Interesting Funding Choices
September 25th, 2008 by BHAnswers
Women seeking breast augmentation on the NHS for mental health reasons may face a postcode lottery because of a lack of clear guidance and evidence on who will benefit from the surgery.
This is the finding of Katie Trickey of Canterbury Christ Church University, who presents her findings at The British Psychological Society Psychology of Women Annual Conference, being held in Windsor. Other studies looked at rhinoplasty.
Aesthetic breast augmentation is carried out on the NHS in exceptional cases where women are experiencing psychosocial distress because of the size or shape of their breasts. In the year 2005 - 6, 1,495 women were given breast augmentation on the NHS for aesthetic reasons .
This study examined the experiences of five women referred to one NHS hospital for breast augmentation for reasons connected to their mental health. The women were all experiencing substantial psychosocial distress and impaired quality of life because of their concern with their appearance, but none of the five were granted funding for surgery. This may have implications for Beverly Hills breast augmentation.
