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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that those who go abroad for cheap cosmetic surgery should insure themselves...

143 replies

jemenfous37 · 30/11/2023 06:50

...so that when it all goes wrong, which it inevitably does, the NHS isn't left with the repair bill.

Eveyone moans that the NHS is underfunded, many happily blame migrants (legal or otherwise) or govt underfunding etc.

Yet they then expect it to clear up the mess when their tummy tuck/eyelash extension go wrong. Why should the public fund their vanity project - the surgery they thought they'd get on the cheap in a sunny country?

We cannot afford to provide many procedures/drugs that are actually necessary, but hey, why not spend what little we have hoovering up the consequences of vanity and what appears to be terminal stubborness (because it isn't as if people don't know the potential risks, the media has been covering such stories for years)?

OP posts:
DustyLee123 · 30/11/2023 06:52

YANBU.
But then you could argue that anyone injured in a hobby or vehicle should have private insurance too.

ChocHotolate · 30/11/2023 06:54

I completely agree.
I have no doubt we will be drowned out but all the "what about-ery" talking about smoking related illnesses, sports related accidents etc. The amount of people being seen in A&E on a daily basis due to dodgy cosmetic treatment (not just from abroad) is really high (source - 20yrs working in emergency & urgent care)

justalittlesnoel · 30/11/2023 06:55

I mean YABU because no one's travelling abroad for an eyelash extension 😂

It depends - these people have paid £ for private surgery abroad, which has gone wrong and needs NHS intervention. The same happens if you pay for private surgery in the UK, in an emergency you'll often be redirected to the NHS.
What insurance would even cover this?

PosterBoy · 30/11/2023 06:56

They won't provide more than essential care on the nhs - they save your life but the repairs beyond that are self funded.

Hobbesmanc · 30/11/2023 06:56

Do we have any stats on this apart from the DM horror stories? Most seem to be getting teeth done which considering how ridiculously expensive dentistry is here seems fair enough. And hair transplants which look daft but I can't see requiring much NHS intervention.

Insurance would be wise but I'm not sure what product would cover it? No private health insurance would cover self inflicted surgery abroad.

TodayInahurry · 30/11/2023 07:11

I listened to an NHS surgeon talking about this on the radio last week. They see many people with horrendous problems from treatment, abroad. He was talking about Turkey. This was after the woman died after having a ludicrous ‘butt lift’. Apparently people have procedure and are then dumped into hotels with no follow up care and get infections. It all sounded horrendous!

sollenwir · 30/11/2023 07:14

justalittlesnoel · 30/11/2023 06:55

I mean YABU because no one's travelling abroad for an eyelash extension 😂

It depends - these people have paid £ for private surgery abroad, which has gone wrong and needs NHS intervention. The same happens if you pay for private surgery in the UK, in an emergency you'll often be redirected to the NHS.
What insurance would even cover this?

Private health insurance of some sort?

The NHS cannot cover this.

DustyLee123 · 30/11/2023 07:14

I have heard about someone, not sure if it was a conversation or off the TV, where a patient was basically shoved on the aircraft and told to go straight on A&E on arrival. That shouldn’t be happening.

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:15

I’ve been to Lithuania to have skin removal surgery, as I had lost over 300 lbs from weight loss surgery done privately in the UK (where my care was horrible). Bit harsh to shove us all under one umbrella especially with the comments about vanity

Sparklesocks · 30/11/2023 07:15

I’m torn because I agree that some of these procedures are very risky and you need to take responsibility should you choose to take that risk, but if someone is left in immense pain or has an infection from complications then leaving them out in the cold so to speak seems cruel. Or if someone had a procedure at say 21, but then had some sort of complications down the line in their 30s - that might regret the person/things they did when they were young and now needs help.

justalittlesnoel · 30/11/2023 07:18

@sollenwir

I have private health insurance, it wouldn't cover this! But also, it's not private hospitals that would be treating you, it's still the NHS. So the NHS would have to decide who needed to pay, get their details, bill them (again which is an organisational burden on the NHS) and hope for payment. A bit like they do for people who use the service from abroad - but it's not really a very successful method of getting cash from people! I'm just not sure how it would practically work. The criteria for who pays for what alone would be a nightmare to sort, it just seems like a minefield I can't see a method for it!

