A recent study has revealed that the NHS is spending up to £19,000 per case to treat British patients who have suffered serious complications after undergoing medical procedures abroad. The research, published in the BMJ Open journal, suggests that as many as 53% of these “medical tourists” end up with issues such as infections, organ failure, and poorly healing wounds.
The study, led by Dr. Clare England of Health Technology Wales, analysed 37 previous studies covering 655 patients treated by the NHS between 2011 and 2024 for post-operative complications related to surgery overseas. The majority had either weight loss (385) or cosmetic (265) operations, with Turkey being the most common destination, accounting for 61% of such trips.
Patients have ended up in UK hospitals for as long as 45 days due to complications from weight loss surgery and 49 days after cosmetic procedures. The costs to the NHS range from £1,058 to £19,549 per case.
Professor Vivien Lee, the vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, warned that people are often lured by cut-price deals and glossy online marketing, only to return with “serious, sometimes life-changing complications.” When things go wrong, the NHS is left to pick up the pieces, often in emergencies and without full information about the initial surgery.
The total number of Britons seeking medical treatment abroad is unknown, but at least 348,000 were thought to have done so in 2022. Women make up 90% of these “health tourists,” with an average age of 38, though they have ranged from 14 to 69 years old.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson acknowledged the issue, stating that too many people are being enticed overseas for cheap cosmetic procedures, only to come home with life-changing complications that end up costing the NHS thousands of pounds. The government launched a campaign last year in association with TikTok to warn would-be medical tourists about the risks involved.
Experts have also highlighted the role of social media in driving the demand for aesthetic procedures, often fuelling inappropriate body image concerns that are then exploited by misleading advertising.
