Woman who had her knee operation in India and saved thousands



H

Habshi

Guest
And she had a fantastic three week holiday , all for less
than five weeks including air fares for two !

full story on http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode-
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In desperation, they considered private treatment, but they
could not afford the £8,000 it would cost in Britain.

However, on the advice of her GP, Ms Proffitt surfed the
internet for knee replacements in India and the first option
they came up with was Apollo Hospitals.

She e-mailed the organisation and was referred to a doctor
at one of its hospitals in the port city of Chennai, on the
Bay of Bengal.

Ms Proffitt received an e-mail from the doctor within a week
and then spoke to him on the telephone. He said she could
come over in as little as three weeks.

"This was the best news in months," said Ms Proffitt. "All
we had to do was book our flights, Apollo did the rest."

Ms Proffitt sent copies of her medical records, X-rays and
scans in advance.

Although waits are coming down, patients at hospitals in
Notts can expect to wait up to 17 weeks for an appointment
with an orthopaedic specialist and then a further nine
months before the operation will take place.

Apollo Hospitals told the Hucknall pair the operation would
cost about £2,200, and accommodation after the hospital stay
would be £45 per day, including all food and drink.

Ms Proffitt said she was never worried by the prospect of
travelling almost 5,000 miles for an operation in a hospital
she had never seen.

"I had read about a man who had gone to India for similar
surgery and that reassured me," she said.

"I had been on their website and once I had spoken to the
doctor, that put my mind at rest. It was absolutely
stress free."

In India, the couple were collected from the airport.

Ms Proffitt spent a day in hospital and then underwent a four-and-a-
half hour operation.

Afterwards, she was assigned a nurse who was dedicated
to her care.

"We were treated like royalty," she said.

Following a one-week stay in hospital, Ms Proffitt and her
partner were transferred to a beach-side hotel to continue
her rehabilitation.

"Every day I would walk my "golden mile" down to the
beach and sit in the sunshine and look at the sea," said
Ms Proffitt.

"We had such a lovely time. The people were so friendly and
the places were so colourful."

At the end of the 19-day stay, transport was arranged back
to the airport and a few weeks later a bill arrived
itemising every expense from cotton wool buds to each pair
of surgical gloves used by staff.

The invoice was for 180,000 rupees, or £2,227.

In total, including flights and accommodation, the cost of
the surgery and trip for the couple was £3,700.