A NEW clinic at Barnard Castle’s Richardson Hospital aims to cut down waiting lists for those in need of hip or knee surgery.
The clinic launched in February and, while operated by Nuffield Health, is funded by the NHS.
It is led by surgeon Tony Nargol, an international expert on hip and knee replacements.
Mr Nargol said: “The poor NHS is under pressure and Nuffield is taking some of that pressure off. Several of the patients have come to the clinic because they have been waiting at other hospitals for nearly nine months and still not received their surgery. We can operate usually within eight weeks.
“I just don’t think it is right patients should be waiting a year for surgery because they are going to get worse.”
The Nuffield Hospital, in Stockton, has added two new theatres to accommodate the increasing need.
Uniquely, Mr Nargol is a co-founder of a retrieval centre which tests implants and this had led to him being asked to testify in court cases across the globe.
The centre was established after a number of implants were found to be wearing out prematurely.
The surgeon said: “Many years ago we identified some of the poorer implants and they continue to be used around the world – hence our knowledge has been used in some cases to help patients when they have had to take on the big multinational companies to claim money back for the damage caused.
“What it means for our patients locally is I know what are the good implants that are going to last for a long time.
“Hip implants, in general, should last about 25 years. Our knee replacement is 15 to 20 years. I can put them into our patients knowing we have tested them independently and we don’t rely on companies and people making exaggerated claims.”
Mr Nargol said people do not realise how debilitating it can be to live with chronic pain and how it affects people’s moods, family life and even their ability to work and earn money.
He added: “If you have to wait a year-plus for treatment it wrecks them. One I saw today was so bad I said ‘I am going to get you in in April, we can’t wait eight weeks’. We have that flexibility at Nuffield.
“I have one of the best jobs in the world because the patients come in and they often say ‘this has changed my life’.”
People who are still on a waiting list can ask their GP to refer them to the clinic.
The hip and knee clinic at Richardson Hospital is open every Thursday afternoon.
