Health Committee launches web forum to gather views of women with PIP implants

• Health Committee: All providers should offer to replace breast implants which have failed
• Health Committee report on PIP Breast Implants and regulation of cosmetic interventions

The Health Committee today launches an online forum for women affected by PIP breast implants to give their views on the treatment they have received from private clinics or the NHS following the emergence of information about risks associated with PIP implants.

The Government has also set up two reviews: one, led by the Health Minister Earl Howe, which will examine what has happened in the UK in relation to PIP implants; and another, led by the NHS Medical Director, Sir Bruce Keogh, which will look at the wider issues of clinical safety and regulation. The Health Committee will consider the reports of both reviews: the evidence from the web forum will be instrumental in this consideration.

Commenting on this initiative, Committee Chair Stephen Dorrell MP said,

“We are keen to hear about the experiences of women who have PIP breast implants provided by private clinics or the NHS. There is very little first-hand information about the scale of the problem posed by PIP implants or how well it is being tackled.

“We are monitoring how the NHS is performing its undertakings to remove failed implants, and what private providers are doing to replace PIP implants which are causing concern.

“We encourage women to use this forum to give their personal experiences of implant surgery from a private provider or the NHS, and how far their particular concerns about their own implants have been addressed where they have sought to raise them.”

It is estimated that over 40,000 women have received PIP breast implants provided by private clinics or the NHS. The Committee invites all such women to participate in the web forum to give their personal views of their experiences with the implants and their care both before and after the revelations about the safety of PIP implants.

If you need to discuss your implants through the forum, it’s important to note that registered users of the forum will be able to post messages without identifying themselves. The forum will be pre-moderated to ensure no potentially defamatory comments are made and no private information about named individuals is revealed.

The forum can be accessed at http://forums.parliament.uk/pip-implants and via the Committee’s homepage at www.parliament.uk/healthcom.