As many of you will be aware the NHS funds male circumcision only where there is a medical reason. This poses something of a problem for parents seeking to have their boys circumcised to meet religious or cultural requirements. A local steering group of community organisations and NHS staff have worked together to find a solution to this problem for Bristol families.
We are pleased to now provide a local service available for all children registered with a GP in Bristol, North Somerset South Gloucestershire and the South West.
The service for baby boys aged 1– 6 months is provided by Dr Parrott and Dr Wright at Eastville Health Centre. The circumcision is performed in Eastville Health Centre under local anaesthetic and the cost, which includes full clinical support and aftercare, is £180. We provide a safe and local service that works closely with Bristol Children’s Hospital. The doctors who carry out the service have been trained and examined by a Consultant Surgeon in Bradford, and have carried out over 300 successful operations. Our experienced, trained nursing staff assist in the service and make sure that the baby is well before and after the circumcision.
Parents wishing to have their sons circumcised are strongly encouraged to use our service and to avoid using any which is offered at a community centre, restaurant or private home, as these are often not safe and could place children at risk.
Parents accessing services elsewhere are advised to check that they provide good information, support, aftercare and use sterile instruments to carry out the procedure. A safe service should be able to tell you what their complication rate is, and what they will do if any problems occur.Parents are also advised to make sure that any concerns regarding aftercare are raised as soon as possible with their GP. Male circumcision using the 'Plastibel' technique is a relatively simple procedure used widely throughout the World, with only a small chance of complications such as bleeding and infection.
We have been providing this service since Oct. 2007, and in 3 years have carried out 342 procedures. We are pleased to have had only 9 bleeding problems over this time, of which 3 have needed stitches in hospital.(The expected number of bleeds for this number of procedures would be 17). We constantly review our results to improve our techniques and ensure a safe and successful circumcision for patients and parents. We are happy to see many parents returning for operations on the younger brothers of children we have operated on in the past.
For the safety of our patients we do not allow any parent or relative to be present during the operation. This was recommended by our trainers in Bradford, and allows us to concentrate completely on the baby.
For more information contact Bookings Clerk at Eastville Health Centre on 0117 902 6770 Monday to Friday
A service for boys older than 6 months can be provided by Mr.M.Woodward, Consultant Paediatric Urologist, at Bristol Children's Hospital. The operation is carried out in hospital under a general anaesthetic, and costs £700 including full clinical support and aftercare.
Acknowledgements
Several organisations and individuals have supported safe male circumcision practice and services that provide this.
Amana Education Trust
Bangladeshi Association
Bristol Male Circumcision Campaign Group
Bristol Muslim Cultural Society (BMCS)
Bristol Primary Care Trust Drs Parrott and Wright, Eastville Health Centre
Non Executive Directors Bristol North Primary Care Trust
United Bristol Healthcare Trust