Private care for 'cosmetic' issues

I have lots of moles, and had a large one in my eyebrow. (Even though I haven't really got eyebrows!)
It grew, and crusted, and started to pull down my skin, and I thought eventually I wouldnt be able to open my eye properly.

My gp said it was cosmetic, and wouldnt refer me, so I paid to see a dermatologist.

She decided that it wasn't just cosmetic, and said that while they could remove it privately, she would write to my gp and ask him to refer me directly for removal, bypassing the nhs dermatolgist.

I got called into the gp after it was done, and was told off!

I have had about 5 surgeries on my skin for different ‘dodgy’ marks, one of which turned out to be a malignant melanoma. Fortunately it was dealt with speedily and hopefully I am in the clear. Now I am super vigilant, checking my skin regularly but of course I can’t check my back.I have asked at my GP surgery if I can have an annual, preventative check up on my back. The answer is no, so I have to pay privately £250 to have this checked every year. If I get another melanoma the cost of treatment to the NHS would far outweigh the cost of a precautionary check up. The NHS is a disease service, not a health service.

Greyduster

I have a skin tag where it catches on my underwear and bleeds. I had it looked at by the surgery and they agreed it needed to be removed, but the wait is eight months to a year. The advice was to “put a plaster over it”. I can see that I will have to go down the private road sooner rather than later☹️!

Me and my partner took ours off ourselves! We got a skin tag and wart kit, you squirt a measured dose of what I believe is liquid nitrogen onto a swab & press it on. After around 4 rounds they blackened and dropped off. It was a proper brand name & cost around £20. Job done! Private London clinic wanted £500 each. Partners was getting massive & of course no dice with NHS.

www.cryotag.co.uk/
This is what we used.

I had a small skin tag. I tied cotton thread around it really tightly. After a few days it fell off. Job done.

I did the same with a horrible mole on my neck. That took about a week to fall off.

Franbern, I am glad you had your warts/moles removed and am sorry that you had to pay for it yourself. Your NHS is sounding very much like our health services here in Canada. Because they are funded provincially, each province may have different rules and funding from another.

It does sound to me like things need to be at a critical stage before anything is done. My DH has Dupuytren's contracture in his hands, and has had operations on both(at different times), but there is a non-invasive needle procedure that can loosen the contracture without surgery, when the disease is still at a less serious stage, but for some reason is only done at private clinics. So you have to just let it get worse, and then have surgery. It makes no sense to me.

Our wait times for certain procedures vary from area to area. DH has been waiting for a hip labrum repair for around 18 months which is causing issues to his cardio health since he has pain walking. We haven't even looked into private repair for that since we know it would be exorbitant.

Oldnproud

Calendargirl

Yes, I think that it is reasonable to pay for cosmetic issues.

What classes as cosmetic, though?

Does that / should that include breast reconstruction after breast removal due to cancer?

Or what about an 18 year old girl who only has one properly-developed breast, and who through acute embarrassment at her 'deformity', has restricted her life since puberty (avoiding boys, not going swimming, wearing baggy tops) to hide it, even from her mother ?

I do know that the second of those is classed as cosmetic (certainly in one NHS trust, at least). Treatment on the NHS was refused when the girl, her self confidence rock bottom, finally plucked up the courage to open up to her family and seek treatment. The two operations involved cost many thousands of pounds privately. The money for the first was found by selling their house, but they will have to go into debt to fund the second.

Maybe different trusts have different rules. I'm on the waiting list to have one of my breasts reduced after cancer surgery on the other one. Before I made the request, I looked up the criteria for breast reduction ops and certainly in my trust significant asymmetry of breasts is valid.

Good luck growstuff

I'm glad you made the decision, Franbern and hope it improves your self-esteem. Money well spent.

Yes, where is the line drawn? I suppose the criterion is it depends on the cosmetic procedure involved and whether or not it is badly affecting someone's mental health

When even children can't access NHS dental services now for essential treatment something is wrong.

I hope you get your treatment growstuff, all cancer patients should receive whatever treatment they need to restore them, as far as is possible, to their former selves.

My mother had a ‘thing’ removed from her face on the NHS. It was frozen off. My father also had some rodent moles taken off his face.

Me? I’m just lazy, I simply thought it would be quicker to do a do-it-yourself job. I wouldn’t recommend that method for a breast reduction though.

Unless a condition is life threatening or needed to improve mobility (and you are prepared to join the waiting list) most other conditions will eventually have to be paid for privately.
Maybe if the number of doctors and nurses had increased in line with the population and tax payers were prepared to pay more tax to fund the NHS, we could expect a health service from cradle to grave.
But with the number of elderly people living longer and younger people living with chronic illnesses draining the NHS, the service that we grew up will no longer exist.

I can't agree that this sort of treatment should be on the NHS (I have ugly blemishes too) when things like preventative chiropody for diabetics and ear wax removal for the elderly has been removed. My Mum has to pay for these procedures regularly on the top of her care fees. They seem like little things but not caring for feet properly could mean the loss of it and not being able to hear affects the level of her dementia behaviour quite significantly.
I'd love my skin tags and lumps to be removed but I honestly don't think the NHS can afford that sort of treatment unless they are malignant.

