Sixty patients from Devon will have their hip or knee surgery performed in France next month.

The new scheme will help reduce waiting times at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

The move follows a successful pilot project in east Kent last year.

Three groups of 20 people will fly from Bristol airport to hospitals in Paris or St Etienne.

They will stay there for about 10 days for their operation and post-operative care before flying back to the UK.

Cost of operations

Cataract: NHS �880 Private �2,000 France �1,000 Hip: NHS �3,900 Private �7,600 France �4,000 Knee: NHS �4,400 Private �8,500 France �3,000

More than 200 patients from east Kent were treated abroad last year following an EU ruling which enabled health authorities to send people abroad.

Plymouth NHS Trust approached 116 patients to see if they would like the opportunity to be treated abroad.

The 60 patients who have chosen to go will have their pre-operative tests over the next few weeks.

Treatment centre

They can meet their French orthopaedic surgeon and anaesthetist in Plymouth to discuss their operation and care before they go.

Donna Hill, surgical division manager for Derriford Hospital, said the hospital could not bring down waiting times on its own before the opening of a new diagnostic and treatment centre in 2007.

She said: "The government has said that waiting times need to be down to a maximum of 12 months by next month.

"Our longest waiting time are two months longer than that.

"The costs compare very favourably with the private sector, so this is a very cost-effective measure to reduce waiting lists."