Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has expressed his strong opposition to the NHS funding cosmetic surgery at a time when it is under heavy financial pressure.
Hunt said all decisions must be taken on "clinical need", and public money must not be used to pay for surgery just to improve someone's looks.
"We should not be doing cosmetic work on the NHS," he told a press gallery lunch in parliament. "The decisions are taken on the basis of clinical need, but I have made it very clear that I am against purely cosmetic work being done.
"There will be times when there is a mental health need, which the local doctor has said is very serious. But I do completely understand people's reservations about some of the things that happen."
Cosmetic surgery is rarely available through the NHS, according to the NHS website. It says there must be a major physical or psychological need for the surgery.
"In rare cases, a clinical commissioning group (CCG) may decide that cosmetic surgery is required to improve a person's health, although NHS resources are limited and waiting times are usually long. For this reason, most people pay to have cosmetic surgery privately," NHS Choices states.
The few cases where cosmetic surgery may be available on the NHS include breast implants to treat severe underdevelopment or lopsidedness; breast reduction to treat back pain or shoulder pain; nose reshaping (rhinoplasty) to treat breathing problems; tummy tucks to remove excess fat or skin after essential abdominal surgery; and eyelid reduction to treat affected vision. A recent case of NHS-funded cosmetic surgery that came to public attention was that of Josie Cunningham, a would-be model. The 23-year-old got a £5,000 breast enlargement on the NHS, but later said she wanted to have them reduced because the implants had left her feeling self-conscious.
She was recommended for funding by her local GP. Cunningham, from Leeds, asked the NHS for the operation because she said she was being bullied for being flat-chested.
The NHS has been rated the world's best healthcare system by an international panel of experts who rated its care superior to countries that spend far more on health. But doctors say a combination of rising patient demand, staff shortages, falling funding and political interference is undermining Britain's health system.
