"Ipswich Hospital "

I am a patient of Ipswich hospital's rheumatology Department. I have a form of arthritis caused by an hereditary connective tissue disorder. Every year I attend my appointment, explain to the doctor the pain I suffer in my hip and the lack of mobility I experience. Sometimes I get an X ray and he looks at it and tells me my hip is OK (but doesn't explain why in that case it causes me so many problems). Usually he tells me I need to lose weight and that would help, but when at my last appointment I told him I had lost a stone but was still in just as much pain, he didn't comment. He just tells me that they will replace my hip when the time is right (although he doesn't say what that means or what I am supposed to do in the meantime) and gives me an appointment for another 12 months. I receive no treatment at all from the NHS apart from painkillers which I pay for on prescription. Everything I have ever found that helped my arthritis, from hydrotherapy to gentle yoga classes to a personal trainer to orthotic insoles, I have had to pay for privately. Some years ago I did receive 6 sessions in the hydrotherapy pool at Ipswich Hospital but was told this is all I could have and I would have to go private if I wanted more. I saw a physio at the hospital a few times but that didn't help, and I saw an orthotist who failed to spot the problems that a private orthotist saw immediately. The comments on your site from the person experiencing knee problems really sounded familiar !