PATIENTS fed up with NHS waiting lists are saying "operate now, pay later" and paying for surgery on credit.

Private hospitals in Eastbourne and Worthing have seen a huge increase in the popularity of the special card, which offers a general credit limit of £5,000.

BMI Healthcare, which manages 43 private hospitals across the UK and is offering the medical credit cards, has had to double its staff to cope with a 25 per cent rise in demand.

The credit cards are being used by patients at Goring Hall Hospital in Worthing and Esperance Hospital, Eastbourne, two areas with long queues of NHS patients.

Janette Suttle, marketing manager for Goring Hall, said: "It has been very popular. We have had an increasing number of people making inquiries about the card."

The average private inpatient treatment costs about £2,000, while day surgery procedures outside the NHS would cost about £800.

Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust has 5,033 patients on its waiting list, which is 826 cases behind its target of 4,207.

Worthing and Southlands Hospitals Trust has 2,941 patients waiting, 419 behind its target of 2,522.

Paul Preston, BMI's regional director, said: "It's a very popular scheme. It works just like a normal credit card. Instead of paying ongoing health insurance, people pay for what they need as they use it."

But Trevor Richards, chief officer of patients' watchdog Worthing and District Community Health Council, said it was disappointing people felt the only way they could receive medical treatment was to pay.

He said: "It's a reflection of local pressures. It comes down to a lack of funding."

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