Cwmbran Village Surgery
A
Anonymouse yesterday
Bad
I am extremely dissatisfied with the way this matter was handled I underwent surgery outside the UK at my own expense. The total cost of the surgery, including all associated costs, was more than £4,000. I made this decision because, had I undergone the procedure through the NHS, I would have faced a waiting period of approximately two years. I did not ask the NHS to pay for or contribute towards my surgery. I therefore took full financial responsibility for my treatment and, by having the procedure privately, also avoided placing any additional demand on the NHS waiting list. Following the surgery, I needed a simple appointment to have my surgical sutures removed. This was a routine procedure which would have taken approximately 10 minutes. My first appointment was cancelled without any notification to me. I only discovered that the appointment had been cancelled when I checked the NHS app. I subsequently requested another appointment. However, just one day before the scheduled appointment, I received a text message informing me that this appointment had also been cancelled because my surgery had taken place abroad. I was then advised that I would need to arrange the suture removal privately. I found this extremely difficult. I contacted numerous private doctors and hospitals, but I was repeatedly refused because the original surgery had taken place outside the UK. As a result, I was eventually forced to travel to Bristol to find a clinic willing to remove the sutures. By the time they were removed, they had remained in place for an additional four days beyond the planned removal date. The private suture removal, together with the cost of travelling to Bristol, cost me approximately £150. I find it extremely difficult to understand why, after paying more than £4,000 for my own surgery and not asking the NHS to contribute towards the cost, I could not receive a basic 10-minute appointment to have my sutures safely removed.
Dziovani D.