Free NHS boobs?

[tina3747]

I'm sure everyone has seen the media frenzy about the girl who has had breast implants courtesy of the NHS, what do you think about it?
There's a lot of stuff being said, especially on Facebook... Reaaly nasty things but at the same time I don't think the girl has done herself Any favours flaunting herself in modelling shots.
A waste of public money is my personal opinion, there's still a lot of cancer drugs not given because of the cost.
On the other hand, is it any worse than your child having thier ears pinned back?

 

[emyandpotato]

I think that in the grand scheme of things the £5k or whatever it cost is nothing to the government, whereas to her it has absolutely changed her life. Not because she can be a glamour model, but because when you really and truly loathe your appearance you can feel so sick at the thought of yourself and of what others think of you that you can't bring yourself to leave the house. The NHS don't just give cosmetic surgery out willy nilly, so we must assume that the medical experts who assessed her saw a just cause in her psychological state to give her the surgery. Now it's not right that we should be so obsessed with our appearances, but in our society it's a given, and there's very little we can do to change it and to change our own opinions of ourselves. As for it being worse than having your ears pinned back? No, it's exactly the same.

 

[kmbabycrazy]

My Aunty got a tummy tuck on the NHS years ago and you do have to be in a pretty bad way for them to agree to do surgeries like that (cosmetic). But people are making out it's the first time it's happened and it shouldn't. But I'm talking probably 15 years ago now.

I think people should stop being so horrible to the girl, she is getting so much abuse on the internet. I'm sorry but there's not one person I know who (if they wanted cosmetic surgery) would not love it if they could get it for free. I know I would jump at the chance if I could get it for free. And I agree, I think it's absolutely the same as getting ears pinned back x

 

[sweetlullaby]

I think that in the grand scheme of things the £5k or whatever it cost is nothing to the government, whereas to her it has absolutely changed her life. Not because she can be a glamour model, but because when you really and truly loathe your appearance you can feel so sick at the thought of yourself and of what others think of you that you can't bring yourself to leave the house. The NHS don't just give cosmetic surgery out willy nilly, so we must assume that the medical experts who assessed her saw a just cause in her psychological state to give her the surgery. Now it's not right that we should be so obsessed with our appearances, but in our society it's a given, and there's very little we can do to change it and to change our own opinions of ourselves. As for it being worse than having your ears pinned back? No, it's exactly the same.

I agree with this.

 

[LoraLoo]

I think that in the grand scheme of things the £5k or whatever it cost is nothing to the government, whereas to her it has absolutely changed her life. Not because she can be a glamour model, but because when you really and truly loathe your appearance you can feel so sick at the thought of yourself and of what others think of you that you can't bring yourself to leave the house. The NHS don't just give cosmetic surgery out willy nilly, so we must assume that the medical experts who assessed her saw a just cause in her psychological state to give her the surgery. Now it's not right that we should be so obsessed with our appearances, but in our society it's a given, and there's very little we can do to change it and to change our own opinions of ourselves. As for it being worse than having your ears pinned back? No, it's exactly the same.

But if everyone wanted it doing those £5k's would fast add up to Millions. Where do you draw the line? Why can some people get tummy tucks on the nhs and others cant? Why can some get boob jobs and others cant? Why can some women get IVF and others cant? Its a lottery postcode and thats wrong imo.

The NHS is under so much pressure financially they need to prioritise, to me, a boob job is not priority, not when people are getting left in corridors to die. Not when they are closing down Maternity units and SCBU's and putting babies lives at risk.

 

[Tasha]

But if everyone wanted it doing those £5k's would fast add up to Millions. Where do you draw the line? Why can some people get tummy tucks on the nhs and others cant? Why can some get boob jobs and others cant? Why can some women get IVF and others cant? Its a lottery postcode and thats wrong imo.

The NHS is under so much pressure financially they need to prioritise, to me, a boob job is not priority, not when people are getting left in corridors to die. Not when they are closing down Maternity units and SCBU's and putting babies lives at risk.