Greyduster

I have a skin tag where it catches on my underwear and bleeds. I had it looked at by the surgery and they agreed it needed to be removed, but the wait is eight months to a year. The advice was to “put a plaster over it”. I can see that I will have to go down the private road sooner rather than later☹️!

I had a mole which was removed from my thigh for just this reason and I was really pleased. But it was 20 years ago and was done in a couple of weeks, rather than your long wait. I'm not sure what the cost would be, but I'm sure it wouldn't be enormous.

My partner has a basketball sized lipoma hanging from the bottom of his belly.. it's causing repeated antibiotic resistant urinary infections, making him walk like a crab and affecting his left him which already has no socket.
NHS have been aware of it for 5 years but still not seen a surgeon for its removal, current waiting list for initial assessment is 13 months. It's growing daily and starting to tear at the skin because of the weight of it 😞

Just to say I had about 6/8 skin tags and had them removed by a beautician(one i have been to before) and it was only about £30 and done quickly and painlessly. So no need to see doctors etc and they never came back!

cc

Greyduster

I have a skin tag where it catches on my underwear and bleeds. I had it looked at by the surgery and they agreed it needed to be removed, but the wait is eight months to a year. The advice was to “put a plaster over it”. I can see that I will have to go down the private road sooner rather than later☹️!

I had a mole which was removed from my thigh for just this reason and I was really pleased. But it was 20 years ago and was done in a couple of weeks, rather than your long wait. I'm not sure what the cost would be, but I'm sure it wouldn't be enormous.

About 30 years ago, I had a raised mole removed from my face too. The GP burnt it off in his routine minor ops clinic. It took a few minutes, so i doubt it cost much. However, it did mean I felt lot more confident and didn't catch on scarves and collars.

..

Just always remember that every time someone has any medical procedure done privately, everyone on the NHS for that procedure goes up one on the NHS waiting list.

Ditto Private Education. Think of the pressure it takes off of the State system and what more of a mess it would be in if the 600 000+ children who are

..

....... are being educated privately suddenly joined the State sector.

I feel no guilt about using either over the decades. I just was a tad jealous of friends being able to afford expensive holidays when we couldn't!!

(Apologies for the disjointed comment. Writing in the car and the roads are so b***dy awful that the first part "sent itself'. No, I wasn't driving!!!)

..

RakshaMK

My partner has a basketball sized lipoma hanging from the bottom of his belly.. it's causing repeated antibiotic resistant urinary infections, making him walk like a crab and affecting his left him which already has no socket.
NHS have been aware of it for 5 years but still not seen a surgeon for its removal, current waiting list for initial assessment is 13 months. It's growing daily and starting to tear at the skin because of the weight of it 😞

That's truly awful!
Surely at that size it will now start causing extra problems, which will then also need treatment after treatment?

I have a problem with a fingernail. About a year ago I caught my index finger in my misnamed 'soft close' kichen drawers. The nail went black and was detatched from the nailbed. A paramedic at my local surgery removed it (painfully) but now its grown back, just the same as it was before, lifted right off the nailbed and I keep catching it on things, its very uncomfortable it aches and is ugly. The GP surgery now say I have to 'go private' to get it treated. My problem is where? I know I will have to pay for it but I can't even find someone to do it!

Any ideas?

Greyduster

I have a skin tag where it catches on my underwear and bleeds. I had it looked at by the surgery and they agreed it needed to be removed, but the wait is eight months to a year. The advice was to “put a plaster over it”. I can see that I will have to go down the private road sooner rather than later☹️!

Crikey, my GP just freezes them off at a routine appointment!

One thing I have done previously is taken one off myself by tying a bit of cotton very tightly around the stem of the tag - cuts off the blood supply and falls off in a matter of days! Obviously that will depend on where it is and whether or not you can get to it!

The advice to put a plaster over a skin tag is good.
It is a known way of shifting the buggers.

Shantygirly

I have a problem with a fingernail. About a year ago I caught my index finger in my misnamed 'soft close' kichen drawers. The nail went black and was detatched from the nailbed. A paramedic at my local surgery removed it (painfully) but now its grown back, just the same as it was before, lifted right off the nailbed and I keep catching it on things, its very uncomfortable it aches and is ugly. The GP surgery now say I have to 'go private' to get it treated. My problem is where? I know I will have to pay for it but I can't even find someone to do it!

Any ideas?

inquire at Bupa.

Aveline

It seems quite reasonable to me that the NHS doesn't cover cosmetic procedures. Where could they draw the line?

There is 'cosmetic' and 'cosmetic' though - things like breast reductions can have a big impact on people's lives as their backs are affected and may be unable to work etc as a result.

I remember a real furore going on maybe around 20 years ago a young lass in Yorkshire had either a reduction on the NHS or an enhancement on the NHS as it was affecting her MH. Then a year later said it was worse and got it reversed! I think it should be how it is impacting on your life really, like it was with the OP, who at £350 looks like she got a bargain ...