Angry mum wants NHS policy change
MUSLIM mother-of-three Faiqa Akram is launching a campaign to have religious circumcisions on the NHS.
Health leaders in Stoke-on-Trent are refusing to pay for the procedure because they see it as a 'low priority'.
It means babies such as Naveed Akram have to be circumcised at private clinics.
But his mother, who has married into a Pakistani family, wants an end to the postcode lottery which sees health trusts in areas such as Liverpool and Bradford offering the service denied her in Stoke-on-Trent.
Mrs Akram, who also has two daughters aged five and three, said: "We are supposed to be a multi-cultural city, so it is plain wrong to deny this service to a significant proportion of the population.
"It's not only Muslims who are missing out. Circumcisions also take place in Jewish and orthodox Christian communities.
"We know three other similar cases were sent to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, so is this the tip of the iceberg?
"Even though the procedure was for religious reasons, I would have thought purely from a financial standpoint that it would be cheaper for the NHS to fund a service than pay the much bigger costs of operations."
Mrs Akram is waiting for Naveed to have a second corrective operation, and has not altered her views on circumcision in line with the family's religious beliefs.
She said: "I felt so guilty at first that I had to be put on anti-depressants.
"I still feel guilty every day – not because of the circumcision itself but because we had to take him to a private clinic.
"With hindsight, I would have taken him to Pakistan for the operation.
"I fear Naveed will be left with psychological problems."
Mrs Akram has already made a complaint about Dr Munir Butt, who carried out the operation, to the General Medical Council.
And Huddersfield-based Kirklees NHS Primary Care Trust, which takes in Dr Butt's main GP practice, is also looking into the complaint.
The trust's complaints manager Gillian Gabanski said: "The medical director would like to undertake an investigation into your son's procedure and the events that followed."
Shiban Ahmed, a consultant paediatric surgeon at University Hospital, has declined to comment on the case, but in a letter to Mrs Akram, he had expressed concerns about Naveed's condition.
The letter ends: "I have raised this issue with the PCT here and have tried to address this with the medical director of the PCT in Manchester."
It is not known how many parents would apply for their sons to have religious non-medical circumcisions on the NHS each year.
An NHS Stoke-on-Trent spokesman said: "Circumcision is a low priority so, as it stands, a Stoke-on-Trent individual who wishes to have one because of religious reasons will not be eligible for treatment.
"We would only consider referral if there were clear medical indications. Currently, there are no plans to change the policy."
Mrs Akram is being represented by Andrew Martin, at Dickson's Solicitors, in Hanley, who said: "We are bringing a claim for potential clinical negligence against the GP who carried out the circumcision.
"It involved a very young child and both parents find it very distressing.
"We are at a fairly early stage of collecting the medical notes. The case is being publicly funded."
6 Comments
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by Abu Ismail, London
Saturday, June 06 2009, 10:52PM
“As a Muslim, I would like to say that the demand to have circumcision done free on NHS is simply ridiculous - NHS has queues long enough and enough shortages as it is for it to be further overburdened by elective operations. This lady needs to get her facts straight - Jews in this country have always done it within their own community without burdening NHS, there are plenty of qualified doctors out there who will do it privately for a reasonable cost (just don't select a doctor because he is someone's cousin, check their reputation).
In fact, there are special discounted prices for child circumcision that range between £100 to £150 with well-known reputable clinics.
Additionally, if you can take your child to Pakistan for an operation, you are rich enough to spare the NHS the expense for your elective operation.
Simply unbelievable. This lady is after compensation, pure and simple. Please do not bring "Muslims" into this - we have problems enough as it is. This issue once again is going to fan the far right sentiment, even though as a community we have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.”
by Richard Smart, Barry
Saturday, June 06 2009, 6:21PM
“Outlaw all circumcision on babies. Let them decide when they grow up.”
by Antony, Midlands
Saturday, June 06 2009, 11:17AM
“All operations have side effects. This is why only medically therapeutic procedures should be undertaken. Parental rights
to consent to treatment on behalf of their children come with the responsibility not to
irreversibly tattoo their own ideological beliefs onto their children's genitalia. This is surely self-evident.
There is good scientific evidence that circumcision removes some of the most erogenous zones of the penis. Many of the worst complications only come to light when little boys turn up at their GP or to see a urologist with the complications of scarring or infection for example. Some boys have died from this ancient ritual-others have had long-term physical and psychological sequelae.
Any argument suggesting extension of services into the NHS misses the point entirely.
It is Actual Bodily Harm to cut someone for non-therapeutic reasons. The rights granted to little girls under the Female Genitla Mutilation (FGM) legislation should be extended to little boys.
My heart goes out to this little boy and to thousands of others whose genitals are being irrevocably altered before they have had the opportunity to discover their own philosophical, ideological or
sexual attitudes and inclinations.
If more people would write to their MP and to those statutory bodies protecting children then the tide of public revulsion may be the impetus to nudge the political will into action for change. These children deserve our support.”
by John Dale, Staffs/Derbys border
Saturday, June 06 2009, 8:30AM
“I have some sympathy with Mrs Akram's views that the NHS shouldn't be a postcode lottery.
The NHS should not be providing elective surgery on the whim of a patient's superstitious beliefs wherever in the country they are, or whatever superstition is involved.
If you want to mutilate your children's genitals, then while so ever it is still legal (hopefully not for too much longer), you should be footing the bill yourself.”
by Ron Low, MM, Chicago
Friday, June 05 2009, 8:38PM
“This mum is partly right. The NHS should standardize which procedures are and are not covered in all locations.
Genital mutilation for BOTH genders must be outlawed.”