EU propose to end free consultations

New research reveals that the proposed European Union legislation to end free consultations for cosmetic procedures would restrict patient choice and drive up the cost of treatment.

On average, a patient considering a surgical cosmetic procedure in the UK has four consultations with a surgeon before deciding on their provider. The proposed ban on free consultations, which will force patients to pay to meet a surgeon, is likely to result in patients undertaking fewer consultations – ultimately reducing patient choice.


Research reveals proposed European Union (EU) legislation to end free consultations for cosmetic procedures would increase the cost of a typical cosmetic surgery procedure by 15-20%

With patients paying an average of £1581per consultation, if the proposed EU ruling comes into force, patients would be forced to spend an additional £632 on top of the cost of their procedure. This would increase the price of the average procedure by between 15 and 20%.

Pat Dunion, Chief Operating Officer of Transform Cosmetic Surgery, said: “The proposed new EU regulation reduces patient choice and will undoubtedly result in a less well-informed patient.

“Charging people every time they meet with a surgeon will discourage patients from seeking advice from multiple sources. Transform believes patients, should they wish, have the right to seek alternative opinions without being financially penalised for doing so.

“Charging for consultations is not in the interest of patients and benefits no one except surgeons who see this as a revenue stream.

“There is a sense among many patients that if they have already committed money to speaking with a surgeon, they should proceed with an operation so as not to waste money.

“We believe all cosmetic surgery patients should be entitled to a free consultation. Without this, it becomes the preserve of the wealthy. A considered and well informed decision should not be dependent on how deep a patient’s pockets are.”

1Research conducted amongst a representative sample of clinics and private practices offering cosmetic interventions between 24th and-26th March 2013



Blog article written by Transform Cosmetic Surgery Group

Source HERE

This literally made soooooo angry and at the same time laugh my socks off!

Transform are harping on here about patients choice and the right to be able to see as many surgeons as you wish free of charge before making a decision.

Where was MY choice when my surgeons had left Transform as many of their foreign surgeons do. I was given NO choice at all when I needed a re-op and was allocated a surgeon who made me feel so humiliated when he asked me to stand before him as he sat in his chair and he literally grabbed my boobs over my clothing! They were VERY happy to take choice away from me then when I needed them most and I literally had to fight them to be able to see another surgeon because there was no way I was going to let that surgeon who grabbed me put a knife anywhere near my body! No CHOICE at all is given to any women needing a replacement for their surgeon if they leave - you get what you're given!

I firmly stand by this withdrawal of the free consultation and I think the larger clinics like Transform will really suffer if this comes into play.

Their suggestion of a £632 increase in surgery and that there would be a 15 - 20% increase in surgery cost.... Well, all I can say to that is what I find here. The prices of women who see BAAPS/BAPRAS members and initially pay a consultation fee which 'does' come off the overall cost of the surgery generally isn't any more money than you're paying in the large clinics! So the larger clinics may claim their surgery will have to increase in cost but how will this affect the BAAPS/BAPRAS members? - it won't! They've been applying this charge already and depending on the surgeon (if you choose BAAPS presidents, ex presidents or committee members you pay a little more) it more or less the same price. Their prices won't change because they already make the charge!

I believe a consultation charge will actually encourage women to do their research 'before' booking consultations to save themselves money and this has got to be a positive! And what will happen when women actually do research.... They'll see exactly what qualifications you can get for your money and because a lot of surgeons in the large clinics don't have a lot of the qualifications BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeons have, will they be able to keep up? Maybe they're scared that naive women that know nothing and head for free consultations just wanting a pair of boobs will then have to take a moment and step back, seeing all clinics on par with each other and then choosing a surgeon.... Well which surgeons would you choose for the money?

i think it's very hypocritical of transform to be going on about 'patient choice' when they are sooooooo pushy for you to sign up. I really hope that it does encourage girls to do research before hand if they have to pay because i've seen loads of girls on another site go 'i read in OK magazine that transform are the best so i'm going with them' (this is before they've even had a consultation) and if they have that attitude and have then paid for a consultation i'm worried they will be even more pressured into going with the 1st surgeon they meet xx

I paid for my consultations but it was £80.00. I think it was really just to stop people wasting my surgeon's time.

I also wasn't given the hard sell but I understand a lot of them do that!

