- Cosmetic procedures should not be carried out using public money
- Hunt says he ‘completely understands’ public anger at use of NHS funds
- Follows high profile rows over breast enlargements and nose jobs
- Families of sick children complain they have been denied operationsÂ
Cosmetic surgery should not be paid for by the taxpayer, Jeremy Hunt said today in a clampdown on NHS spending.
The Health Secretary said he could understand public anger at high profile cases of breast enlargements, dental work and slimming treatments being offered by the health service.
Mr Hunt insisted that all decisions must be taken on ‘clinical need’ and public money must not be used to pay for surgery just to improve someone’s looks.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned the NHS against using public money to pay for cosmetic operations
Public anger has mounted at cosmetic treatments being paid for by the NHS, at a time when it is being told to make £20billion in efficiency savings.
There are even websites like ‘boobjobsontheservice.co.uk’ which advises people on how ‘whether it really is possible to get boob jobs on the NHS’.
Challenged about the controversy by MailOnline, Mr Hunt told a press gallery lunch in Parliament: ‘We should not be doing cosmetic work on the NHS.Â
‘The decisions are taken on the basis of clinical need, but I have made it very clear that I am against purely cosmetic work being done.
‘We should not be doing cosmetic work on the NHS’
‘There will be times when there is a mental health need, which the local doctor has said is very serious.
‘But I do completely understand people’s reservations about some of the things that happen.’
The crackdown would not apply to women offered reconstructive surgery following breast cancer treatment.
But the rules are being tightened to ensure only the most severe cases are permitted to justify treatment on psychological grounds.
One of the most high profile cases was that of Josie Cunningham, who sparked outrage when it emerged she had received breast enlargement on the NHS, and after becoming unhappy with the results, a tax-payer funded reduction, too.
She had her 32A breasts enlarged to a 36DD with taxpayers’ money, after saying her flat chest was ‘ruining her life’.
Josie Cunningham caused outrage when she got a £5,000 breast enlargement on the NHS, but later said she wanted to have them reduced because the implants left her feeling self-concious
Her operation came after she was recommended for funding by her local GP. Under NHS guidelines, cosmetic surgery should be funded only in rare circumstances when it is needed ‘to protect a person’s health’.
However, Miss Cunningham has since appeared in the media claiming she was planning to have an abortion so she could appear on Big Brother.
Meanwhile, Sam Barton, 22, got the NHS to pay for a nose job, and has claimed it was easy to get the £5,000 procedure paid for by NHS Birmingham CrossCity Clinical Commissioning Group.
‘Getting the NHS to pay was the easiest thing I have ever done,’ he said last month. ‘If you say it is ruining your life and you are a good actor it is easy. I can be very manipulative.’
Sam Barton, 22, from Sutton Coldfield, boasted about getting a £5,000 nose job on the NHS
Mr Barton had the operation, left, to try and copy the lives of people such as Joey Essex, right, who appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! He said: ‘I feel that if I mirror celebrities, like Joey, I will look and feel good’
Stephanie Chamberlain’s four-year-old son Adam was denied SDR surgery to treat brain damage discovered when he was two-and-a-half.
The family had been told he could have the operation, but was later informed the NHS was no longer funding it.
She said ‘We’re convinced — as doctors have told us — that this is the best thing for him. Where do the NHS’s priorities lie when they choose to fund a breast enlargement operation over enabling a four-year-old boy with cerebral palsy to walk?’
Mother Debbie Foster last month hit out at cosmetic treatments on the NHS, after her son was denied treatment to relieve the agony of Leigh’s Syndrome.
The mother of two, who lost her son Robert to the disease at the age of just four on Christmas Eve in 2000, was appalled when NHS bosses refused to pay for treatment for just weeks before Jake, 13, was due to have the operation.
Mrs Foster said: ‘It makes me angry that a topless model is allowed to have a boob job on the NHS for cosmetic reasons or someone can have a tummy tuck, but a poorly child has to suffer.’
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Anni,
County Durham, United Kingdom,
moments ago
About bloody time, I have been saying this for years. The NHS was set up for people with illness
not vain people wanting to improve their looks or figures.
CharlieYorks,
Leeds,
11 minutes ago
Der why has he only now started to listen to the public after all this time. Jeremy Hunt always comes across as being a bit slow but this is ridiculous.
Alvelon,
Melbourne Australia, Australia,
14 minutes ago
WHAT ??? SOME COMMON “— SENSE “— COMING OUT ???…
M41Beijing,
Beijing, China,
35 minutes ago
Easel done Hunt, I would be very surprised if people could equally compare and expect the same sympathy with regard to cancer treatment drugs or a boob job. With one it means certain death and the other not. We should be prioritising terminal disease treatments before cosmetic treatments
char28,
Scotland,
57 minutes ago
Not all nhs cosmetic surgery is for vanity reasons, I for one am grateful for them carrying out cosmetic surgery on the nhs which I’ve had from them, I had a breast reduction which enabled me to stop living on strong painkillers daily to deal with the pain large breast caused not to mention how more confident I feel as a person not get stared at constantly!
Red Tick Alert,
Out the UK, United Kingdom,
17 minutes ago
null,
57 minutes ago
The quote is “should notâ€, not “must notâ€. Which means he will be ignored and it will continue.
null,
57 minutes ago
The quote is “should notâ€, not “must notâ€. Which means he will be ignored and it will continue.
myra,
minneapolis, United States,
1 hour ago
I wish we could stop the boob jobs we have in Congress.
SimonEnefer,
London, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
No free gender reassignment, IVF or plastic surgery! How much would that save. Also given that their are over four million EU citizens in the UK their countries should be recharged for ALL their medical care (Note Ireland claims around £1bn per year for care of UK nationals).
Winkipop Willie,
Little Devers, Western Sahara,
1 hour ago
This was a long time in coming. Cosmetic surgery just to make people feel better about themselves should never have been allowed at public expense. Cosmetic repair in the case of accidents, violent assault, or genetic defects is a different matter.
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