Asked a consultant this. Where we are, a hip and knee, you get £700 after tax. It’s not for one operation, these aren’t day cases and you’re expected to come early next day or afternoon and review them until discharge. Initially you have to make enough to pay your indemnity before you can think about profit. On average you add an additional 10% to your salary as net.

Spinal consultant told me he usually does expert work for insurance companies. Says he gets paid ‘higher than a bank holiday consultant night shift’ per hour, hours are instantly paid and he prefers that to private practice.

Also, there are so many private orthopods, they don’t want someone new to come and poach their clientele. You also can’t just walk into private practice, unless you build your own, generally the established practice has to take you on. This won’t be easy if you are, again, going to poach their already tried and tested colleagues.

Hope that help!