£1580 for a consultation!???!!! Also bearing in mind they will be whacking VAT on ops in the future as well? I don't think I paid VAT. But HMRC say as it's (most of the time) not medically essential VAT is chargable on cosmetic surgery! That would mean an extra 20% That's almost another £1000 too. Crazy! They will force more people to go abroad at the end of the day and take risks with 'cheap' ops.

I know some places abroad are fine by the way - lovely - but you know what I mean - dodgy places. xx

I do agree though Cookie - I think allowing access to people who just REALLY want new boobs wihtout the thought process behind it is dangerous and your Transform stories are terrible!

I feel I paid for amazing quality and service. I even spoke to my surgeon at 7.30pm last night! I'd pay again!

I just worry that people who are desperate will end up worse off if the prices are driven much higher than they are now.

But BAAPS/BAPRAS surgeons aren't going to be affected by this at all.... Their costs won't change because they already enforce this charge from as little as £25 from MyBreast and much to the disbelief of many their overall costs are often no more than you'd pay in the commercial clinics anyway!

Press releases like this are to put the frighteners up women to keep them at the top with their free consultations. Without the free consultation they're then on par with a BAAPS/BAPRAS member and if Transform choose to add an 'additional' cost for their surgery, unlike the BAAPS/BAPRAS members whose cost of consultation comes off the price of their surgery then they're no longer going to be sitting at number one are they!

But they won't put the prices up if this charge does apply! Its just scare tactics to manipulate our thoughts in the same way they use their sales tactics to draw you in....

Ohh I get ya! Well yes they should do it! I hope it puts them out of business to be honest! That's awful!

There ought to be mroe regulations about hard sell and tactics when it comes to selling surgery!

I also wonder how much of the money they charge actually goes on your actual care and surgery with all that sales admin and advertising!?

hmm dont know what to think of this i researched greatly into surgeons before i booked consultations, i ended up going with transform in the end who were free for consultations and didnt find them pushy at all they never once rang me to follow up they waited 3 weeks for me to call them back - mya on the other hand were incredibly pushy though ringing me all the time. I wouldnt have been able to afford to pay for alot of consultations if there were costs (i took out a loan for my ba) so if i had to pay for consultations i probably only would have had 1 consultation with my favourite researched surgeon but then wouldnt have got a varied opinion from different sugeons with sizes unders/overs etc like i have done with free consultations...

Just out of curiosity.... Would you have been prepared to have 2 independent consultations so you had freedom of choice, chance to compare surgery plans and surgeons for the cost of £50? Or would you consider that to be too much money?

if consultations were low cost like £25 or £50 then i would have had 2 consultations probably with my 2 faviourite researched surgeons but if the costs of consultations were higher than that i wouldnt have wanted to chuck more than £100 on my credit card just to talk to surgeons not even knowing whether i'll like them. My husband wouldnt want me spending alot of his wage on consultations with no gurantee its not all wasted money.

Consultations with BAAPS/BAPRAS members ARE as low as £25 now!

This is what I'm saying about this release manipulating thoughts to imagine things would be well out of reach when realistically right now this fee is in place already for BAAPS members and it hasn't hiked their prices up at all. X

I think it will definatly encourage women to do their own research on surgeons! And forums like bjsf will become a very valuable tool to many many women considering surgery! Not that it isn't already xx I do think £600 + for a consultation is a huge price to pay, and I certainly couldn't have afforded to have more than 1. I don't think £25 is a huge amount and I would be more than happy to pay that. And would have had 3,4,5 or however many consultations I needed to find the right surgeon. Paying will also help to stop ladies rushing into surgery, it's very easy to get carried away and book with the first surgeon you meet, especially if your given all of the sales chatter from a pcc first. So maybe women will take a step back, do a lot of their own research first and pick the best surgeons with the very best credentials to have consults with.

