SNIP 'NOT WORTH COST'
Circumcision will be banned in Victorian public hospitals unless it is for medical reasons.
The State Government has ordered the ban, which starts next month, following medical advice that circumcision of baby boys was unnecessary.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews said circumcisions would be performed only when doctors were concerned about infection or disease.
"Nationally and overseas, doctors agree there is no medical benefit to routine circumcision, and studies show the complication rate is about five per cent,"Mr. Andrews said.
The $2 million a year saved by the ban will be spent on urgent elective surgery.
"It is important to ensure hospital services are prioritized towards treating patients who have a clinical need for surgery to improve their health," Mr. Andrews said.
Ministerial Advisory Committee on Elective Surgery chairman Professor Michael Grigg said it was hard to justify spending taxpayers' money on routine circumcision.
adapted from an article appearing in the Herald Sun on August 12, 2007 by Suellen Hinde and Kelvin Healey.
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