Almost 60% Britons Oppose NHS Paying for Overseas Surgery Complications

While thousands of Brits head overseas in search of cheaper cosmetic and medical procedures, a new poll suggests the public is less supportive when things go wrong. 

A OnePoll survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by Longevita, a UK-based medical tourism facilitator, found that 58% of respondents believe the NHS should not cover the costs of correcting procedures carried out abroad. It reflects wider concerns about protecting already stretched health service resources.

The results also highlight expectations around personal accountability. The poll also found that 69% of respondents believe patients should take responsibility for their own safety when seeking treatment overseas.

The concern is heightened by a recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), which found that complications from elective surgery abroad can cost the NHS up to £20,000 per patient to treat.

The survey also revealed a striking lack of awareness of who pays for such patients’ expenses. More than half of respondents (53%) did not know that UK taxpayers often fund NHS corrective treatment for surgeries performed abroad. 

Also, when it comes to the advertising of overseas clinics, 68% of adults expressed concern about misleading ads on social media, highlighting public unease over unregulated promotions and the risks of misinformation.

Calling for strict regulations on medical tourism abroad, Longevita has launched a petition on the UK Parliament website, urging the government to create an accreditation body for overseas medical providers advertising to UK patients. 

It also calls for mandatory complication insurance, as has already been introduced by the Turkish government, and UK-based aftercare. The petition further proposes tighter restrictions on UK advertising, limiting promotions to accredited providers only, in a bid to help ease mounting pressure on the NHS. 

The petition has surpassed 1,250 signatures and will receive a government response once it reaches 10,000.

These efforts are further backed by Britons’ concerns over safety abroad, with nearly 38% saying they feel they have no legal protection when seeking treatment overseas. 

Most respondents, 84%, also support specialist approval before travelling. And over 50% of them said they would be very unlikely to go abroad without clear safeguards, showing strong public support for stricter regulation and oversight. 

Longevita’s CEO, who also wrote a white paper on regulating medical tourism for UK patients, said:

“Medical tourism itself is not the issue. The danger lies in the absence of clear, enforceable safeguards for UK patients seeking care abroad."

"Without proper accreditation, insurance, and continuity of aftercare, we leave patients exposed and place avoidable pressure on the NHS when things go wrong.”