Joe Appiah

I’m Joe Appiah. I am the World Masters Athletics Champion, and I currently hold the world record for age M50 for sprint hurdles. My main aim this year was the World Masters Athletics Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. But then in May, I started to have Achilles problems. My main symptoms were soreness on my Achilles, and basically, every time I was getting up in the morning, I couldn't put weight down properly on my Achilles and my foot and every time I pressed my Achilles, it was really, really sore and tender. And so that also impacted my calf, so it meant that my calf was quite tight. When I got up in the morning, the Achilles would already be sore which meant I had to regularly massage it and stretch it, and also do some general exercises to manage it. Also, I had to change the type of shoes I was wearing, because some shoes were impacting the Achilles, making it more sore, so I had to make some adjustments.

My training when I went to do training on the track, if I was doing jogging, I couldn't jog for too long until the Achilles started to hurt. Also, when I did some sprints, I had to do shorter sprints rather than my usual routine. Hurdles as well; it was even worse when I did hurdles, and the Achilles tendon was really, really bad. It meant I had to really, really adjust my training program. I've been a member of Benenden for a long time now. I'd attended a webinar about foot injuries and I saw Liam Stapleton talking about all types of foot injuries, including Achilles. I previously went to see him about something else on my foot, and I was very impressed with the work that he did on my foot previously. He'd even managed to diagnose something that somebody else has missed on the scan. So because of that, I knew who I wanted to talk to, who I wanted to see when I had an issue with my Achilles.

Immediately he told me what was available in the Achilles. For example, if you're gonna have an Achilles injection, it's got to be in a specific place before it's effective, so he wanted to make sure that where my injury was was in the place where the injection would be effective. Otherwise there's no point doing it. So I had a number of communications with him on social media, just to make sure it's the right fit for me. I've used Benenden (Hospital) a number of times over the years and I've never had any issues there. I mean, I find it quite pleasant, really; very clean, the staff are really nice and the check-in system is very simple. And, you know, there's boards everywhere so that you can see your name being called and hear your name being called and everyone's been pleasant to me every time I've used it. I've never had any issues there.

On the day of my treatment, Liam went through everything with me. He's so professional and he's so knowledgeable. I mean, he explained every step of what he was about to do and how effective it's going to be with me. He just took me through step by step, and his knowledge was brilliant. And, for me, it's the way he engages with me because he wants it to work for you. Again, that was important to me when I was able to run again, when I can recover and be able to run again. So, Liam took me through all of that and so eight to ten days, depending on how fit I was already, and he started to explain that, well within eight to ten days, you can start gradually building up. And then I started jogging slowly after ten days. And then from then onwards, I just built it up slowly and I was back competing within probably a couple of months.

I'm so grateful that the injection was effective, and I was able to start building up my training towards the Championship afterwards. And I mean, I couldn't believe that after ten days, I was able to start running again. I'm not having to do more exercises to load the Achilles anymore, I'm not feeling pain. Normally, the Achilles, when you touch it, you squeeze it, it's really sore and it's unbearable, but now I can squeeze it no problem. I can do more training, I can do more reps, without any pain. Whereas before I could do maybe three or four reps, and then I'd have to stop, now I can do a little bit more. I can do much more distance as well. The other thing is I can wear most of the shoes that I was wearing before because previously I had to really be careful which type of shoes I'd wear because it was impacting my Achilles.

I think the challenge would be when I start doing hurdles again. But I've tested it this week, in fact, just to see whether the Achilles can take it, and it wasn't too bad. Well, if you've got a sporting injury, certainly from my experience, the foot injury, there's so many options available at Benenden and I'm an example of it. I've utilised it and it's been successful for me. I mean, at the moment I can say it's giving me at least 40 to 50% back of what I couldn't do.