WhereIsBebèsChambre · 30/11/2023 07:18

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:15

I’ve been to Lithuania to have skin removal surgery, as I had lost over 300 lbs from weight loss surgery done privately in the UK (where my care was horrible). Bit harsh to shove us all under one umbrella especially with the comments about vanity

Wow, 300lbs from surgery?

sollenwir · 30/11/2023 07:18

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:15

I’ve been to Lithuania to have skin removal surgery, as I had lost over 300 lbs from weight loss surgery done privately in the UK (where my care was horrible). Bit harsh to shove us all under one umbrella especially with the comments about vanity

The reality is that the NHS is on it's knees. While I don't blame people seeking alternative options proper research needs to be done (and not simply walking into it hoping all will be ok, as some folk clearly do). Some things are cheaper for a reason.

Tiredalwaystired · 30/11/2023 07:18

The thing is, if it becomes an emergency, like sepsis, they’ll be seen on the NHS anyway as there aren’t private emergency depts in the UK.

sollenwir · 30/11/2023 07:19

justalittlesnoel · 30/11/2023 07:18

@sollenwir

I have private health insurance, it wouldn't cover this! But also, it's not private hospitals that would be treating you, it's still the NHS. So the NHS would have to decide who needed to pay, get their details, bill them (again which is an organisational burden on the NHS) and hope for payment. A bit like they do for people who use the service from abroad - but it's not really a very successful method of getting cash from people! I'm just not sure how it would practically work. The criteria for who pays for what alone would be a nightmare to sort, it just seems like a minefield I can't see a method for it!

I did say 'some sort of health insurance', not necessarily what exists just now.

While not all cosmetic surgery is vanity, lots of it is.

twirlywoop · 30/11/2023 07:20

You'd have to decide which cosmetic surgery was ok and which wasn't. Dodgy road to go down.

jc12689 · 30/11/2023 07:21

I see where you're coming from, but it's a bit of a rocky road. Where do you drawer the line at what is effectively a two tier NHS charging system?

Smokers
Fat people
People who ride motorbikes
Heavy drinkers
People to participate in extreme sports

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:22

I mean I’ve lost 300 lbs with weight loss surgery, I had a gastric bypass.

I had 14 lbs of skin removed from the cosmetic surgery

YoullCatchYourDeathInTheFog · 30/11/2023 07:22

Hobbesmanc · 30/11/2023 06:56

Do we have any stats on this apart from the DM horror stories? Most seem to be getting teeth done which considering how ridiculously expensive dentistry is here seems fair enough. And hair transplants which look daft but I can't see requiring much NHS intervention.

Insurance would be wise but I'm not sure what product would cover it? No private health insurance would cover self inflicted surgery abroad.

A lot of people getting their teeth done in Turkey aren't going there because of the genuine issues with NHS dentistry, they're getting full sets of crowns done for purely aesthetic purposes, which is mad.

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:23

@sollenwir well yes and I had a better experience out in Lithuania than I did here paying private! But regardless normal post op issues can arise, I was simply someone who didn’t have any

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:23

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:22

I mean I’ve lost 300 lbs with weight loss surgery, I had a gastric bypass.

I had 14 lbs of skin removed from the cosmetic surgery

@WhereIsBebèsChambre

twirlywoop · 30/11/2023 07:24

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:22

I mean I’ve lost 300 lbs with weight loss surgery, I had a gastric bypass.

I had 14 lbs of skin removed from the cosmetic surgery

Exactly and I'd see that as a perfectly good reason to have surgery

sollenwir · 30/11/2023 07:24

EvaorElla · 30/11/2023 07:23

@sollenwir well yes and I had a better experience out in Lithuania than I did here paying private! But regardless normal post op issues can arise, I was simply someone who didn’t have any

Post OP issues are not NHS issues.
Glad it went well for you though.

sollenwir · 30/11/2023 07:25

twirlywoop · 30/11/2023 07:24

Exactly and I'd see that as a perfectly good reason to have surgery

Show quote history

I see it as good reason for surgery too.
That doesn't mean the NHS should automatically pay for it though.

justalittlesnoel · 30/11/2023 07:25

@sollenwir

Oh no I totally get what you meant - my point was more I just don't see it working, charging some people for treatment vs others, the administrative burden on the NHS etc. The insurance would also be pretty unaffordable I'd imagine so most people wouldn't pay it, so it ends up in the same situation of no extra money going into the NHS.

I just can't imagine where the line of vanity / necessity gets drawn that would actually work practically, especially with how hard it would be to prove it. It seems like an idea that just wouldn't work in practice to me?