to think that it's not for the nhs to pick up the bill to remove potentially faulty breast implants?

[wannaBe]

There are calls today for women who have had the faulty French breast implants to have them removed on the NHS. Apparently 40000 women have these implants, and to remove all of them would cost the NHS £150 million.

Now, if a woman has had these implants as part of reconstructive surgery following mastectomy then I agree that she should be able to have them removed. But other than that, if you choose to buy yourself bigger breasts (and let's be honest, leaking implants are not a new thing), then it isn't the nhs's responsibility to pick up the tab if there might be a problem.

If your life is in immediate danger then you would obviously need to have surgery on the NHS, but just on the off-chance? I think the company responsible should be the ones picking up the bill and don't see why the taxpayer should shoulder the responsibility for other peoples' vanity.

Yeah, just let the vain bitches die of cancer

YABVFU.

Totally agree, comPany responsible should foot the bill for their faulty product

I agree rogersmellyonthetelly, however as I understand it, not even Interpol can find the man responsible.

I'm afraid the NHS picks up the bill for people's actions all the time. Drunks end Up in A & E. I don't like the idea of NHS resources being used in this, but they are used on many other things I disagree with, to the detriment of things that. Would deem "more worthy"

Marie I don't think the OP is suggesting that the recipients are left untreated, but £150M NHS funds could be better directed.

And the company at fault - who presumably have insurance etc, should be paying for this.

where did I say that? but you carry on with your assumptions...

If someone's life is in immediate danger then it stands to reason that the NHS would need to act now.

But the majority of peoples' lives are not in immediate danger (current stats suggest that around 8% of implants are at risk of rupture) so most have time to have the implants removed either privately or to go down the legal route in terms of the company responsible taking responsibility for their products.

Marie by using up £150 million of NHS resources the "vain bitches" will be preventing others suffering with cancer through no fault of their own getting treatment.

8% is an unacceptably high risk. I know it's money the NHS can barely afford, but it has a duty of care to its patients.

and if you choose to have breast enlargements (and to do so is a lifestyle choice apart from in cases of reconstruction) then if you change your mind or something changes you should ultimately be responsible for that.

If I had a tattoo which I wanted removed should that be down to the nhs as well?

Yes the nhs treats many conditions that are down to lifestyle choice, such as smoking/drinking, but unfortunately that often happens at the point where life is at risk and therefore it is not as straightforward to deny treatment. But lives are not at immediate risk here, and to suggest ploughing £150m into immediate removal of these implants at a time when the NHS is cutting back resources is a bit of a knee-jerk reaction.

The NHS wastes money all the time (I used to work in the NHS). Look at the millions that are wasted on consultants, on temporary staff to cover for the shocking absentee levels, on things like nappies and formula milk... I could go on.

The company are obviously not taking responsibility. I would therefore hope that the NHS will help these poor women if there is any risk to their health.

However, although I believe that the NHS should take them out, I think that the women should cover the cost of replacing the implants with new ones.

Are they picking up the bill even if they were put in privately?

If so, I find this astounding because I thought that the minute you decided to go privately with anything the NHS would no longer foot the bill.

For example if you couldn't get a certain medication on the NHS because they offer an cheaper better alternative and you decide to get the drug you want elsewhere, then the NHS no longer fund anything to do with that condition.

I may be completely wrong, perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Good old Nhs you see
People buy bigger breasts for vanitys sake and NHS has to bail them out free of charge. Am sure there's a big chunk of money floating around the NHS can spare

This happens frequently, people go abroad to get cut price surgery and then NHS is expected to fix things when they go wrong.
Of course now it's a health issue the NHS will be forced to act.

formula milk? how is that wasted resources exactly?

hedge currently there are calls for all women who have had these implants to have them removed even if they have been inserted privately. But this has iirc not been decided for definite.

Thanks wannabe.

But what about whether once you go private with other illnesses that you can't then go to the NHS? I am sure I read this somewhere.

Why is it that women who have plastic surgery are treated so cruelly by other women? I just do not understand this. As a feminist I feel uncomfortable around some of the issues of plastic surgery, however a sense of sisterhood should surely make us feel some compassion for these women who - after all - could have cancer.

Of course it should. The nhs can't pick and choose at the moment who it helps, and wouldn't it cost more in the long run to treat these women if they developed complications?

If they were put in privately, they should be taken out at the "owners" own expense. Or, preferably, at the expense of the manufacturer.

the NHS only picks up the tab for braces for teeth if it is not merely cosmetic.

I have issue with women who have plastic surgery because they continue to fuel a belief that we need to look a certain way/conform to certain standards etc. I don't actually believe that it's all down to serious body issues - much of it is sheer vanity and the ability to afford it. Many, many women admit they would have plastic surgery if they could afford it - you can't tell me that the majority of the population have such deep psychological issues - it's all about conforming.

And I don't buy into this sisterhood crap. People are responsible for their own actions - I don't see why someone should have more sympathy for someone else purely because she is a woman.

wannaBe, I would have compassion for anybody who is at risk of cancer. And so would most decent human beings.

This is in some ways all part of a much bigger debate we need to have about just what the NHS is for. It's a system started 60 years ago when people lived shorter lives and a huge number of conditions were untreatable. Nowadays we have the technology to do some wonderful things, but does that mean we should do them?

I'm in many minds over this, but I feel that whoever put the implants in should have the duty of care and foot the cost for removal - if it was the NHS, then then NHS, if it was a private clinic, then the private clinic (who can then go after the company who sold them the bad implants)

I'm viewing them much as any other product someone might buy - if I buy a buggy, or a car and it's found that there is a known, widespread fault, then I am entitled to go back to the shop I bought it from for fix/replacement.