New figures show almost 1,000 women have already had faulty PIP implants removed by the NHS

The latest data from the Department of Health (DoH) shows that almost 1,000 patients who received faulty implants from French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) have been privately referred to the NHS to have them removed since January, with the NHS footing the bill.

 

607 women who had operations with private doctors have now decided to have their implants removed via the NHS, with 384 of these having already had the surgery. Another 378 women who had the implants put in by the NHS have also decided to have them removed, with 275 operations already taking place.

The cost to the NHS for appointments and scans that have already taken place is over £850,000. This will rise significantly when all 607 patients have had their surgery and could rise further as more women come forward.

In total over 7,000 individuals have approached the NHS with over 5,000 already having appointments and scans to establish if any rupture of the implants has taken place.

Who should foot the bill?

There have been arguments over who should pay for the removal or replacement of faulty implants. In January 2012 the Government announced that women given PIP breast implants on the NHS could have them removed for free, they expected private firms to offer the same.

Unfortunately it then emerged that many private clinics had disappeared and others refused. This led to the announcements that any women refused help would have access to NHS care but only for removal of implants, not replacement. In Wales the Welsh Government has gone further and agreed to replace as well as remove implants where the clinics will not assist.

Read the full release here.