Paedophile Gary Glitter given £15k knee operation on NHS while public wait MONTHS for surgery
Gary Glitter received an NHS knee operation while serving prison time
PA
Pop paedophile Gary Glitter had a £15,000 knee operation in an NHS hospital despite patients having to wait more than four months for surgery.
Last November, Glitter left healthcare staff disgusted with his “pervy” antics and horrendous stories of his life abroad, where he abused young girls.
The move has been criticised as “totally unfair” by one of the hundreds of patients who had to wait for an operation.
Glitter was returned to prison last week after he had used his smartphone for the dark web in his bail hostel.
Glitter spent five nights at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester where he was handcuffed to the bed and had two jail guards with him
PA/ Metropolitan Police
It has now emerged that he spent five nights at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester where he was handcuffed to the bed and had two jail guards with him.
“Glitter seemed to come straight in and had a room waiting for him,” a source told The Sun.
“It was all arranged in advance, although we didn’t know how long he had waited for the op in prison.”
He was booked in for the operation under his real name Paul Gadd while he was an inmate at HMP The Verne in Dorset.
According to insiders, staff were told not to mention his crimes or to treat him any differently from other patients.
However, they were asked to remove their surnames from badges and warned about sharing any personal information to him.
“No-one could believe the treatment he was getting and he seemed to revel in the attention,” the source added.
“While he was there, Glitter was very chatty and cheerful — and over-friendly. He asked quite a lot of questions about the staff, especially the younger female ones.
“He took a shine to one young, female nurse who was quite attractive and it made her feel sick. He also spoke quite a lot about going abroad, and said what a great time he had in Cambodia and Vietnam.
“There was no shred of remorse about what he had done.”
A Ministry of Justice source said that jail chiefs must give prisoners the same healthcare as the rest of the population.
Gary Glitter avoided returning to Britain after being convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam
PA
An NHS knee operation typically costs around £15,000 while Glitter’s security and travel would have added thousands to the bill.
NHS figures reveal that in one year 185 people waited more than the “accepted” 18 weeks for a knee op at Dorset County Hospital after referral.
The surgery was criticised by Rob Martinez who suffers from arthritis and was referred for a double knee op in October 2019.
He waited a year for surgery on his right knee, then another six months for his left.
A spokesperson for Dorset County Hospital said: "We are the NHS hospital healthcare provider for the local prisons and his care was handled according to our usual procedures for prisoners requiring treatment."
GB News has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
Glitter is currently being held at Winchester Prison but is likely to be moved back to The Verne in Dorset.