘unless you go private, there’s an 18-month waiting list’, which was a bit of a shock,” said Duff, 71, from Norwich. “Much against my principles, I agreed to go private.”