Latest news with #Wythenshawe
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The NHS teams mopping up sloppy foreign surgery
As consultant plastic surgeon at Manchester's busy Wythenshawe Hospital, a typical day for Dr Fouzia Choukairi involves spending hours in the operating theatre reconstructing someone's limbs following a terrible traffic accident. But every few weeks, she or an on-call colleague will be buzzed to the A&E department where, among the melee of broken bones, bleeding gashes and limping children, she will face a different challenge: performing sometimes life-saving treatment on a patient who has returned from overseas having had cosmetic surgery. 'They may have had tummy tucks [abdominoplasty] or breast implants,' she explains. 'But then they will have got a wound or implant infection after flying home, and they may be very, very sick. They can need life-saving treatment, and it can involve a huge team – not just the A&E staff but surgeons, microbiologists, intensive care specialists, anaesthetists, nurses, wound care and rehabilitation staff. 'The patients are often very grateful, and sometimes verbally regret having had the surgery,' she adds. 'I guess you're not going to stop people from going abroad for surgery, but we do feel patients are not well-informed or well-equipped to deal with any complications.' For years, NHS staff have voiced concern at having to 'mop up the mess' caused by foreign cosmetic procedures mostly undertaken in Turkey, considered the medical tourism capital of the world. All too often, they say, the promise of cheap liposuction, BBLs (Brazilian butt lifts), facelifts and hair transplants promoted online and sold as part of 'luxury holiday packages' can result instead in infections, blood clots, sepsis, deformities and even death. Now, however, they are warning of a new issue – that of antibiotic-resistant superbugs being brought back from overseas into UK hospitals by these patients. 'Turkey is a gateway between East and West,' explains Dr Choukairi, who also works at Hale Private Clinic in Manchester. 'You have a huge mixture of people from all over the world flowing through these hospitals, airports and hotels. The patient would have travelled back on a plane, perhaps with open wounds or dressings, and they can pick up multi-resistant bugs at any of these steps. 'Usually, antibiotics can target infections very efficiently but if you're faced with a multi-resistant bug or an unusual bug, you have to throw broad-spectrum antibiotics at it, which are not as efficient and may take longer to clear it. 'If the person is very sick and requires intensive care, this is the worst-case scenario. And, of course, there is a small risk these bugs can be passed onto the person in the next bed if, say, they are immunosuppressed or also have open wounds.' Alarming developments Her concern over antibiotic-resistant bugs being brought into the NHS is not in isolation. At the recent Royal College of Nursing annual conference in Liverpool, NHS nurses spoke of 'horrific' wounds and infections seen in patients following overseas surgery. Nykoma Hamilton, an infection control nurse in Fife, Scotland, said patients were increasingly infected with bacteria resistant to even the strongest antibiotics – a group of drugs called carbapenems, which are used as a last resort when all other antibiotics have proved ineffective. Describing the superbugs as the 'absolute granddaddy of resistance', she told the conference that NHS hospitals and clinics in her area had recorded a 'near 30 per cent' increase in carbapenem-resistant bacteria in recent years. 'Our concerns relate to the fact that a lot of people are colonised with a lot of extensively drug-resistant organisms,' she said. It is an alarming development. The World Health Organisation has previously warned that the world is heading for a 'post-antibiotic' era, with figures from the UK Health Security Agency showing the number of antibiotic-resistant infections across the UK has grown by seven per cent in recent years, up from around 62,000 in 2019 to nearly 67,000 in 2023. Doctors are also warning the risk of such infections is only likely to grow due to the numbers having foreign cosmetic surgery rising each year. Last year, an estimated 150,000 Brits travelled to Turkey for beauty tweaks – with some saying the rise of NHS weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have fuelled the trend. 'Massive weight loss can result in loose skin on the face, tummy, arms and thighs,' says Dr Mo Akhavani, consultant plastic surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, who regularly deals with post-operative complications. 