About 50,000 UK patients went overseas last year for cosmetic, dental or other treatment, according to a study by Treatment Abroad, a website promoting "medical tourism".

It says 22,000 patients travelled for dental procedures, 14,500 for cosmetic surgery, 9,000 for the kind of treatments typical of National Health Service waiting lists, and 5,000 for infertility treatment - the NHS provision of which varies markedly around Britain.