The NHS is spending up to almost £20,000 a time treating people who have suffered serious setbacks after having medical procedures abroad, research has found. Hospitals are having to “pick up the pieces” when things go wrong for the growing number of Britons going overseas for weight loss surgery, breast enlargements or other operations.
As many as 53% of those who do end up with complications such as infections, organ failure and wounds that do not heal, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Open. Some people need a stay in intensive care, further surgery and large amounts of antibiotics in order to recover from botched treatment they have paid for in another country.
Patients have ended up in a UK hospital for as long as 45 days following weight loss operations and even longer – 49 days – after cosmetic surgery. It costs NHS hospitals between £1,058 and £19,549 to treat such cases, according to a review of evidence undertaken by Welsh researchers led by Dr Clare England of Health Technology Wales.
Prof Vivien Lees, the vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Too often people are drawn in by cut-price deals and glossy online marketing, only to return with serious, sometimes life-changing complications. When things go wrong, the NHS is left to pick up the pieces, often in emergencies and without full information about what surgery was done or by whom.”
Turkey is by far the most common destination, accounting for 61% of all such trips. Cheap air fares, online advertising and difficulties obtaining NHS help have driven a surge in medical tourism over the last 20 years. Andrew Rankin, a trustee of the Joint Council of Cosmetic Practitioners, said demand “is largely social media driven”. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Too many people are being lured overseas for cheap cosmetic procedures, only to come home with life-changing complications that end up costing the NHS thousands of pounds.”
