Here is the story from sweetness and light:
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/64-of-nhs-clinics-now-ration-operations
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-nhs-begins-rationing-operations-2327268.html
From the actual article in the independent:
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are
among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money.
Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing
treatments for "non-urgent" conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in
the NHS by £20bn over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts
(PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the
past 12 months.
Examples of the rationing now being used include:
* Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients
are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being
considered for an operation.
* Cataract operations being withheld from patients until
their sight problems "substantially" affect their ability to work.
* Patients with varicose veins only being operated on if they
are suffering "chronic continuous pain", ulceration or bleeding.
* Tonsillectomy (removing tonsils) only to be carried out in
children if they have had seven bouts of tonsillitis in the previous year.
* Grommets to improve hearing in children only being inserted
in "exceptional circumstances" and after monitoring for six months.
* Funding has also been cut in some areas for IVF treatment
on the NHS.
The alarming figures emerged from a survey of 111 PCTs by the
health-service magazine GP, using the Freedom of Information Act. Doctors are known to be concerned about how the new rationing
is working – and how it will affect their relationships with patients.Birmingham is looking at reducing operations in
gastroenterology, gynaecology, dermatology and orthopaedics. Parts of east
London were among the first to introduce rationing, where some patients are
being referred for homeopathic treatments instead of conventional treatment. Medway had deferred treatment for non-urgent procedures this
year while Dorset is "looking at reducing the levels of limited effectiveness
procedures".Chris Naylor, a senior researcher at the health think tank
the King's Fund, said the rationing decisions being made by PCTs were a
consequence of the savings the NHS was being asked to find."Blunt approaches like seeking an overall reduction in local
referral rates may backfire, by reducing necessary referrals – which is not good
for patients and may fail to save money in the long run," he said. "There are
always rationing decisions that have to go on in any health service. But at the
moment healthcare organisations are under more pressure than they have been for
a long time and this is a sign of what is happening across many areas of the
NHS."
----------------------------------------
COMING SOON TO AN AMERICAN HOSPITAL NEAR YOU...
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/64-of-nhs-clinics-now-ration-operations
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-nhs-begins-rationing-operations-2327268.html
From the actual article in the independent:
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are
among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money.
Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing
treatments for "non-urgent" conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in
the NHS by £20bn over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts
(PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the
past 12 months.
Examples of the rationing now being used include:
* Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients
are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being
considered for an operation.
* Cataract operations being withheld from patients until
their sight problems "substantially" affect their ability to work.
* Patients with varicose veins only being operated on if they
are suffering "chronic continuous pain", ulceration or bleeding.
* Tonsillectomy (removing tonsils) only to be carried out in
children if they have had seven bouts of tonsillitis in the previous year.
* Grommets to improve hearing in children only being inserted
in "exceptional circumstances" and after monitoring for six months.
* Funding has also been cut in some areas for IVF treatment
on the NHS.
The alarming figures emerged from a survey of 111 PCTs by the
health-service magazine GP, using the Freedom of Information Act. Doctors are known to be concerned about how the new rationing
is working – and how it will affect their relationships with patients.Birmingham is looking at reducing operations in
gastroenterology, gynaecology, dermatology and orthopaedics. Parts of east
London were among the first to introduce rationing, where some patients are
being referred for homeopathic treatments instead of conventional treatment. Medway had deferred treatment for non-urgent procedures this
year while Dorset is "looking at reducing the levels of limited effectiveness
procedures".Chris Naylor, a senior researcher at the health think tank
the King's Fund, said the rationing decisions being made by PCTs were a
consequence of the savings the NHS was being asked to find."Blunt approaches like seeking an overall reduction in local
referral rates may backfire, by reducing necessary referrals – which is not good
for patients and may fail to save money in the long run," he said. "There are
always rationing decisions that have to go on in any health service. But at the
moment healthcare organisations are under more pressure than they have been for
a long time and this is a sign of what is happening across many areas of the
NHS."
----------------------------------------
COMING SOON TO AN AMERICAN HOSPITAL NEAR YOU...
