My wife need a new hip. She saw the GP about 6 weeks ago who got her X-rayed and referred, and this week got her NHS consultant appointment for the end of June. From there it's anyone guess how long it would be to the op - last time she got a cancellation after about a month, but in a hospital an hour away.
Meantime her son (who works in the City, and who is off to Chicago for 2 years in August) said he'd pay for her to go privately.
We saw the consultant last Thursday, and she goes in for her op Friday 29th. 2 weeks and a day, and £12k is all it takes.
This being her second hip replacement, at least she knows that afterwards she's likely to be fully mobile before too long, and good for the next few years.