'People understandably don't want to live with this, but the NHS has finite resources and, although the health benefits are well known, the procedure is deemed low priority, so people go overseas for cheap surgery. He adds: 'The surgeons in Turkey are often very good and the vast majority of operations go right, but the aftercare can be a problem.' Dr Akhavani, who also works at London's Plastic Surgery Group, says he has helped a 'growing' number of patients, especially since Covid. In 2023, figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) also showed a 94 per cent rise in three years of people needing corrective surgery on the NHS – with the total cost to the taxpayer being around £4.8 million. 'There are factors leading to this increased risk,' he tells The Telegraph. 'First, if a patient has had huge weight loss, they may well have had other conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which can cause complications. 'Then they may have multi-site surgery, which UK doctors wouldn't advise doing, where loose or fat skin is removed from several areas, and perhaps combined with breast implants or other procedures, meaning longer on the operating table and an increased risk of blood clots and even death. 'Thirdly, patients must also refrain from getting on a flight for six weeks post-surgery but they often fly straight home, which can lead to wound-healing problems.' Dr Akhavani adds, 'We see them in A&E sometimes with gaping wounds and pus pouring out. They need antibiotic drips, then can be taken into theatre to wash out the infection, and may end up in intensive care for weeks. Often we are giving life-saving treatment but we will not correct deformities, such as removed implants, from the emergency surgery. This is the NHS and that ultimately means taxpayers' money needs to be protected.' In previous years, both the BAAPS and the British Medical Association (BMA) have highlighted the risks involved with the $4.5 billion (£3.5 billion) global industry. These include the lack of proper consultations and risk assessments, paperwork in a foreign language, and a financial commitment to the surgery prior to travel. Aftercare concerns With surgery tied to luxury packages, patients may often have top hotels and transport, but no health monitoring post-surgery. One doctor told The Telegraph in graphic detail of a patient who had had a BBL, but then flew home, with the fat seeping out of the wound while on the plane. The patient needed three separate surgeries to repair it and was left 'traumatised'. A second nurse at the recent RCN conference recounted a young woman who had skin removal in Turkey, then returned to the UK with a large thigh wound only loosely held together with stitches. She also had dying tissue and sepsis. 'All she told me about was how fantastic the hotel was after she'd had her surgery and that they took her back to a posh car,' she said. 'But there was no blood pressure testing, no aftercare for this woman at all. In fact, I'm surprised she made it back on the flight. It's really scary.' In 2022, a mother from Berkshire, known only as Carrie, contracted a flesh-eating virus after having a £4,500 tummy tuck in Istanbul. Four days after returning to the UK, she was rushed to hospital and treated for sepsis and organ failure. The same year, Pinky Jolley required treatment in two Liverpool hospitals following botched £2,100 gastric sleeve surgery abroad that left her with multiple infections, sepsis and a permanently damaged oesophagus and stomach. She was left needing a feeding tube and largely bed bound. The growing probability of superbugs has also been highlighted, with the BAAPS saying: 'Some people are returning with multi-resistant bacteria that are hard to treat and may infect other people.' In November 2024, following a spate of deaths of women who had flown to Turkey for BBLs, these concerns reached the top of government, with Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, urging people to 'think very carefully' before going overseas for surgery. Back on the NHS front line, however, doctors see little chance of this happening. Dr Amer Hussain is a plastic surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. His work involves reconstructing breasts for women who have had mastectomies following cancer. But at times he has to postpone such operations due to hospital bed shortages caused by beds occupied by those in need of urgent care. 'Patients come in following Turkey operations with infected breast implants,' he says. 'They have redness, fever or discharge from the wound and the implant needs to be removed. We are also seeing bad infections – with the bugs not even necessarily endemic to Turkey, meaning they are coming from elsewhere in the world.' Like all doctors, he is aware of the strain on the NHS. 'I do major breast reconstruction, often for cancer patients, and the backlog of these operations due to Covid has still not been reduced,' he explains. 'So doing these emergency surgeries does have an impact on waiting times, beds and theatre time. 'The problem is that this is high-volume surgery abroad, without checks and balances, and the NHS is being forced to step in. But it is frustrating, because at the end of the day, where resources are precious, they should be for patients who need them the most.'
