The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK spends £94 million annually to address complications from botched plastic surgeries conducted in Turkey. This financial strain also deprives other patients of necessary hospital beds, warns a leading plastic surgeon.
NHS consultant Dr. Rajan Uppal has urged the government to address this escalating issue, highlighting that many individuals use the NHS as a fallback after receiving substandard treatments abroad.
“Little old ladies are waiting in corridors while beds are occupied by patients who chose to have procedures overseas,” Dr. Uppal told MailOnline. “This is not what the public perceives the NHS is for.”
Dr. Uppal and his colleagues at an NHS Trust in Surrey report seeing at least one patient with complications from foreign surgeries each month. Despite the risks, thousands continue to travel to Turkey, drawn by the allure of affordable cosmetic surgery packages, some as low as £3,000.
Dr. Uppal criticized Turkish clinics for aggressively marketing these low-cost procedures, preying on individuals who cannot afford the higher costs in the UK.
Calculating the financial impact on the NHS, Dr. Uppal estimates that treating one patient per month at each of the UK’s 900 hospitals results in an annual cost of £94 million and 58,000 lost hospital bed days.
“This is a scandal,” he stated. “People are adults and can make their own choices, but the burden on the NHS is unacceptable.”
He also expressed frustration over the lack of accountability from patients who expect the NHS to rectify their issues, believing they have saved money by opting for cheaper overseas surgeries.
“Patients don’t care; they think they got a deal,” he said. “They view it like buying a cheap car – if it breaks down, it’s not a big deal.”
As a solution, Dr. Uppal suggested invoicing British patients for treatments related to elective cosmetic procedures done abroad, similar to the charges applied to foreign nationals using NHS services.
“If you’re an overseas patient from India or Nigeria, you either pay or are not treated,” he explained. “We could implement a similar system for those seeking corrective care after elective surgeries abroad.”
Currently, the NHS acts as an ‘insurance policy’ for these patients, which Dr. Uppal argues is the reason why overseas surgeries are cheaper, effectively passing on the hidden costs to the NHS.
Dr. Uppal and his colleagues previously appealed to the government to address this issue but received an inadequate response. He hopes for change under the new administration, emphasizing that with the NHS under scrutiny, every bed and pound matters.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported last year that 324 Brits required medical treatment or corrective surgery due to complications from procedures done abroad since 2018. However, the actual figure is likely much higher.
The number of cases has surged by 94% over three years, despite repeated warnings about the dangers of surgeries at often unregulated foreign clinics. While UK plastic surgeons typically undergo 10-15 years of training, some Turkish surgeons have as little as three years of training.
Doctors have reported severe complications from Turkish surgeries, including life-threatening infections, implants bursting through the skin, and blood clots.
The NHS is obligated to treat acute medical situations, often providing urgent care for returning patients. However, while the NHS can address life-threatening injuries, many patients are left with permanent scars or other long-term effects.
BAAPS president Dr. Marc Pacifico emphasized the significant consequences of seeking surgery abroad, not only for the patients but also for the NHS, which often bears the burden of correcting complications.
To mitigate this issue, Dr. Pacifico suggested making cosmetic tourism insurance compulsory to either reimburse the NHS or fund private care.
BAAPS estimates the average cost to the NHS for treating complications from these surgeries at around £15,000 per patient, with the total cost since 2018 amounting to approximately £4.8 million. More severe cases can cost upwards of £100,000.
Turkey is the leading source of botched operations, followed by the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Nearly 80% of Brits needing corrective surgeries in 2022 had their initial procedures in popular surgical tourism hubs like Istanbul and Ankara. An estimated 6,000 Brits travel to Turkey each year for cosmetic surgeries, often unaware of the associated risks.
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