|
|
 |
| |
Supermarket worker Barbara Holden at home
with her dog Oscar
|
Too old to have cyst removed
Woman, 65, turned away by hospital over fundingby
A MOTHER of three from Holborn has been denied treatment for a cyst because the surgery is no longer funded by the NHS.
Barbara Holden, who lives in Dombey Street, was referred by her doctor to the University College London Hospital in October after a small cyst on the back of her neck started to itch.
But the 65-year-old then received a letter from the hospital warning the treatment “was no longer available on the NHS”. She was advised to contact her GP to “discuss further options”.
Ms Holden said: “It has become harder and it does make my neck ache when I’m tired or stressed.
“I haven’t even been seen by the NHS, so how can they make a decision? How do they know it’s not cancer? It could be the size of a golf ball by now.
“They are trying to make me pay privately, there are no other options. I feel dismayed. I have worked for 50 years and have surely paid enough towards our National Health Service.”
Ms Holden’s story has reignited the debate over whether some cosmetic treatments should be available on the NHS.
NHS Camden funds the removal of cysts where there is a suspicion of malignancy, obstruction of orifice or vision, or if it is limiting movement or routine activity.
They also remove large facial legions, of around 5mm or more in diameter, that are visible on the central area of the face, the nose, chin, cheeks and around the eyes or forehead – but not those that are concealed, as Ms Holden’s was by her long hair, on the neck.
Ms Holden, who works as checkout supervisor in Holborn Sainsbury’s, has recently changed her hairstyle to one where the cyst can be seen.
She said: “Customers and colleagues keep asking me what the ‘lump on my back’ was. It has made me feel self-conscious.”
Ms Holden, a patient at the Lambs Conduit Street Medical Centre on October 19, said she was appalled that the treatment was not available to her.
She said: “Is it ageism? Do they think it’s not worth it anymore because I’m over 60?”
NHS Camden director of contracts and performance Liz Wise said Ms Holden should visit her GP to discuss “further options” and that the health authority would help her “to determine the best course of action”. |
 |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
