NHS spends £300 million to remove tattoos

THE National Health Service spent tens of millions of pounds removing nearly 200,000 tattoos last year, according to figures released by the Department of Health last week.

Rosie Winterton, the health minister, said in a Commons written answer that doctors had carried out the procedure, involving either skin grafts or lasers, on 187,063 tattoos.

Even conservative estimates of the cost of removing a small tattoo under anaesthetic on the NHS put the bill for 2004-05 at £37m, but some consultants suggested a figure of £300m.

Because tattoos penetrate under the skin, removing them is expensive. The tattooed area must be cut out and skin grafted over the gap. Removing tattoos with skin grafts in the private sector can cost £1,000-£2,500. Laser surgery costs from a minimum £200 to more than £2,500.

Why should the NHS be paying for the removal of tattoos? If people want them removed the taxpayer should not have to pay for it.

It’s simply a waste of money that the NHS urgently needs. How many hospitals could that money have saved to stop them from closing down in the NHS crisis we are now in?

The NHS should only be for illnesses and injuries that is no fault of your own.