Downing Street expressed alarm on Monday at reports that a hospital offering cosmetic surgery in Turkey is touting for business in a London hotel and playing down the risks.
The deaths of seven Britons at Turkish clinics have been linked to so-called Brazilian bum lifts, which are among a range of cosmetic procedures on offer for much cheaper prices in Turkey than in the UK.
The possible dangers were allegedly dismissed by sales representatives from one Turkish company, who pressured an undercover reporter to agree to take up a travel package costing up to £5,000, following a hurried consultation at a Holiday Inn in Regent’s Park.
“Clearly those reports are concerning,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said after the reporter from The Sun revealed her disturbing experience at the roadshow held by Ekol International Hospitals.
“Doctors must make clear to potential patients whether they are licensed to provide medical advice in the UK,” the spokesman said.
“It’s a criminal offence in the UK for a doctor to falsely give the impression that they hold registration of a licence, and we urge anyone considering a procedure abroad to carefully research the treatment and question the qualifications of their clinician and the regulations that apply in the country they're travelling to.”
Advertisements promoting cheaper health tourism in Turkey have become commonplace in Britain, including one taken out by Ekol on the London Tube last year offering cut-price breast jobs.
The Commons last month heard a call for a ban on such advertising following the death of a 28-year-old British woman in Turkey.
Shannon Bowe, from Falkirk, died in April 2023 following gastric band surgery. Her MP, John McNally of the SNP, said her family “witnessed the most agonising, horrific death as Shannon lay on a table for some nine hours convulsing”.
Foreign Office minister Leo Docherty said that 28 British nationals have died since 2019 following elective medical procedures abroad.
He told Mr McNally that the UK’s top diplomat in Ankara “is very seized of the urgency and the importance of this and is therefore working in close collaboration with the Turkish authorities”.
Ekol International Hospitals has been approached for comment.