Mensah Elliot

Hi, my name is Mensah Elliot. I'm an athlete at the track and field, sprinting. I've been a member of Benenden since 2014. I had my referral to a physiotherapist and after the first six sessions, I was then referred to a specialist over here for an MRI. I've had this issue ongoing for about 10 years now. Sometimes I just go through the work of life every day, day-to-day business, it'd be fine. But as an athlete, it was really hindering my progress and at its worst, the pain was so intense that I couldn't even walk at times. On this occasion, I decided I had to look into it and see exactly what was going on and hence the referral to the physiotherapist and then MRI scan.

He seemed very good. He was very clear in the explanation of what I had after he'd seen the MRI scan. Contacts with him were by his secretary most of the time via email and the response was very quick. The information provided was very clear, very concise. I spoke to the consultant, I had leaflets sent to me. When I did eventually come here to see Doctor Din, he explained the procedure that I will be going through. He mentioned the pros and cons, including the steroid injection, which was a no-no for an athlete especially.

I had another consultation before the actual procedure was done. The procedure was done by another consultant or surgeon. They were exactly the same, very clear and concise with the information that they provided. It was a quick procedure, I think I was here about 10 minutes and it was all done. Not very painful. This was in November last year and this is the first time I've been here. I've been a member since 2014. I can't remember when this facility opened, but it doesn't feel like a hospital when I come here. It's light, spacious, and very welcoming. The staff are friendly, very informative, and very helpful.

I'm back training. I've got a race coming up in a few days and let's see how it goes. I've been doing athletics for a very long time and I'm now into the masters category. Throughout my time in athletics, I have had injuries. I know of athletes who've had injuries, but getting the injuries sorted by coming to Benenden Hospital is definitely one thing that I've done over the years since I've become a member. The process in getting seen by a consultant is easy and quick. So I definitely recommend anyone who hasn't got any medical insurance to give it a go. The monthly fee isn't that much. It's a small amount you have to pay.

Steve Perry

Hi, my name is Steve Perry. I'm a carpenter by trade. I had keyhole surgery on my right knee due to, obviously, my carpentry trade because I've been a member with Benenden for nearly 20 years now. I was 17 when I joined Benenden. I'm nearly 40 now. So, I've had previous surgery with Benenden. I live in Ashford, Kent. So, not very far from the hospital itself.

Due to my trade, I'm on and off my knees a predominant amount of time. So I've been suffering with my right knee, arthritic sort of pain, for quite some time. I got referred from my GP to come to Benenden. It was, you know, general well-being of my knee. It was getting difficult to work with my sort of arthritic pain. So I came to Benenden to get that sorted out.

Consultation was in September. I had my surgery on the 10th of December. So it was quite a short time before I was due to have my surgery on the NHS waiting list. I'd waited two years previous to come in in September to get my initial consultation. So yeah, it was a much shorter time coming to get it done privately with Benenden than it was to wait.

I saw Doctor Thakur. From the first consultation that I saw him, he was very, very friendly, spoke to me a lot about the procedure that he was going to carry out. The service from the staff down to my consultation with Dr. Thakur, genuinely, it was great. You know, the service here, the hospital, the facilities are second to none.

Obviously coming privately has been beneficial to me. I was able to get back to work a lot quicker. My recovery time was very quick. They said sort of 4 to 8 weeks and within sort of 3.5 weeks, as you can see, I'm back to work already. So, the well-being of the staff here, the advice that I was given, was definitely beneficial to me from my initial consultation back in September to my operation in December.

I was recommended by Dr. Thakur to have an MRI scan to check my knee to see how, obviously, what was happening basically. I had a tear on the left side of my cartilage and the right side was badly worn. So they recommended that surgery was really the only sort of best option long term for me without having to have my knee replaced.

I remember when I first came here nearly 20 years ago, the facilities have definitely come on leaps and bounds. The surroundings here, it's always quiet. There's hardly many people here when I do come here and you're able to be seen very quickly. They've all got, you know, on-site cafe, you know, the facilities here, if you're able to be seen same day you can get your scans or a CT, MRI all of that's in the house. So it's very sort of beneficial for you to be able to get everything done without having to go to another hospital and come back to here.