Totally agree. There is so much more that money can be spent on, especially at a time where most hospitals are getting rid of nurse positions because of lack of funding. Four boob jobs could instead pay for a newly qualified nurse wages for a year, eight boob jobs can pay for a nurse to be trained. Personally I would rather it be spent on that than breast jobs.

And I do understand what it is like to hate your body as I hate mine. I need a breast reduction once I am doing having babies as mine are huge and cause physical pain, I also need a tummy tuck because exercise alone wont fix the damage pre-eclampsia did to my body (think 15lb put on in one week due to the pre-eclampsia) but I wont put that strain on the NHS, I will pay for it myself.

 

[emyandpotato]

But it isn't everyone having surgery, it's one person on what we must assume was a very unusual case because it's so unlikely to be granted cosmetic surgery on the NHS. Of course, surgery shouldn't just be given out to people because they ask for it, and indeed it isn't; there are many people feigning depression, or who in fact are depressed because of their appearance, who are denied surgery. It may be that this girl was no special case and just 'got lucky' but as we don't know her psychological history and are not medical professionals we can't make a fair judgement on this.

As for the priority thing, I do get that. I once asked my philosophy teacher why so much money is spent on hip surgery when children are dying because cancer treatments are so expensive, and he said that everyone pays their taxes and is entitled to help, whether psychological or physical, when they need it, and that everything is allocated by need (for example, maybe 40% of people needing hip replacements will have a very long wait, as will maybe 40% of people needing expensive intensive treatment, the fact that the more money is spent on the 'lesser' problem is because there is a higher demand). I hope that makes some sense?

 

[dgirllamius]

Complete waste of money. £5k ain't much could have got herself a loan. And I'm sure here "glamour" work would soon pay that back.

There's more important stuff the NHS should spend their money on. Complete and utter waste.

 

[LoraLoo]

Imo if its cosmetic, pay private, if its your health, thats what the nhs is for.

 

[emyandpotato]

It's mental health though, they wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) have allowed it otherwise. With things like this they have to exhaust every other option to help with depression, exactly like when children have their ears pinned, though even more extensive.

 

[LegoHouse]

If you want a boob job, get a proper job, save money, and then pay for it yourself!!!!!!!

 

[LoraLoo]

It's mental health though, they wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) have allowed it otherwise. With things like this they have to exhaust every other option to help with depression, exactly like when children have their ears pinned, though even more extensive.

Im sorry but as you have said, there was no mention if she was depressed or not. If its a cosmetic issue, pay privately, thats what my friend is doing.

 

[ellismum]

Silly cow ain't going get no where after boasting about it all over the papers. If your depressed fine, seek councelling like many of us (inc myself) and learn that a quick fix isn't a permanent one.

That said, I'd happily contribute a few pennies on make up lessons that teach her not to wear lipstick lighter than the coffee grounds she's rubbed on her skin and eyebrows my nearly 4 yr old could draw on better.

 

[suzib76]

so she is as trashy as it gets, and this story has been sensationalised a tad

it was never a choice between one and the other. even if she didnt have the surgery, it doesnt mean they would allocate more funds to the cancer thing

not saying it is right btw, but it certainly was never a choice between boobs or cancer treatment

 

[Eleanor ace]

I haven't seen the story. When it comes to cosmetic surgery, on the one hand I think people should absolutely be able to alter their bodies if it is causing them psychological distress, I do think it can be a drain on the NHS. People are able to exaggerate their distress over a physical feature, say the right things and get surgery when perhaps they don't "need" it. From my own experience, when I was 16 my doctor asked how I felt about my breasts (they were very large for my frame) and said that if they were causing me to be distressed he could recommend me for a reduction once I was over 18. This was without prompting, I was there for something completely different. I'm sure that for most people its not an easy thing to get doctors to consent to surgery when its not medically neccesary but it does happen.

 

[midori1999]

I think the way this girl has been treated, by the media and the general public is appalling.

However, I don't think cosmetic surgery should be available on the NHS at all unless there is also clinical need or if it's for reconstructive purposes. I say that as someone who has had several cosmetic surgeries, including a tummy tuck which I was offered an NHS referral for but chose to pay privately.

