- Around 40,000 hip replacement operations were carried out at NHS sites in 2022
- For comparison: around 50,000 completed procedures took place in private clinics, as figures show
According to the data, most hip replacement operations are carried out in private rather than NHS hospitals.
Figures from the National Joint Registry show that around 40,000 hip replacements were carried out at NHS sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2022, while around 50,000 were carried out in private clinics.
However, the vast majority were still funded by healthcare, with only 25,000 of the procedures paid for by patients themselves or through private insurance.
NHS England said it was using capacity in the independent sector to treat “as many patients as possible”.
But experts warned that using private hospitals was only a “short-term solution” and did not provide enough capacity to reduce the record shortfall of 7.68 million.
Figures from the National Joint Registry show that around 40,000 hip replacement operations were carried out at NHS sites (purple bars) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2022, while around 50,000 were carried out in private clinics (blue, orange and green bars).
The National Joint Registry’s annual report is based on nearly 1.5 million hip replacement surgeries performed by more than 4,000 surgeons at nearly 500 units
The National Joint Registry’s annual report is based on nearly 1.5 million hip replacement surgeries performed by more than 4,000 surgeons at nearly 500 units.
The register covers England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Guernsey.
The latest report found that NHS-funded operations in NHS facilities peaked in 2014.
The document says: “They remained at the same level until Covid but have now fallen back to levels below 2007 levels.”
“Care in the independent sector has increased hugely over this period, particularly in the last few years of recovery from Covid, and now more hip replacements are being carried out in the independent sector than in the NHS.”
“Despite the cost of living crisis, the number of privately paid hip replacements has almost doubled since 2019.”
The story was first reported by the Health magazine.
Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Waiting lists are at an all-time high and timely access to surgery is key to improving the country’s health.”
“While the NHS should continue to have the option to use the independent sector to provide additional elective capacity, this is only a short-term solution and does not provide enough capacity to address the backlog.”
“The government must continue to invest in additional NHS surgical capacity.”
“This will enable the service to manage future pandemics as well as regular seasonal stresses and to achieve and maintain the required level of election activity.”
“NHS trusts must ensure that training opportunities continue to be offered to surgical trainees as operations move to the independent sector.”
He said the creation of more surgical centers at a regional level was key to reducing long waiting lists for surgery “as they create important additional capacity, particularly in orthopaedics”.
Mr Mitchell called for more hubs, arguing they provide a “safe space” to carry out operations even as the NHS is under pressure.
An NHS England spokeswoman said: “As this report shows, most hip replacements are still funded by the NHS, but the health service is using all available capacity, including the independent sector, to treat as many patients as possible.”
“NHS use of the independent sector has increased by more than a third since 2021, from 65,000 appointments and procedures per week to now over 90,000. This has helped us reduce the number of people waiting more than 65 weeks for treatment by almost 60 percent from its peak.’