Yeah, generally, I couldn't recommend the service enough. I've been able to get back to work very quickly and the recovery time has been very quick for me. So I can't fault it. It's been beneficial for me to come here to have my surgery done. So I've recommended it. I've got plumbers, electricians that are friends of mine. So I've recommended them to come to Benenden. I've got my mum and dad on my membership. I've also just added my wife and my daughter onto my membership. So I've recommended them to family and friends.

Josephine Renton

My name is Josephine Renton and I live in the town of Broadstairs on the coast, which is an hour and a half's drive from the hospital. But, it's a beautiful drive through the forest and the woods and the scenery and I really loved it.

I had an awful pain in my thigh. I couldn't sort of stretch that leg back. And so I went to the doctor and he said, that's your hip, it's not your thigh. He said, do you feel it? He said your hip, you know. I said, no, I don't think it hurts but it wasn't too bad for at least six months. I could still walk. It was about a year later I went to the doctor again and I said, look, it's got worse. And this time he sent me to a specialist where I had an X-ray.

When I went to Benenden, I had an appointment to see Mr. Matthew Oliver. We had a very productive initial consultation. My X-rays had been forwarded to him and he explained them to me and he said, yes, you know, look at this and you can see how bad it is. I was very impressed that he explained the X-ray to me because as a layman, you really can't tell why things are bad. And so it needs repairing. He told me exactly what he was going to do and it sounded a bit drastic, but I thought, well, hundreds of thousands of people have this operation and they're all alright afterwards. So, although it sounded drastic, I wasn't really worried. In fact, I wasn't worried about the operation.

Matthew Oliver had talked me through it and I talked to various friends who had the operation and I came to the conclusion with very little to worry about. You know, the main thing I was worried about was the aftermath, how helpless I'd be. I mean, I'm a very independent person and I hate being helpless in any shape or form. But as a matter of fact, I really wasn't, that was cut to the minimum. And by the time I got home I was already independent in the essential things in life.

I was quite ambitious regarding the speed of my recovery. After two days, my crutches were collecting dust in the corner and I graduated to a walking stick. After another few days, no, I would say a week, when I was using the walking stick indoors and outdoors, I didn't use the walking stick indoors anymore. I just used it outdoors. I remember two weeks after my operation, I'm a churchgoer and I'm in the choir, and I remember two weeks afterwards I walked down the aisle in the church without a walking stick or without anything.

It's an absolutely lovely hospital. You really have the feeling, yes, I am a private patient. This is a private hospital. I found everybody very helpful and the general ambiance very pleasant. I really did.

Glyn Moore

My name's Glyn Moore and I live in Northiam. I recently, about 4.5 weeks ago, received hip replacement surgery at Benenden Hospital. I chose Benenden Hospital for my hip replacement surgery because about five or six years ago, I had my first hip replacement surgery there. Why did I choose Benenden five or six years ago? I think because of its excellent reputation locally.

I would describe it as discomfort rather than pain, but it was discomfort that was with me all the time and particularly so lying in bed. Strangely enough, I'm a very keen golfer, a member at a tennis and golf club. I enjoy golf, but I enjoy walking, and of course, when your hip is starting to give you a bit of discomfort, both those activities become a little more difficult. In fact, I had to start using a buggy on the golf course because even walking around the course was becoming too much.

For both my first hip replacement and the latest hip replacement, the consultant I first saw and in fact, the consultant throughout both surgery procedures was Mr. Reddy. Mr. Reddy is a really nice guy, very funny. After my first replacement, he complimented me on my hard bones, which made me curious, and then he told me he had to effectually hammer the joint home. He's a little guy, but he obviously packs a punch.

From the outset with all three surgeries I've had done—the two hips and the knee—my experience of Benenden from the very outset was very good. Staff take time and trouble to explain to you in some detail what's going to happen, not only in terms of the surgery itself, but also post-treatment and the help you'll receive to get you back on your feet again as quickly as possible thereafter. They explained and answered any questions that I had around the surgery, anaesthesia, and the kind of things most people are concerned about prior to having surgery.

