Nuffield Health Exeter removes time limits on aftercare for patients

Nuffield Health Exeter Hospital is set to launch a unique service to local patients who require common surgical procedures.

For the first time, patients choosing to have their care outside of the NHS will have no time limits placed on their aftercare following procedures like hip replacements or hernia repair.

The Exeter hospital, part of the Nuffield Health Charity, is launching the service in light of recent high profile concerns about patient care, both in the Independent sector and the NHS. Nuffield Health says it is simply making official its ethos of always putting patients first.

However, the move is significant as currently providers of private healthcare offer only short term guarantees of up to 28 days to patients following surgical procedures.

Following the widely publicised problems caused by PIP breast implants, and the recent Government review into bad practices in cosmetic surgery, Nuffield Health hopes the move will reassure patients who have lost faith in the healthcare system.

The new initiative also provides assurance and guarantees about treatment and treatment prices, often hidden by clinics offering cut price healthcare, and who provide neither follow up nor assistance should anything go wrong.

Paul Taylor, Hospital Director at Nuffield Health Exeter, said: “Our relationship with our patients does not end when they walk out of our hospital. Wherever possible, we will provide follow up advice, treatment and care for as long as our patients may need it.

"When it became apparent that PIP breast implants were potentially harmful, unlike many other hospitals, we took the immediate step of contacting our patients, offering assessment and removing and replacing implants in those where there was need.

"As we saw with PIP implants, the NHS does not have the resources to mop up after the private sector when something goes wrong after a month or even a year. We are absolutely confident that the service we offer here in Exeter is second to none and because of this we are able to make this guarantee to all patients

Patricia Lee, Chief Executive of Nuffield Health Hospitals, said: “We hope we are providing a product which will go some way to empowering patients to make informed decisions about their healthcare while removing some of the stress and uncertainty that visiting hospital naturally causes.

"People need to be reassured that if they need surgery that it is effective and safe and that the decisions they make are not going to trip them up further down the line because a hospital provider is more interested in taking their money than helping them get well.”

The initiative is aimed at self-funding patients who are having traditional elective surgical procedures, including hip and knee replacements, weight loss surgery, cataract surgery and hernia removal.

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