I couldnt find a Baaps surgeon for under £120, if you see 3 or 4 before choosing then it is a lot of money if you're on a budget. Also at the point of contact none of the secretary's said I would get the consultation fee back if you went ahead and booked. I don't know about transform but THG have at least one Baaps member, which you can see for free, so why do the others charge?

the baaps surgeon for THG will be paid by them. My surgeon was free to see through Aurora but £100 to see at his own clinic, i assume Aurora pay him for his time with them? If you see them privately then they still need to make money? I wouldn't work for free 1 day a week. Thats the way i see it

When I said I would see 3,4 surgeons I meant if they were £25 consultations. I couldn't have afforded to see more than 1 if it was a lot more. X

same here lisa, i paid £25 to see adrian richards through mybreast and i researched miles berry and was going to see him at his own clinic, but like i said, it was £100, so went to see him through aurora cos it was free. I think they need to bring rules in to curb the 'hard sale' tactic at the big clinics. and also more than a 5 min consultation with the surgeon!

lil-happy-jo wrote:I couldnt find a Baaps surgeon for under £120

All of MyBreasts surgeons are members of BAAPS and have a £25 consultation fee. Xx

lil-happy-jo wrote:THG have at least one Baaps member, which you can see for free, so why do the others charge?

Is that Sultan Hassan? He's the surgeon that came up in my search for the hospital and baaps. I just ran his name through BAAPS and I can't seem to locate him as a member

Cookie Im not sure that BAAPS register works well, at my local spire they have a M Dixon (spelt with a ck but it gets taken off as a naughty word) and theres another Mr Javaid who works at Pinehill surgery but I couldn't find him on there either.

My surgeon isn't listed on the website either. I think I read somewhere that there are different types of membership and only full ones show on the site. I remember ages ago a girl rang them up cos her surgeon wasn't on the web list n they said that not everyone is on there x

I've been for 4 free consults and I I paid 120 for One ! i went back to my 3rd surgeon today fir a 2nd consult who is not baaps (in Ireland u hav to just make sure ur ps is on the specialist reg of the medical council so it's diff to uk)and he is on the medical council! he was a free consult but he's the one I felt most comfortable wit and there has been no pressure at all from him I went back today to make sure I was happy bout size and was about to book and he said "no go sleep on it no panic n booking" there has Ben no sales pushing wit him at all I wud never b able to pay if I had to for all my consults so I'm glad they are free to b honest xx

cookie wrote:

lil-happy-jo wrote:THG have at least one Baaps member, which you can see for free, so why do the others charge?

Is that Sultan Hassan? He's the surgeon that came up in my search for the hospital and baaps. I just ran his name through BAAPS and I can't seem to locate him as a member

found this



Mr Sultan Hassan
Registered Member of:

• General Medical Council (GMC no 4121442)
  
• British Medical Association
  
• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons* (BAAPS)
  
• British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons* (BAPRAS)
  
• Association of Breast Surgery (ABS)
  
• Mr Hassan is on the Specialist Register
  

*Trainee Associate – full application pending

I have had three consultations. Tranform, THG and BMI. Transform and THG were free and at BMI I paid £90.
I have to say the best was at BMI. I done my research and I knew the surgeon I wanted to see. I could only afford to pay once so I had to get it right!!! The other two I just went cause they were free and didnt research the surgeon beforehand.

newboobz wrote:

cookie wrote:

lil-happy-jo wrote:THG have at least one Baaps member, which you can see for free, so why do the others charge?

Is that Sultan Hassan? He's the surgeon that came up in my search for the hospital and baaps. I just ran his name through BAAPS and I can't seem to locate him as a member

found this




Mr Sultan Hassan
Registered Member of:

• General Medical Council (GMC no 4121442)
  
• British Medical Association
  
• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons* (BAAPS)
  
• British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons* (BAPRAS)
  
• Association of Breast Surgery (ABS)
  
• Mr Hassan is on the Specialist Register
  

*Trainee Associate – full application pending

I saw this too on THG website... What people are actually missing is that this surgeon is actually NOT a BAAPS/BAPRAS member. The starred *Trainee associate with his full membership pending is NOT a declarance that this surgeon IS a member. All this means is that his membership is pending.

The cleverly worded text to embellish ones CV too in such a field should also be something very carefully monitored.

Can't really say he cause I knew my surgeon before my consultations but for the refunded 25 free the difference in that to my free thg consultation the difference was immense.

I still believe surgeons and clinics should be spending more time with patients pre op, it's a huge thing to go through mentally and that wasn't mentioned whatsoever, no psychological assessent was made and other than a question on the thg form about depression neither mybreast or thg asked enough basic questions to find out I was being treated by a CBT therapist at the time of my ba, but then again my gp advised I went onto anti depressants which I declined 5 months before booking and he didn't pipe up either. My booby blues might have been a bit better handled if they had bothered to get to know my background, but I got through although I'm not sure that would be the case for everyone x