My whole experience of people working at Benenden has been really good. From the minute you walk in the hospital to be greeted at reception through to all the people who are helping you whilst you're there—the nurses, the kitchen staff, etc. You can't fault their friendliness and their helpfulness, and they generally do seem to be a happy bunch of people.

The hospital itself is very pleasant; it's extremely clean. I think that's probably the thing I noticed first of all—clean and tidy. Again, from the moment you walk through the front door to going into your room, the rooms are en suite, very well located, often with decent views to the outside and good facilities in the rooms as well, from television through to lighting and so forth.

Four weeks after the treatment, having taken place, I've regained pretty much full mobility. I can walk without crutches or sticks. I was given really good guidance by the physiotherapy team to make sure that I both stretched myself but didn't overdo it. So I'm very pleased at the rate of recovery. The importance of exercise on a daily basis was stressed, and I've kept up that regime as well as walking around the house and limited walks outside the house too. I feel four weeks later probably in a much better space than I expected to be.

I would certainly recommend Benenden Hospital. I'm really pleased to say that Benenden Hospital and my golf club at Tenterden have entered a partnership, and I shall be very much promoting Benenden to the members of our golf club to go along and take advantage of what I think is a really first-class local facility. Very much with the benefit of having had it done twice, very soon after arriving back from the operating theatre, the nurses are encouraging you to get out of bed and walk around with the aid of a frame. That's a daunting prospect in my mind. On the first occasion, I thought, is this gonna hurt? Will my joints support me? And indeed, I had absolutely no problem. So the second time around, I had the confidence to very quickly do what the nurses asked, and I would urge anyone to benefit from my experience. Don't worry; what they ask you to do, you can do, and the quicker you can do it, the better it is for you and your recovery.

Jean Woods

I'm Jean Woods. On January 30th, 2023, I self-paid for a complete hip replacement on my left-hand side. I was in quite a bit of pain. It emanated from the groin, but it was also on my back and on some days down to my knees. I also couldn't tie my shoelaces and I couldn't climb over stiles on countryside walks.

I've been a member of Benenden Health since 2016, but also because my symptoms appeared to deteriorate quite rapidly, I did want a quite speedy operation time and I was so lucky because, within four weeks of coming for the pre-op, I actually had the operation. I met Mr. Chipperfield. I was actually with my sister at the time and we were both very impressed with his attitude towards me and the fact that he actually had a sense of humour.

Benenden Hospital were very, very good at making contact. I had a series of emails and the pre-op assessment, and from there, everything went very well indeed. But I would like to say that I personally was very anxious. My anxiety was based on the fact that I was informed that I would be having an epidural at the pre-op with a nurse. She spent a long time reassuring me. Later on, she informed me that the anaesthetist would then also talk to me. That did happen. And he said to me that he probably wouldn't be there on the day of my op. But he again listened to my concerns.

On the day of the operation, however, the anxiety reared its head again. The anaesthetist that day walked into the ward and realized that I wasn't in the best frame of mind to do with that operation regarding my anxiety and the epidural. Benenden are outstanding and absolutely amazing. The schedule was changed so that I could go into the theatre first, as he said, to wait several hours would not help me. It was absolutely excellent.

Benenden maintained contact and wanted to know my feelings or thoughts on quite a few issues regarding after the operation. I was absolutely staggered at how quickly I was up out of bed and the physio was there a few hours afterwards and I was actually taught how to use the crutches. And again, people were patient with me. I couldn't believe it, but I could have gone home after one night after this major operation. That is really not thanks to anything I did. It's thanks to Mr. Chipperfield, who was my consultant, and it's also thanks to the nursing staff and to the physio team. Everybody works well together to make you happy and feel comfortable.

Benenden Hospital is in a rather lovely position. It's very rural, and so that's very quiet. Although I've been to Benenden village before, I've never actually seen the hospital, but as I entered it, Benenden doesn't have the usual what I would call hospital smell and it's so light and airy as you walk through to the reception place. Not only that, it's spotlessly clean and this is all very reassuring.

