Northampton General Hospital offers surgery to patients who pay

The local hospital trust has run out of cash to perform the operations at Northampton General Hospital.

Instead, patients who can provide the money can avoid waiting four months for treatments such as hip replacements, which cost around �6,000.

The move has been criticised by the Department of Health, which described it as "completely unacceptable".

Operations up for grabs include a knee operation, with a price of �6,260 and cataract removal costing �980.

The hospital, which cannot pay for the operations until the new financial year in April, said these were cheaper than private sector companies and were in line with NHS tariffs.

A hospital spokesman said: "We are giving patients a choice. Health service restrictions on spending means they have to wait at least four-and-a-half months for operations.

"By paying themselves they can have the surgery now."

But a government spokesman said: "This is completely unacceptable and is not supported by the Department of Health. NHS hospital treatment has always been - and always will be - free at the point of delivery and based on patient need rather than ability to pay."