Penis pump and Viagra prescriptions soar as NHS spends over £20MILLION helping blokes with erectile dysfunction
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DOCTORS prescribed a record number of bedroom aids for blokes such as penis pumps and Viagra last year, figures show.
The NHS in England alone spent more than £20million helping men dealing with erectile dysfunction.
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Doctors prescribed a record number of bedroom aids for blokes such as penis pumps and Viagra last year
Credit: Alamy
A total of 24,231 erection devices, including vacuum pumps — as seen in 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery — and constriction rings were prescribed in 2024/25, the NHS Business Services Authority revealed.
That was up by 10,000 on a decade ago.
And the £2.8million cost has doubled since 2015.
Meanwhile, prescriptions for drugs such as Viagra and Cialis reached 4.7million — up 100,000 on the year before — with a cost of £17.6million.
The NHS said erection problems are 'very common' in men over 40 and become more likely with age and illness.
A spokesman added: 'Effective erectile dysfunction treatment is important for both sexual and mental well-being.'
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said the pumps were a useful option for people who cannot be prescribed Viagra.
She said: 'Viagra and Cialis interact with medicines used to treat angina and certain blood pressure medicines so alternatives are available, including pumps, where taking them is unsuitable.'
The findings come days after actress Dame Emma Thompson suggested sex should be prescribed on the NHS.
She spoke out at a a screening of her 2022 film Good Luck To You, Leo Grande — in which she plays a widow who hires a sex worker.
Bionic willies on the rise as more than 500 men with severe erectile dysfunction have £8,000 NHS operation
Dame Emma, 66, said: 'You need sex because it's part of our health plan, if you like.
'It should really be on the NHS.
'It's so good for you.'
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