A MOTHER-OF-TWO is furious she had to pay to have an ingrowing toenail removed privately.

Kathrynn Lanaway, 30, was told by her GP the surgical procedure could not be carried out on the NHS.

Mrs Lanaway, who has two children under two, ended up paying £190 to a podiatrist in Chelmsford.

However, she says she plans to complain to the Eastwood Group Practice and her MP after being told she might not have had to pay.

Mrs Lanaway, of Orchard Side, Eastwood, said she went to the doctor after two weeks of pain.

She added: “I was shocked when he said the procedure couldn’t be done on the NHS and I’d have to pay. It was really swollen and painful.

“That £190 is a lot of money to find. The man who did it asked why I was there and not getting it done on the NHS.

“I want to know if he was right, or whether there is some sort of postcode lottery under which some people get it funded and others don’t.”

Mrs Lanaway is also angry because the surgery’s phones were so busy she had call the surgery 62 times before she got through to make her initial GP appointment.

Christine Macleod, medical director for the local NHS England Essex Area Team, confirmed the practice, based in Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, would normally provide minor surgery on the NHS.

She added: “A clinical assessment would need to be carried out by a clinician at the surgery, to determine whether the procedure is clinically appropriate and could be undertaken safely in the surgery.

“If the procedure is considered appropriate, but the surgery is not able to provide this itself for whatever reason, then it can refer to other local providers of NHS services, which should be able to assess the patient and carry out the procedure if appropriate.

“If the patient wishes to make a complaint she needs to put this in writing to the practice manager.”

The Echo tried repeatedly to contact the Eastwood Group Practice to get its response to Mrs Lanaway’s complaints, but was unable to get through on the phone