No, getting SINOGEL on the NHS is not possible. It is too expensive. NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) don’t recommend hyaluronic acid and chondroitin injections. This is due to the relatively high cost compared to steroid injections and the preference for promoting exercise to patients rather than medical interventions.

However, this may change when treatments for osteoarthritis are next reviewed, as newer, more effective treatments like SINOGEL are coming onto the market. We feel that SINOGEL should be available to NHS patients, and encourage the NHS to speak to the SINOGEL manufacturers to make it available.

Right now, we’re even finding that getting steroid injections on the NHS is hard too. Where previously, quite a lot of GPs used to provide steroid injections, we’re seeing fewer GPs get involved. Also, there are increasingly long waits to see a GP. We’ve found a big increase in patients who want steroid injections and hyaluronic acid injections since COVID. We’ve also seen a large increase in patients seeking aspiration for swollen knees. We have many reports of people attending A&E with knee swelling, but the knees are not being drained. Many people are going privately.

Right now, the NHS route is as follows: you would need to go to your GP or FCP (First Contact Practitioner) at the surgery. They will talk to you about the options. The GP will probably refer you for physiotherapy, or refer you in-house to the FCP. The FCP will provide you with advice, guidance, and exercises. After a few weeks, if things have not improved, they will refer you for physiotherapy. If your knee pain is deemed severe, you might be referred for an X-ray or to the MSK CATS team (they are high-level physiotherapists at the hospital who can authorise surgery, injections or scans). At this point, you might receive a steroid injection, but you are unlikely to get a hyaluronic acid injection. This process is long, unfortunately, and we hope that waiting times reduce in the future.

SINOGEL injections cost £549 including the consultation. Contact us now if you have any further questions, or book in at either our Selsdon clinic in south London or our Milestone House clinic in Farnborough, Hampshire. You can call us on 02086513315 to book an appointment in Croydon, or 02086856930 for an appointment in Farnborough.

SINOGEL® is a registered trademark and product of ISBA www.sinovial.co.uk