PIP Implants

Andy_1234

I wasn’t sure which section of the forum this should go in, but thought this might be ok. Rather than write an essay, I will try to keep things short and to the point.

• My wife had implants in November 2006.
  
• She contacted Harley Medical Group in January (I think)to see if she had PIP’s . They confirmed she had.
  
• January 18th she got a letter saying……….. For any patient of The Harley Medical Group with PIP implants who has a confirmed rupture accompanied by a scan within 6 years of implantation, we will replace the implants free of charge.
  
• 11th June, after a long wait. She had a scan on the NHS and had a confirmed rupture in one of the implants. She also has silicone in her armpit.
  
• 4th July she had an appointment with the Harley Medical Group and saw the surgeon. He agreed to provide her with new implants and went through sizes etc.
  
• Between 4th July and to date my wife has been ringing the ‘Helpline’ (which is just a call centre) and never gets an answer as to when she could have them replaced.
  
• 14th July she receives a letter dated 13th July that states Harley Medical Group have changed their aftercare policy and she will now have to pay £2500 for the operation.

Today she got to speak to someone at the Group, and they insisted it's perfectly legal for them to change their policy. Are they allowed to do this?

Many Thanks
Andy

Optimist

Andy_1234 wrote: »

I wasn’t sure which section of the forum this should go in, but thought this might be ok. Rather than write an essay, I will try to keep things short and to the point.

• My wife had implants in November 2006.
• She contacted Harley Medical Group in January (I think)to see if she had PIP’s . They confirmed she had.
• January 18th she got a letter saying……….. For any patient of The Harley Medical Group with PIP implants who has a confirmed rupture accompanied by a scan within 6 years of implantation, we will replace the implants free of charge.
• 11th June, after a long wait. She had a scan on the NHS and had a confirmed rupture in one of the implants. She also has silicone in her armpit.
• 4th July she had an appointment with the Harley Medical Group and saw the surgeon. He agreed to provide her with new implants and went through sizes etc.
• Between 4th July and to date my wife has been ringing the ‘Helpline’ (which is just a call centre) and never gets an answer as to when she could have them replaced.
• 14th July she receives a letter dated 13th July that states Harley Medical Group have changed their aftercare policy and she will now have to pay £2500 for the operation.

Today she got to speak to someone at the Group, and they insisted it's perfectly legal for them to change their policy. Are they allowed to do this?

Many Thanks
Andy

My thoughts

Given your wifes implants are already ruptured it would seem a priority to get them removed ASAP.

The NHS will do this for free however they will not replace the implants and given this would seem to be a medical issue the first priority is her health and safety.

There would seem to be a case to be made under the Sale Of Goods Act about these faulty PIPs so if she used a Credit card then a claim against the credit card company using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act would be good move

If she didn't use a credit card then it will need court action and although you dont put the original cost I am betting it is over the limits of the Small Claims Court and I would recommend a consultation with a solicitor they are many who give the first half hour free.

arcon5

What are the life span of these PIP implants?

If they are replacing them with new implants I suspect they would get away charging an amount equivalent to 6 years use you have had to new (therefore the replacements would create a like for like situation).

Andy_1234

Thanks for the replies.

The operation was paid for on a debit card, unfortunately.

She has spoken to a solicitor and it seems that they have broken contract law. They made an offer to her on the 18th January. On the 4th July she signed to accept surgery, which was her accepting the offer. They then changed the offer after she had signed, 9 days later.

Now we have to put this in writing to them, and hope the realise their wrong doing.