Cutbacks on NHS surgery to save £1m

Moves to reduce the amount of cosmetic surgery available on the NHS in the Black Country is set to save taxpayers more than £1 million, health bosses have revealed.

Non-essential procedures like breast enlargement, tummy tucks and nose jobs are to be scaled back to save money and put an end to postcode lotteries.

Patients currently get free operations if their appearance makes them depressed or self-conscious. Officials today said the cut in services would see a saving to the NHS in the Black Country of £1.3m.

Procedures such as varicose vein and wisdom teeth removal will also be scaled back under the plans.

It comes as two policy reviews over treatments in Staffordshire are launched. Health bosses in the county have vowed to end a postcode lottery over gastric band operations and IVF.

It comes after a gastric band patient was denied an operation which he would have qualified for elsewhere in the county while there are also variations in policy over the number of fertility cycles couples can go through for free.

At hospitals in the Black Country, including Walsall Manor, Wolverhampton's New Cross, Sandwell, and Dudley's Russells Hall, the new policies are set to come into force on April 1.

It is anticipated they will result in more than 470 fewer hospital admissions a year.

Black Country Cluster spokeswoman Lindsey Harding said: "Across the Black Country Cluster we have been working towards a common set of policies to ensure that patients get the same clinical outcome through quality treatments that are cost effective.

The reduction in plastic surgery will also cover procedures such as the removal of tattoos, face lifts and the removal of excess skin following weight loss.