Tattoo Removal on NHS

[#1]

A discussion on LBC this morning about the NHS spending £350,000 on tattoo removals.
Is this what our NHS money should be spent on at a time when it is under pressure and having to cut back on expensive drugs that could save lives?

[#2]

If you are referring to cancer drugs  I don't believe that they save lives but may extend lives by a month or two.
As for NHS spending there are a few treatments that I don't agree with, one being fertility that should not be funded by the tax payer.

[#3]

@itsme,
Whilst you are correct in stating that some cancer drugs may extend life by a month or two, it might be more correct to say that in the majority of cases  these drugs can extend the quality and period of life by  6 months or more.
Important for anyone with cancer and in particular those people who are young.
Certainly agree that the NHS should not be spending money on many things that should be up to the individual to pay for, nor should the NHS be offering free treatment to benefit tourists.
However the NHS is not a national service otherwise it would offer the same service to everyone but what treatment you can get or not get depends on where you live and in my opinion entirely wrong.

[#4]

Isn't tattoo removal a form of optional cosmetic surgery (I.E. the sort that should be paid for, like fake boobs, or metrosexual male fake abs)? I could understand having cosmetic surgery after having a body part mangled or disfigured in an accident, but as people with tattoos chose to have them, then it's not really fair to have the taxpayer fund their removal when they have second thoughts about the choice they made...

[#5]

Quote from: artmo

Is this what our NHS money should be spent on

Absolutely NOT!  It's a lifestyle choice to have chemical dyes injected into one's skin, eyes etc
I would never get involved in what some refer to as self mutilation although that seems to me to be a National Newspaper  headline way of describing it.

Edit: Typo corrected.

[#6]

Think tattoos perform a useful function. They certainty help employers sort out who not to employ at interviews. 

[#7]

I could provide a Google link to some very Inappropriate Tattoos which would do just that but the images and language are too strong

[#8]

@strat,
Go for it, be interesting to see how the moderators would deal with a moderator.

[#9]

One caller into the radio prog today said his tattoo removal cost £2000. If this is the cost of removal it is scandalous that the NHS are paying for the procedure despite possibly getting a better price for doing it.

[#10]

Hmmpppphhhhh
Then they'll claim hardship, discrimination and that their quality of life is being affected. Their human rites are being infringed
But I digress - I agree that the NHS should not provide such funding

[#11]

I suppose there could be a case if the person was underage.
Had the tats without their horrified parents consent.
Or someone was forcibly tattooed.

Other than that if you're old enough to have and want it done.............................

[#12]

Don't get me started on Tattoos and Body Piercing
Oh...you already did

[#13]

It's not only tattoo removal I think is a waste of NHS resources. Gastric bands also comes to mind. If you're fat stop eating and you'll get thin. And how about boob enlargement/reduction and fertility treatment for 2 more examples.
Gastric bands cost around £6000 and fertility treatment costs £5000 per cycle.
I accept there are always exceptions to the rule but these sort of procedures should not be accepted as the norm.

[#14]

£35,000 is a tiny amount in terms of NHS spending but it's still money that could be used for something useful like reducing A&E waiting times (a little) or better cleaning in wards.
Having tattoos is a choice that people are free to make (not a choice I'd make) but people know they're permanent when they get them and if they want them removed they should pay (perhaps the NHS should offer such services at a price so that profits can be used elsewhere).

[#15]

Quote from: w23

perhaps the NHS should offer such services at a price so that profits can be used elsewhere

That price should factor in the diversion of resources from other areas of the NHS.