§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the total number, cost and type of non-essential operations such as cosmetic surgery and sex change operations which were carried out in the National Health Service in the last year.
§ Mrs. CurrieIt is for the clinician responsible for the care of the individual patient to decide whether treatment including surgery is necessary. The available statistics do not provide a breakdown of the reasons for which plastic surgery is performed. For information on the number and cost of sex change operations, I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton) on 1 March 1988 at column551.