Well, it might seem a simple thing to some people, but I can actually tie my own shoelaces. It's wonderful, independent again, but not only that, my life is back to where it was. If you're told, as I was told by Mr. Chipperfield, that my joint had seemed the best, it was certainly non-repairable. It had to be replaced. As mentioned earlier, I was in quite a bit of pain and I had not sufficient rotation or flexibility with the joint. Then it's a mistake to hold back. Even if you're reticent about the operation, steel yourself, go with it because Benenden will do the utmost to make you feel at ease and help you through this journey from start to finish. Truly, I don't think it could be bettered.

Chris Setterfield

My name is Chris Setterfield. I live in Burlington on Sea near Margate. I had my full knee replacement here in March 2023. The symptoms I experienced before my knee surgery were severe pain in my left leg and it became very difficult to go downstairs, step off a curb, any undulation in the ground jarred and sent a shock wave back through my body. It made it difficult to play golf, take my dog for a walk, and go swimming, which is something I like to do every day.

The first person I met when I arrived at Benenden Hospital was Mr. Kumar Reddy. His bedside manner was excellent. He kept me well informed and actually gave me the confidence I needed to go ahead with this procedure. Mr. Reddy was open and honest with me and said there's only one course of treatment for you and that is to have a full knee replacement on your left leg.

The post-operative care I received after my knee replacement was excellent. I was asked to ring Benenden Health and arrange a course of physiotherapy sessions. Fortunately, the physiotherapist was only a mile from my house, which made life very easy. I had six sessions of physiotherapy. What surprised me was that on the first session, which was only 2 to 3 weeks after leaving the hospital, the physiotherapist managed to get my leg back beyond 90 degrees, which was very reassuring. So I followed through on all the recommendations from the physiotherapist, which involved lots of exercise that I stayed with every single day and I'm still doing them to this day.

The hospital is situated in the countryside. When you went to the hospital, it inspires confidence. I've always had a fear of hospitals, the smell of hospitals, the busyness with people dashing around everywhere. This was wonderful. From my room, I had a wonderful view across the hills and the meadows. It was tremendous, really good like a hotel. Everybody that came to see me through the night was so kind, so caring and the porter that took me down for the X-ray, the follow-up X-ray, was very chatty and very jovial. I felt completely at ease.

Almost five months after this extremely invasive procedure, I am back playing golf. I still need some more lessons. I seem to have forgotten some of my skills. I'm playing golf, swimming in the sea every day, and I've recently been to a rock concert and jumped up and down all night and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I take my dog for long walks. I have no recurring pain. My life has changed immeasurably.

To anybody considering it, talk to the consultant, listen carefully, act upon the consultant's recommendations and if the consultant advises having a knee replacement, then do it. Now, I'm an example. I was struggling with life before I had my knee replacement. Now my life is back to normal. So, yes, I'd wholeheartedly recommend having the procedure.

Pet Cotterell

Hello, I am Pet Cottrell. I received a knee and hip replacement at Benenden Hospital. Fortunately, I live in the middle of Kent with Benenden Hospital only being about 15 minutes away. I am a member of Benenden. I have been since I worked at Kent County Council. Benenden is on the doorstep, and so I was lucky to be referred there by my GP.

I had a bad break of my right ankle, which meant that I had to put all my weight on my left knee for six weeks. After I started getting around, I started to get a lot of pain in my knee. So, I consulted my doctor. My knee was playing up and I couldn't walk very far and I had to use a stick. We've got shops probably a five minutes walk away and I couldn't go shopping without the use of a walking stick, and my husband came in to carry the shopping.

I went to see Mr Reddy who is an absolutely wonderful guy. He did the arthroscopy and said, yes, I was ideal for a knee replacement and he would be happy to do it. Benenden, as I say, did a marvellous job with my knee. As soon as I went back to my GP, they referred me to Benenden again because they said that if I didn't have the hip replacement, it would render the knee replacement useless.

