Breast Implant removals - who pays?

According to a report on the biased BBC:

A surgeon advising the UK government has called for a staged removal of faulty breast implants, following a health scare in France.

Tim Goodacre, part of a panel looking at products made by French company PIP, said the reported risk of rupture was "quite out of the ordinary."
The government said the failure rate was 1%, but a private clinic now believes it could be up to 7%.
"This is very much higher than anything we'd consider acceptable," he said.
Speaking on the BBC's The World at One, Mr Goodacre, who is president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) said he did not think there was any risk of cancer as a result of the faulty implants, but he was still advising what he called removal on a "staged basis".
"If you believe a device is faulty in your car or any other object you buy you would want to have that replaced on a staged basis," he said.

The report goes on to talk about the near-bankrupt government of France, where the manufacturer of the potentially dodgy implants was based, is recommending the removal of implants at French government expense.  Will this largesse extend to those affected in the UK?  Don't hold your breath!


Also, the biased BBC reports:

Chairman of the Commons health select committee Stephen Dorrell said the cost of removing implants should be recovered from those who had provided "sub-standard products" in the first place.
"The first responsibility here would rest on those who were engaged in care that hasn't met proper standards, so the first responsibility rests on them," he said.
"Having said that, clearly if there is a health issue involved then ultimately the NHS exists to provide health assurance for all patients in the UK."

Why on earth should the NHS, funded as it is by taxpayers, incur any cost for this?  Shame on Dorrell - a pro-European Conservative!  Obviously someone who thinks that personal responsibility shouldn't always be personal or responsible!

I find myself in the unusual position of partly supporting the Labour spokeman on this.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the government needed to issue clear guidelines to calm the fears of those affected by the issue.
"Mixed messages from the Department [of Health] have not helped and families affected are looking for a stronger response from the government," he said.
"As a minimum, it must include these three basic points - first, that all medical records will be provided on request without delay and without charge. It is unacceptable that some women are being asked to wait or even pay an 'admin fee' to see their records.
"Second, where there is evidence of a rupture, private providers must arrange for urgent removal at no expense to the individual and with any costs to the NHS reimbursed.
"Third, that all women given PIP implants must be offered an urgent, free consultation with a doctor once the results of the urgent review are known to discuss options."

 The actions required are that the individuals concerned can take whatever steps they want to against PIP or their UK based plastic surgeons.  End of story.  The NHS and the government and the Department of Health should remain as involved as they were when the breasts were first implanted - that is, not involved.

One proviso - if any of these implants were made under the NHS, following say a mastectomy, then and only then, should the NHS intervene.