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Women in Britain are paying up to £11,154 for a hysterectomy in private hospitals due to delays to NHS gynaecological care, according to research by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The Guardian has spoken to three women regarding their experiences of paying privately for gynaecological treatment.
Rachel Bevan, a 33-year-old flood risk management worker from Aberystwyth, began experiencing severe period pains at the age of 16. “I was told I was just someone who has very heavy periods,” says Bevan. She was put on the pill, but when her periods returned after the birth of her son in 2022 the symptoms became worse.
She saw several GPs, with some suggesting her issue was “muscular” or that it was “probably a urinary tract infection”, before being referred to see a consultant who prescribed her an oestrogen patch. “He seemed reluctant to believe it might be endometriosis, but after six months of still being in agony, I was finally put on the waiting list for a diagnostic laparoscopy.”
When Bevan was told the NHS waiting list was at least a year, and a further four to five years to remove any potential endometriosis, she was “heartbroken” and decided to go private.
Within a month she saw a consultant and after an MRI scan she was diagnosed with adenomyosis and deep endometriosis, which is “tethering the back of my womb to my large and small intestine”. She is now looking forward to having a laparoscopy in the next month or so. “It’s a massive relief,” says Bevan.
With the cost of the private treatment reaching about £10,000, Bevan feels lucky she has been able to use the family’s emergency savings, as well as receiving some financial help from her husband’s parents. “I’m still finding it hard to process, but I can’t wait to finally live my life fully.”
In 2021 Abi, a 62-year-old communication tutor, realised she had a lump in her lower abdomen that was causing extreme discomfort and affecting her ability to go to the toilet. “I was quickly referred to a gynaecologist and was told I had several fibroids, one of which was the size of a melon,” says Abi, who lives in north Norfolk.
She was told it would be an 18-month wait on the NHS for a hysterectomy but the fibroids were stopping her from doing day-to-day activities such as lifting objects and exercising. “I am a strong supporter of the NHS and struggled with the idea of going private,” she says.
“However, after discussions with my wife we decided that I couldn’t wait that long and by coming off the waiting list it would allow someone else to take my place, so we decided to pay using our savings.”
Due to the size of the largest fibroid, she had a full hysterectomy costing nearly £12,000. The surgery was successful, but during a follow-up consultation she was told that doctors had discovered pre-cancerous cells which, had they not been removed, would have probably developed into cancer.
“I was absolutely shocked and felt a mixture of relief and horror at what might have happened if I had to wait. I also felt guilty that I escaped cancer only because I was able to pay for treatment.”
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Lauren Phillips, a 37-year-old freelance brand consultant from London, had been experiencing consistent pelvic pain and heavy periods for more than a decade, which became more intense and frequent in 2023. “The pain was manifesting every morning, at around 4am or 5am; it would be intense enough to wake me,” Phillips says. “I’d not been able to manage the pain myself, and it was disrupting my sleep. At that point I had also been noticing that my periods were lasting for 12 or 13 days.”
This prompted Phillips to visit a GP, who told her they could refer her to a specialist on the NHS but the waiting list would be 18 months. With the pain affecting her quality of life, Phillips felt she had no choice but to see a private gynaecologist. “At that point I was quite desperate, my quality of life was really quite dipping,” Phillips says.
Phillips was diagnosed with endometriosis by an internal ultrasound, with the private surgeon recommending she remove an ovarian cyst by laparoscopy. The total cost of the treatment was £10,000, but for Phillips it was worth it as it has greatly reduced the amount of pain she would usually have experienced. “For me, the surgery was worth that cost,” Phillips says. “I was in a position to have some savings, but I did have to borrow money from family as I am self-employed, so that was a consideration for me.
“The cost was worth it because at the time, nothing else I was doing was helping ease that pain, and the surgeon seemed really adamant that this would make a big difference to me.”
