Commenting on the research published in BMJ Open about surgical tourism and the cost to the NHS -

 Dr Sarah Townley, Deputy Medical Director at Medical Protection, said:

“The risks of surgical tourism to patients and the cost to the NHS when secondary interventions are required - often due to packages not including post operative care - are concerning. It is also important to recognise the difficulties clinicians face when they are asked to manage patients returning home with complications.

“The complications can be complex, doctors are unlikely to have access to patient records or post-surgery plans, and there can be uncertainty around consent and clinical responsibility. This can result in medicolegal issues and members often contact us for advice on this issue. There is an urgent need for greater public awareness of the risks of surgical tourism, to ensure patients are undertaking adequate research and making informed decisions.”

ENDS

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About Medical Protection

Medical Protection is a trading name of The Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”). MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 350,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.

Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.

Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations.

MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.