Today in a clamp down on NHS spending Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that cosmetic surgery should not be paid for by the taxpayer. He said that he can understand public anger at high profile cases of cosmetic surgery which have been paid for by the NHS such as slimming treatments, breast enlargements and dental work.
The Health Secreatary insisted that all decisions must be taken on a 'clinical need' and that the NHS must not be used just to improve someone's appearance.
This comes at a time where the NHS is being told to make £20 billion in efficiency savings so understandably public anger has mounted at these cosmetic treatments being paid for by the taxpayer.
When challenged about the decision Mr Hunt told a press gallery lunch in Parliament:
‘We should not be doing cosmetic work on the NHS.'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.’
There are clear indicators that the system of vetting patients is failing as displayed on a website advised people how to get a boob job on the NHS 'boobjobontheservice.co.uk' and patients have claimed how 'easy it is' to get treatment providing you can act out a convincing story.
Meanwhile a high profile denial of treatment to Stephanie Chamberlain's four year old son Adam who was denied SDR surgery to treat brain damage questions where the NHS's priorities lie when a child is refused surgery but yet a topless model is allowed to have a boobjob because she is unhappy about the way she looks.
This crackdown will not apply to women who are offered reconstructive surgery following treatment for breat cancer but the rules are being tightened so that only severe cases are to be treated on psychological grounds.