Sky News
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News
Inside the cannabis farms being set up in rented homes
Organised criminal gangs are increasingly using rented houses and flats to operate illegal cannabis farms – and police say it is putting the lives of innocent neighbours at risk. The gangs often use crude methods to bypass electricity meters to avoid paying for the high levels of energy the farms require, creating an increased fire risk. Rival gangs also carry out raids on each other's farms - a practice known as 'taxing' - carrying out "significant violence" to anyone who gets in their way, police say. Greater Manchester Police detected 402 cannabis farms between May 2024 and April 2025, and Sky News was given access to an operation by its officers at a semi-detached house in a quiet suburban street in Wythenshawe. Inside, officers found one room full of cannabis plants and another 'drying room' with the drug packaged up and ready to be distributed. The street value was estimated in the tens of thousands of pounds. Outside, officers found evidence that the electricity meter had been bypassed. 'Abstracting' is the offence of dishonestly using, wasting or diverting electricity. One person inside the property was arrested. "The electricity gets bypassed in order to avoid big electric bills," Inspector Bree Lanyon said. "Because a substantial amount of electric is required to run the lights, the ventilation, the heat, everything else that's required in the cannabis farm, the abstract is done in a haphazard way and it can cause fires within the properties." She continued: "We've seen a lot of fires recently in premises that have been set up as cannabis farms, because of the way the electricity is set up. It's not safe and the neighbouring residence could be at risk if that property is burning down." The risks posed by cannabis farms were highlighted by the death of seven-year-old Archie York in 2024. He was killed when chemicals being used in a cannabis factory caused an explosion in the family's block of flats. The drug dealer responsible was jailed for 14 years. Police say gangs employ low-level operatives, known as gardeners, to manage and protect farms, who will often plead guilty to drug offences and accept the punishment to keep police off the trail of those controlling the operation. The use of rented properties - sometimes through rogue landlords - also makes detection more difficult. "The vast majority are organised crime gangs," said Detective Inspector Paul Crompton, from GMP's serious and organised crime group. "It infuriates me when we take action against these farms and people say 'It's only cannabis'. "What we see with cannabis farms is that rival organised crime groups will actively target those and break in and take the products by force. You've got a risk of potentially people being kidnapped or killed without us knowing anything about them. "Make no bones about it, there's massive amounts of money to make and they would rather just go and take that cannabis and sell it for themselves. They'll do significant, violence against anybody that gets in the way, whether that's the gardener, the police or residents who might get in the way." Police say landlords need to be aware of the risks and even the chief executive of the British Landlords Association has fallen victim. One of Sajjar Ahmad's properties was badly damaged by those using it for an illegal cannabis farm. "I can only explain it as horrific," he said. "Our members, when they've experienced the problem with the cannabis farm, they are shocked. They didn't know it could happen. They are not aware of the telltale signs. "They have the same regrets as what I experienced - you need to carry out regular inspections and, if somebody is offering you a larger rent, then you should question that."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FC Barcelona 'accelerating' plans to buy cut-price Marcus Rashford with new position in mind
Barcelona are pushing hard in their attempts to sign Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, with superagent Pini Zahavi brokering the deal. This is according to Sacha Tavolieri of Sky Sports Switzerland, who has provided an important update on the future of the United star this morning. Advertisement Tavolieri says Barça 'want to accelerate' their pursuit of the Wythenshawe man and that 'discussions have already been held this week between the player's entourage, super-agent Pini Zahavi, and FC Barcelona to lay the groundwork for a personal agreement.' It has been previously reported that Rashford is desperate to sign for the Blaugrana, with some reports claiming the Catalans have asked him to refuse all other clubs to try to force United to loan him to them. However, Tavolieri reports that it is a transfer rather than a loan that is under discussion, with the stumbling block being Rashford's exorbitant wages. 