I know a number of people who have had cosmetic surgery on the NHS and the vetting and counselling procedure is not very thorough. If people have mental health issues regarding their appearance they need help for that which excludes surgery, not least as evidence tells us that those who really do have mental health issues over their appearance are the most likely to be unhappy with the results of cosmetic surgery anyway.

 

[winegums]

evidence tells us that those who really do have mental health issues over their appearance are the most likely to be unhappy with the results of cosmetic surgery anyway.

Exactly. And this is why cosmetic surgery shouldn't be paid for by the NHS due to psychological reasons.

Not only this but it's not all that hard to get certain surgeries on the NHS - my friend went to the doctors for back pain and her GP offered to refer her to have a breast reduction! Her breasts aren't even that big and she's never had a problem with them

I don't think this woman deserves the treatment she's had from the media and general public however I do believe she has contributed by 'thanking the taxpayers' publicly for her new breasts and now is suddenly going to become a glamour model.

Maybe she can use the money from all the offers she has been inundated with since the surgery to donate back to the NHS or her local PCT

 

[steph.]

She's not the only one. I went to medical school in glasgow and worked for a couple of months in a plastic surgery unit where i saw quite a few women get nhs boob jobs. It had to be proved that their small/wonky bbs had a severe impact on their mental health and social well-being. Even then i would get so annoyed! All you had to do is walk over to the paediatric unit, or the cancer unit and see how much better that money could be applied. The nhs is so understaffed, i always felt undersupervised and overworked. The only time i agree with free boob jobs is when someone has had a mastectomy and needs a reconstruction.

But its not this girl's fault. Good for her she got free boobs. Its a fault in the system.

As for getting children's ear pinned back- i think thats ok. Its a cheaper surgery, and it can have a big impact on a small child. Its not something they can hide either. I have worn padded bras pretty much my whole life (exept now i'm bfing), and no one has ever known.

 

[tina3747]

But it isn't everyone having surgery, it's one person on what we must assume was a very unusual case because it's so unlikely to be granted cosmetic surgery on the NHS. Of course, surgery shouldn't just be given out to people because they ask for it, and indeed it isn't; there are many people feigning depression, or who in fact are depressed because of their appearance, who are denied surgery. It may be that this girl was no special case and just 'got lucky' but as we don't know her psychological history and are not medical professionals we can't make a fair judgement on this.

As for the priority thing, I do get that. I once asked my philosophy teacher why so much money is spent on hip surgery when children are dying because cancer treatments are so expensive, and he said that everyone pays their taxes and is entitled to help, whether psychological or physical, when they need it, and that everything is allocated by need (for example, maybe 40% of people needing hip replacements will have a very long wait, as will maybe 40% of people needing expensive intensive treatment, the fact that the more money is spent on the 'lesser' problem is because there is a higher demand). I hope that makes some sense?

Do you think that if this girl had major problems with confidence ect and tht was the reason she got prioritised with the op, it's a bit strange to then go out and do the types of modelling shots that she's doing now. There's being proud of what you look like and feeling relieved that you can look at yourself, then there's pushing them up and out and sitting on a car looking provocative... Because I'm guessing in all of this the thing she ultimately wanted was a shot at modelling?!
Also years ago my ex employers wife, she was late 40s early 50s and had had 4 kids. She hated her stomach, but no different to me hating my nose or small boobs. She went to the doctors and kind of joked about the dramatic scene she had to do, wanted to end her life because of her stomach overhang and it was the reason her husband had an affair. She was joking and showing us how she made herself cry.. The psych report granted her the surgery she wasn't suicidal and I'm 100% sure she could have paid herself.
How many of these people are actually fleecing the system?
I feel desperately sorry for her and her kids now, she's getting tons of abuse ... Someone said yesterday she was one of the most vile people on this earth I could think of more you moron!

 

[My_First]

This article got my back right up. The girl was 'modelling' in next to nothing before her boob job, she certainly didnt have an confidence issues. 5k would have better been spent on councelling.