Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are employed by the NHS in determining whether plastic surgery will be funded by the NHS.

Plastic surgery is a procedure used for repairing and reconstructing missing or damaged tissue and skin, usually due to surgery, illness, injury or an abnormality present from birth. Plastic surgery for these purposes is usually carried out free of charge on the National Health Service and is commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups. The NHS Choices website provides advice on access to plastic surgery and states that most patients are referred to NHS plastic surgeons by their general practitioner or specialist consultant.