'Although Rashford's salary at Manchester United is difficult for Barça to achieve, [Barça president] Joan Laporta's idea is to extend the contract from four to five years in order to align with the player's entourage's demands and thus make the offer economically viable,' the reporter claims. Advertisement The reporter also insists that United will not get the £40 million for Rashford that they had agreed with Aston Villa, who took the 27 year old on loan for six months last season. Barcelona are expecting to pay between €35m and €40 million, equivalent to between £29 million and £33 million. It's a figure that will disappoint both Ineos and United fans for a player whose market value is €50 million / £42 million as per The report also claims that Rashford has also got an idea in mind of where he expects to fit in Hansi Flick's system. This is to play up top in the number nine role, 'to free up space on the wings to allow Raphinha and Lamine Yamal to be even more effective.' In other words, Rashford is looking to be Robert Lewandowski's successor at the Camp Nou. Advertisement It is natural for Rashford to want to play in one of the best teams in Europe, but that very issue – how he will usurp any of the superb forwards already at the club to claim a regular first team spot – is one that he could find harder to resolve than he imagines. The most likely scenario is that Rashford will be a squad player at the Camp Nou. Whatever the case, for United the priority is to get the deal done and get some cash in for the wantaway star. Whether they will be willing to accept £33 million, only time will tell, but it does not feel like a situation that is going to be easy to 'accelerate', whatever Barcelona might think. Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images Follow us on Bluesky: @
Sky News
2 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Innocent neighbours at risk as gangs use rented houses and flats for cannabis farms
Why you can trust Sky News Organised criminal gangs are increasingly using rented houses and flats to operate illegal cannabis farms – and police say it is putting the lives of innocent neighbours at risk. The gangs often use crude methods to bypass electricity meters to avoid paying for the high levels of energy the farms require, creating an increased fire risk. Rival gangs also carry out raids on each other's farms - a practice known as 'taxing' - carrying out "significant violence" to anyone who gets in their way, police say. Greater Manchester Police detected 402 cannabis farms between May 2024 and April 2025, and Sky News was given access to an operation by its officers at a semi-detached house in a quiet suburban street in Wythenshawe. Inside, officers found one room full of cannabis plants and another 'drying room' with the drug packaged up and ready to be distributed. The street value was estimated in the tens of thousands of pounds. Outside, officers found evidence that the electricity meter had been bypassed. 'Abstracting' is the offence of dishonestly using, wasting or diverting electricity. One person inside the property was arrested. "The electricity gets bypassed in order to avoid big electric bills," Inspector Bree Lanyon said. "Because a substantial amount of electric is required to run the lights, the ventilation, the heat, everything else that's required in the cannabis farm, the abstract is done in a haphazard way and it can cause fires within the properties." She continued: "We've seen a lot of fires recently in premises that have been set up as cannabis farms, because of the way the electricity is set up. It's not safe and the neighbouring residence could be at risk if that property is burning down." The risks posed by cannabis farms were highlighted by the death of seven-year-old Archie York in 2024. He was killed when chemicals being used in a cannabis factory caused an explosion in the family's block of flats. The drug dealer responsible was jailed for 14 years. Police say gangs employ low-level operatives, known as gardeners, to manage and protect farms, who will often plead guilty to drug offences and accept the punishment to keep police off the trail of those controlling the operation. The use of rented properties - sometimes through rogue landlords - also makes detection more difficult. "The vast majority are organised crime gangs," said Detective Inspector Paul Crompton, from GMP's serious and organised crime group. "It infuriates me when we take action against these farms and people say 'It's only cannabis'. "What we see with cannabis farms is that rival organised crime groups will actively target those and break in and take the products by force. You've got a risk of potentially people being kidnapped or killed without us knowing anything about them. "Make no bones about it, there's massive amounts of money to make and they would rather just go and take that cannabis and sell it for themselves. They'll do significant, violence against anybody that gets in the way, whether that's the gardener, the police or residents who might get in the way." Police say landlords need to be aware of the risks and even the chief executive of the British Landlords Association has fallen victim. One of Sajjar Ahmad's properties was badly damaged by those using it for an illegal cannabis farm. "I can only explain it as horrific," he said. "Our members, when they've experienced the problem with the cannabis farm, they are shocked. They didn't know it could happen. They are not aware of the telltale signs.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
‘Ready and fully charged' – Anthony Joshua breaks silence on Tyson Fury retirement confirmation and hints it's STILL ON
ANTHONY JOSHUA is refusing to give up on a Battle of Britain with Tyson Fury - despite his rival's doubling down on retirement. Fury, 36, called time on his career for a FIFTH TIME in January just weeks after his second straight loss to Oleksandr Usyk. 4 4 4 The Wythenshawe warrior unsurprisingly performed a U-turn late last month but has since doubled down on his latest hanging up of the gloves. But AJ isn't buying what The Gypsy King is selling and is confident their long overdue domestic dust-up will come to fruition. Along with a picture of Fury in the ring, he wrote on his private Snapchat: "One of these days it'll be standing in the opposite corner. "Read and fully charged spiritually." THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
