Gastric Band Service

A landmark High Court ruling yesterday has opened the way for NHS patients to get free surgery abroad if the waiting list is too long. The High Court case involved a 72-year-old grandmother who was in pain from osteoarthritis, and the judge ruled that she was entitled under European law to obtain funding for overseas treatment because she was facing 'undue delay' on the NHS. The Department of Health, which has a scheme for sending patients abroad where waiting lists are long, is looking into the wider implications of the court ruling. The solicitor for Mrs Yvonne Watts, who had a hip operation in France and was reimbursed for the costs, said that the ruling offers hope to other NHS patients.