I did have some steroid injections in my knee. One worked, one didn't, but it was the usual thing you need to go away and lose weight. And my argument was because I can't get around, I can't exercise. It's difficult to lose weight. Absolutely wonderful. I couldn't fault Benenden for what they did and how they treated me. The preparation was marvellous. I was told everything that would happen, how long it would take, and yes, I would recommend to anybody.

It was very good. The weather was nice as it is today. So I could manage after my knee replacement to get out 10 minutes every day to walk. And the same with my hip replacement. Staff at Benenden are lovely. They are so helpful. They're so friendly. I had reason to go and pick somebody up from there after nine pm one evening recently. And even the security staff were extremely helpful and showed me where to go and where I could get a cup of coffee if I wanted one.

Absolutely wonderful views from the rooms. The rooms are really clean. Everybody's friendly. It's just a fabulous place to go. I couldn't walk very far before. I had my knee replacement in November. The following Easter, I did a three-mile walk around Dungeness Bird Reserve and we've been on the holiday of a lifetime to India, which I would not have been able to do with all the walking and the journeys and everything. So, yeah, life is much, much better.

I would recommend Benenden Hospital because it's a wonderful place. It's like a hotel. It's not like a hospital at all. Staff are brilliant. Consultants are brilliant. I haven't got a bad word to say about it. Go ahead and do it because it will give you your life back. For a person who couldn't walk around to doing what I'm doing now and walking, enjoying walking and walking miles. It needs to be done and it's nothing to be worried about.

Fred Salvage

My name is Fred Salvage. I'm 70 years of age. I'm an ex-retired customs officer, living in Dover. I came to Benenden Hospital to have a hip replacement on the 12th of July and I left on the morning of the 14th of July.

I chose Benenden because at first I was going through the NHS system and I had physiotherapy, first of all with them, and nothing seemed to be working. So then I contacted Benenden Health because I'm a member there and they organized further physiotherapy and it wasn't working very well. The physio organised through Benenden said to me, I think we should have an X-ray done. So they asked my GP to have an X-ray. I had an X-ray and it was a diagnosis. Basically, the hip is falling to pieces with osteoarthritis.

I saw Mr. Matthew Oliver who was wonderful and he had another X-ray done and showed me the X-ray and I could see that the right hip was shot away. It was just a fog and he gave me the options either referring me back to the NHS or my GP or else going through Benenden. With the pain and the deterioration of my life, it was a no-brainer. So that was why I chose Benenden.

In 2014, I was in a customs operation in Brazil and getting out of a four-by-four vehicle, I strained my right hamstring and didn't think anything of it. I thought when I go back to live in France where I was living at the time, I'll just take it easy and it'll cure itself. Unfortunately, it didn't cure itself. It just got worse and worse. When I came back to the UK, I rejoined Benenden Health because I'd been a member since about 1978.

Everything went really smoothly with the hospital from the start. They were very quick to contact me with letters and emails and explain even with the COVID regulations, etc. So from start to finish, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I really couldn't. When I got to the hospital on the 12th, from meeting the receptionist through to the nursing staff, through to the cleaners, the catering, the physio, the consultant, Paul, Lee Porter, everyone was superb. I couldn't ask for better. This was my first time in the hospital and it was a bit daunting at first, but I found everything was really, really nice and I couldn't have asked for better.

Benenden is set in a lovely part of the country. I live in Dover, which is not too far away, but this is in the heart of Kent, which is lovely. The hospital itself is light and airy. It doesn't seem like a hospital when you enter it. And then when you got up to the ward, the room I had, it was, I mean, I've stayed in many hotels in my life and the room was lovely. It was en suite. The only complaint I've got is it didn't have a minibar!

Well, since the operation, I found that I'm a different person. I'm regaining the years that I've lost because of the problems I had with my hip and I can go out walking now and not feel afraid to meet people that I know because before I would have to stop, talk to them and then I would think, well, which foot have I got to put forward first because it was so bad. I've still got a bit of way to go because I've still got obviously a lot of physiotherapy to do yet. But I'm sure if I do the exercises, I'll be back to normal.

If anyone is thinking about joint replacement therapy, I would say, don't think about it. Just do it.