'Transform' refuse to offer women implant replacements
Monday 09 January 2012
Latest in Health News
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs
Eating disorders: The blame game
The patient will blame his/herself. The parents will blame themselves. The tabloids blame the fashio...
Online House Hunter: Stamp duty deadline approaches…
Stamp duty relief on houses under £150,000 for First Time Buyers is coming to an end - but there's a...
Access denied: Eating Disorder treatments
Nobody should have to fight or get down on their knees and beg for help. Nobody should be told that ...
A leading cosmetic surgery firm is refusing to offer women with PIP breast implants free removal and replacement.
Transform has said it is reviewing its options but, as it stands, women will have to pay £2,800 to have the implants removed.
It follows an announcement from the Government on Friday that anxious patients who had their surgery on the NHS will be able to have the implants removed and replaced free of charge.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he expects private clinics to offer the same deal to their patients.
Around 40,000 British women have received PIP implants manufactured by the now closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP).
The implants were filled with non-medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses.
A spokeswoman for Transform, which has just over 4,000 patients in the UK with PIP implants, said: “Currently, Transform patients will have to pay to have a removal and re-operation.”
She said the firm was reviewing all its options and was making “no commercial gain” from charging women £2,800 to have the implants removed.
The Harley Medical Group, which has 13,900 patients with PIP implants, will issue a statement later today.
At the weekend, its chairman Mel Braham said he will pay for the cost of new implants, but only if the NHS does the surgery.
He said the Government was responsible for the situation and could do the operations because it had hospitals “at its fingertips”.
The Hospital Group has said it will only pay to replace PIP implants that have ruptured.
On its website, the group cites the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's position that there is no evidence to support routine removal of the implants.
This is also the Government's view, however its experts concluded that it cannot be ruled out that some of the implants are toxic.
The expert review panel also said the anxiety caused to women is a health condition in itself.
The Hospital Group's website tells patients “to ask your GP to refer you for an MRI scan.
“We are happy to have a look at the report and assess that for you.
“We are replacing all ruptured PIP implants free of charge.”
Ramsay Health Care, which has around 150 patients with PIP implants, said it was offering concerned women the chance to be examined and, if there is a rupture or clinical need, the implants would be removed and replaced free of charge.
Other leading providers including BMI Healthcare, Nuffield Health and Spire have agreed to offer free removal of the PIP implants.
The Government has said women who are refused help by private clinics will be able to have the implants removed on the NHS following consultation with their doctor.
It has said it intends to pursue clinics to avoid the taxpayer picking up the bill.
Personal injury firm Thompsons Solicitors said that companies who offered the implants could have a duty to pay compensation to those affected under consumer protection legislation.
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 offers consumers a series of legal rights, one of which is that with the sale of goods the item must be of satisfactory quality.
It is today launching a free advice line to anyone worried about PIP implants, which will give people access to free legal advice and assistance with taking forward any compensation claims.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Private providers have legal obligations to their patients. The NHS will offer a package of care for its patients, and we expect the private sector to do the same.”
The expert group behind the review concluded there is no link between the implants and cancer, as reported in one French case.
But it said it was “undeniably the case” that the implants are made up of non-medical grade silicone and should not have been implanted in women in the first place.
The expert group was unable to establish if the rupture rate is higher for PIP implants than for others.
But it could not be confident that PIP did not change the silicone in the implants, so could not rule out the possibility that some are toxic.
In France, the government has told 30,000 women they should have the implants removed while the Czech and German authorities have recommended that women should also have them taken out.
Nigel Robertson, chief executive of Transform Cosmetic Surgery, said: “Transform is fully committed to supporting the Department of Health in its efforts to end the uncertainty and anxiety of British women affected by the PIP situation and awaits a response to its request for an urgent meeting to discuss the way forward.
“It is important to recognise that this crisis is the result of failed regulation of breast implants, which were approved for use.
“The Government needs to accept its responsibility for this situation and work constructively with us to find a workable solution.”
PA
- 1 Can we pull the plug on the plug?
- 2 Emma Watson: The girl with the magic touch
- 3 The Ten Best Scotch Whiskies
- 4 The Ten Best Places In The World To Be Gay
- 5 NHS may need emergency cash bailout
- 6 Menswear finds its swagger to escape role as poor relation of British fashion
- 7 'There was someone who needed it...' 60 lives, 30 kidneys, all linked in longest donor chain
- 1 How an A-grade prank by a hacker closed a school for a day
- 2 Last bow for Blur at Brit awards?
- 3 Copenhagen, probably the best city in the world
- 4 How did a man buried in this frozen car for two months come out of it alive?
- 5 Ian McKellen: What's wrong with us? Should we not aspire to happiness?
- 6 The sci-fi movie Hollywood would not dare to make
- 7 Robert Fisk: 'If only Hague and Clinton would listen to Yusuf Islam'
- 8 Manx court sentences man to be hanged
- 9 Journalists killed in Syria rocket strike 'were targeted'
- 10 Aborted baby lived 45 minutes
Win an adventure with Subaru XV
Enjoy a three-night family adventure for four to Slaley Hall in Northumberland.
Delivering network infrastructure for London 2012
Cisco is maximising connectivity for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Free trial of our new iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Can we pull the plug on the plug?
The 10 Best Lecture Series
Michael Frayn: Still making a big noise




Comments