NEW figures today exposed the shock cost to West Yorkshire's NHS of the growing demand for cosmetic surgery.
The YEP can reveal that hospitals in Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees carried out more than 650 so-called 'non-medical procedures' in the past two years – at a cost to the taxpayer of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Work carried out include
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d tattoo removal, nose jobs, tummy tucks and breast augmentation – with each of the ops costing between £1,000 and £5,000 a throw.
News of the expenditure comes at a time when there are 150 people waiting for hip replacements at Leeds hospitals and another 100 people in the Wakefield and Dewsbury area. A typical hip op costs around £7,500.
Now, campaigners at the Taxpayers' Alliance said the NHS needed to get its priorities right.
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Alliance director Mark Wallace said: "It is a cause for concern when people are getting free cosmetic surgery whilst other patients cannot get treatment for life-threatening conditions."
Local NHS managers say each was considered individually and weighed up against national criteria for "restricted treatments".
They stress, however, that the ops are never carried out for solely cosmetic purposes and that many of the people treated would have been suffering from psychological problems.
But Mr Wallace added: "This is a question of having the right sort of priorities. Someone with low self esteem can be helped without necessarily having invasive, dangerous, expensive surgery, whereas someone whose heart doesn't work properly has no choice.
"People with a clear medical need have to be the priority for the NHS."
In Leeds, bosses shelled out for 476 procedures between June 2006 and June 2008.
They included: 56 tummy tucks, 55 breast augmentations, 79 breast reductions, 56 operations to pin back protruding ears, 52 treatments to get rid of unsightly hair, 12 to remove male breasts, and four to remove tattoos.
In Wakefield, there were 105 non-medical treatments, including: 20 nose jobs, 14 tummy tucks, nine procedures to remove male breasts, nine ops on droopy eyelids, seven to correct breast asymmetry and one to separate toes.
Bosses at Kirklees NHS approved 76 treatments including plastic surgery for stretchmarks, laser hair removal, breast enlargement, liposuction and to fit gastric bands.
The figures were obtained by the YEP using the Freedom of Information Act.
According to NHS averages, a tummy tuck costs around £4,900, the procedure to remove male breasts (gynaecomastia) around £2,300, pinning back ears costs about £1,100 and a nose job around £1,300.
A spokeswoman for Leeds NHS said they considered each case carefully.
She added: "Applications for procedures termed as cosmetic are made on behalf of patients by their GP after careful consideration of the potential physical and emotional impact."
Wakefield District NHs senior commissioning manager Shaun Boffey said: "NHS Wakefield does not fund any purely cosmetic surgery. We base our decision to approve treatment on the evidence of clinical need."
A spokeswoman for Kirklees NHS said: "We do not fund procedures for cosmetic or aesthetic reasons and we follow strict criteria before restricted treatments are provided. Each case is assessed individually and needs to have exceptional reasons.
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The YEP can reveal that hospitals in Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees carried out more than 650 so-called 'non-medical procedures' in the past two years – at a cost to the taxpayer of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Work carried out include
ADVERTISEMENT
d tattoo removal, nose jobs, tummy tucks and breast augmentation – with each of the ops costing between £1,000 and £5,000 a throw.
News of the expenditure comes at a time when there are 150 people waiting for hip replacements at Leeds hospitals and another 100 people in the Wakefield and Dewsbury area. A typical hip op costs around £7,500.
Now, campaigners at the Taxpayers' Alliance said the NHS needed to get its priorities right.
See what's in store for us with video weather forecast
Alliance director Mark Wallace said: "It is a cause for concern when people are getting free cosmetic surgery whilst other patients cannot get treatment for life-threatening conditions."
Local NHS managers say each was considered individually and weighed up against national criteria for "restricted treatments".
They stress, however, that the ops are never carried out for solely cosmetic purposes and that many of the people treated would have been suffering from psychological problems.
But Mr Wallace added: "This is a question of having the right sort of priorities. Someone with low self esteem can be helped without necessarily having invasive, dangerous, expensive surgery, whereas someone whose heart doesn't work properly has no choice.
"People with a clear medical need have to be the priority for the NHS."
In Leeds, bosses shelled out for 476 procedures between June 2006 and June 2008.
They included: 56 tummy tucks, 55 breast augmentations, 79 breast reductions, 56 operations to pin back protruding ears, 52 treatments to get rid of unsightly hair, 12 to remove male breasts, and four to remove tattoos.
In Wakefield, there were 105 non-medical treatments, including: 20 nose jobs, 14 tummy tucks, nine procedures to remove male breasts, nine ops on droopy eyelids, seven to correct breast asymmetry and one to separate toes.
Bosses at Kirklees NHS approved 76 treatments including plastic surgery for stretchmarks, laser hair removal, breast enlargement, liposuction and to fit gastric bands.
The figures were obtained by the YEP using the Freedom of Information Act.
According to NHS averages, a tummy tuck costs around £4,900, the procedure to remove male breasts (gynaecomastia) around £2,300, pinning back ears costs about £1,100 and a nose job around £1,300.
A spokeswoman for Leeds NHS said they considered each case carefully.
She added: "Applications for procedures termed as cosmetic are made on behalf of patients by their GP after careful consideration of the potential physical and emotional impact."
Wakefield District NHs senior commissioning manager Shaun Boffey said: "NHS Wakefield does not fund any purely cosmetic surgery. We base our decision to approve treatment on the evidence of clinical need."
A spokeswoman for Kirklees NHS said: "We do not fund procedures for cosmetic or aesthetic reasons and we follow strict criteria before restricted treatments are provided. Each case is assessed individually and needs to have exceptional reasons.
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