Donaghadee pensioner's anger at having to travel for knee surgery
- Published
Christine Wallace was living in pain but feels relieved of it after her surgery
A pensioner is furious with Northern Ireland politicians who, she said, left her with no option but to spend her savings on knee surgery in Poland.
Christine Wallace was told the wait for her knee replacement surgery could be five years - although the health department says most waits are shorter.
She spent £8,500 on her hospital stay.
While Ms Wallace said the relief of her new knee was fantastic, she felt she had no alternative but to pay as she could no longer live with the pain.
The latest available health department figures, from 31 March, showed 25,075 patients were waiting for inpatient or day case admission under the trauma and orthopaedic surgery specialty.
The department said its median waiting time for such operations was 74 weeks, with only one in 20 patients waiting more than five years.
"Our preferred measure of average is the median... because waiting times tend to be skewed by longer waits and therefore more patients are waiting for less time than the mean," said a department statement.
'Scream with pain'
Ms Wallace had been suffering with knee pain since 2014 and, as the years progressed, she went from being able to walk miles to struggling to come down the stairs.
"I could feel my knee crunch whenever I stood up or sat down," said the County Down woman.
"Sleeping was shocking - when I moved my leg I would scream with pain."
The cortisone injections given by her doctor no longer provided relief.
She ended up having to take morphine-based painkillers but despite that she was told it would be a five or six year wait for surgery.
"Nobody should have to think they just have to live with pain," says Christine
"I thought: 'No, I could be dead tomorrow.'
"I thought: 'I can't live like this anymore.' Nobody should have to live in this constant pain.
"Nobody should have to think, for the rest of their life, that there is nothing that can be done and they just have to live with pain."
'Pain takes away the person that you are'
At that point the pain was affecting not just the quality of Ms Wallace's life but her mental health as well.
"Pain takes away the person that you are, it takes away your personality, it drains you," she said.
She then started to look into private treatment, both in Northern Ireland and abroad.
After searching for clinics, corresponding with hospitals and reading reviews from other UK citizens that had travelled abroad for treatment, she settled on a private clinic in the southern Poland.
"Pain takes away the person that you are, it takes away your personality, it drains you," said Christine
The treatment package - which included surgery, a hospital stay for 12 days and one-to-one physiotherapy for the duration - cost £8,500.
Ms Wallace said the cost was just over half of what she was quoted for a comparable operation in a private clinic in Belfast.
"It was a no-brainer," she added.
From her ward in Poland, Ms Wallace sent regular video updates home.
A translation app proved invaluable when communicating with the medical staff who did not speak English.
After two weeks she was back on the plane home.
Watch: Christine Wallace's trip to Poland
While she missed her family and found some days to be lonely, she said that, all in all it was a positive experience.
Now seven weeks later, the pain has almost eased and Ms Wallace's mobility is hugely improved.
"The way this has changed my life, the way that this has given me my life back, I am very proud of my Polish knee."
The lack of pain feels great but Ms Wallace said she remained furious that she had to spend her savings on something that she feels she has paid for throughout her working life.
She feels the waiting times for operations could be cut with a more effective health service but difficult decisions were not taken in the past and important reforms are now impossible without a functioning government.
Northern Ireland has had no health minister since the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) quit Stormont 16 months ago in protest against Brexit trading arrangements.
In guidance for patients thinking of travelling abroad for private treatment, the Department of Health said an individual would not be entitled to related pre- or post-treatment support from primary or secondary care services in Northern Ireland if they have travelled abroad for surgery.
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- Published4 December 2019
