Report on breast reconstruction in England
A breast cancer charity is accusing CCGs of restricting access to breast reconstruction services for non-clinical reasons.
The Breast Cancer Now report, based on a freedom of information request which received responses from around a quarter of CCGs, describes the CCG policies as “totally unacceptable” and ”not in the best interest of patients”. They include limiting the number of surgeries women are allowed, imposing a timeframe on their completion and denying “balancing surgery” to the unaffected breast to achieve symmetry with the reconstruction.