‘I’m going to pay £12,000 to go private for a back operation as I can’t wait a year’: Former Shropshire firefighter feels for the ‘thousands less fortunate waiting in pain’
A retired south Shropshire firefighter has said he is going to pay more than £12,000 for an operation on his back after being told he will have to wait for at least a year just to be seen on the NHS.
John Head from Ludlow says he wants to raise awareness for the "thousands left in pain" who cannot afford to pay for their operations.
The 85-year-old former firefighter said he has been having problems with his back since suffering falls last year.
“It started about eight months ago when I had a couple of falls and started to get a lot of back problems. It got to the point where I could hardly get out of bed," he said.
“I went to a physiotherapist and nothing improved, so I was referred to my GP and went for an X-ray, then an MRI scan.
