NHS Devon Will Refuse Surgery To Obese Patients And Smokers
Lose Weight, Ditch Fags - Or No Routine NHS Operation
PA/The Huffington Post UK
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Quitting smoking and losing weight are among the most common New Year's resolutions, but some in UK may be forced to change their habits sooner than planned.
Patients who smoke or are morbidly obese will be barred from undergoing routine operations until they quit the habit or lose weight, a regional NHS service has announced.
Under temporary cost-cutting measures, anyone due to have surgery would be required to have a body mass index (BMI) below 35, which is considered morbidly obese. Those over that would be asked to get below that level or at least shed a minimum of 5% of their body weight.
Meanwhile, smokers would be asked to quit eight weeks ahead of planned surgery, the Northern, Eastern and Western (NEW) Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said.
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The body, which covers most of Devon from Plymouth to Barnstaple, said the measures were to "prioritise essential services" and were being temporarily extended to all surgical procedures except those deemed urgent or necessary, including cancer operations, IVF treatment or Caesarean sections.
Devon health services will offer patients support for losing weight and quitting smoking, and those with a date for surgery already fixed will not be affected.
Dr Tim Burke, chairman of NEW Devon CCG said: "All of these temporary measures relate to planned operations and treatments, not those which must be done as an emergency or to save lives.
"Clinicians have carefully reviewed a number of measures, taking into account the impacts of their temporary withdrawal to decide which we will implement.
"We recognise that each patient is an individual and where their GP or consultant feels that there are exceptional circumstances we will convene a panel of clinicians to consider the case."
There will be a number of other restrictions such as issuing only one hearing aid to hearing loss patients.
Dr Burke added: "The services we are temporarily restricting were chosen for a number of reasons. Some, such as second hearing aids, show far lesser cost effectiveness than the first.
The CCG had a budget deficit of £14.5m last year and, in anticipation of a similar deficit this year, said "demand for services is outstripping what it can afford."
It is expected to announce further measures soon.
Dr Burke added: "The CCG has a legal duty to live within its financial resources and the prioritisation of services is helping us to do that."
15 Undeniable Facts About Smoking
FACT 1(01 of15)
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Every cigarette you smoke reduces your expected life span by 11 minutes. (credit:Jasper White via Getty Images)
FACT 2(02 of15)
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There are roughly 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain. (credit:Bertrand Demee via Getty Images)
FACT 3(03 of15)
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Two-thirds of smokers start before the age 18. (credit:Flying Colours Ltd via Getty Images)
FACT 4(04 of15)
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The proportion of the population who are smokers has decreased since the 1970s. A sixth of the population smoke now, in comparison to nearly half of the adult population smoking in 1974. (credit:Dražen Lovrić via Getty Images)
FACT 5(05 of15)
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More men smoke than women.In Great Britain, 22% of adult men and 19% of adult women are smokers. (credit:ONOKY - Fabrice LEROUGE via Getty Images)
FACT 6(06 of15)
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More than half (59%) of all adults report that they have never smoked. (credit:Dimitri Otis via Getty Images)
FACT 7(07 of15)
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Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds including: carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, benzene, toluene and acrolein. (credit:murengstockphoto via Getty Images)
FACT 8(08 of15)
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Smoking poses a huge risk to your cardiovascular system.It also steals some of your good cholesterol, increases the risk of clotting and temporarily raises your blood pressure. (credit:Jeffrey Hamilton via Getty Images)
FACT 9(09 of15)
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Immediately after you quit smoking, your lungs and other smoke-damaged organs start to repair themselves. (credit:Oko_SwanOmurphy via Getty Images)
FACT 10(10 of15)
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Smoking is England’s biggest killer. Half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their addiction. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)
FACT 11(11 of15)
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100,000 smokers in the UK die every year from smoking related causes. (credit:Shui Ta Shan via Getty Images)
FACT 12(12 of15)
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In 2012-13 the Government earned £12.3 billion in revenue from tobacco tax. (credit:Jasper James via Getty Images)
FACT 13(13 of15)
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Usage of electronic cigarettes has tripled in the past two years. 2.1 million adults in Great Britain now use them. (credit:diego_cervo via Getty Images)
FACT 14(14 of15)
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A report by Dr Robert West of University College London found that e-cigarette use from popular brands is expected to be at least 20 times safer (and probably considerably more so) than smoking tobacco cigarettes. (credit:mangojuicy via Getty Images)
FACT 15(15 of15)
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7.9% of smokers have kicked the habit in the past year. (credit:AdamGregor via Getty Images)