Smokers and obese patients face being ordered to the back of the queue for operations under Government plans to reduce waiting lists.
The move, revealed yesterday by the Prime Minister, means that only patients deemed “fit to proceed” will be given a date for an operation.
Under plans, tens of thousands of patients awaiting hip and knee surgery will be asked to first undergo a 12-week weight loss program. Smokers will be urged to quit.
Research has long suggested that prehabilitation (physical, nutritional and psychological support before surgery) can reduce the risk of complications or cancellations.
Under the new government plan known as the “Elective Reform Plan”, getting patients in better shape before treatment is also proposed to increase the number of people suitable for day surgery, avoiding long hospital stays.
But experts have previously warned that such measures are a “betrayal of NHS values” and could “feed” health inequalities.
There were an estimated 6.34 million people on NHS waiting lists for 7.54 million treatments at the end of October, figures show.
Sir Keir pledged to diagnose and treat 92 per cent of patients within 18 weeks of receiving a GP referral by the end of this Parliament.
The move, announced yesterday by the Prime Minister, means that only patients deemed “fit to proceed” will be given a date for an operation.
Currently, only a third (35 percent) is served within this period. The goal has not been met for almost a decade.
“Quitting smoking four weeks before surgery means that patients have a 25 percent lower risk of respiratory complications and a 30 percent lower risk of wound healing complications than those who continue to smoke,” the plans said.
It is still unclear what criteria patients must meet to be considered suitable enough for surgery.
The decision is expected to be made on a case-by-case basis.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “The clinical view is that being fit and as prepared as possible for surgery can result in better post-operative outcomes and increase productivity, by reducing any complications in surgery. surgery”.
“Therefore, as part of the Elective Care Reform Plan, the NHS will do everything it can to help patients prepare for treatment, including offering them the option of weight management support or help to quit smoking so they can begin to recover even before treatment. starts.”
Obesity itself increases a person’s chances of suffering from serious health problems that can damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as cancer.
Around two in three adults in the UK are obese or overweight, giving the country one of the highest obesity rates in Europe.
Last year, a sobering report also suggested that rising levels of obesity in Britain have led to a staggering 39 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40, with 168,000 Britons now living with the disease.
Weight gain has also been linked to at least 13 types of cancer and is the second leading cause of the disease in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
In June, a US study suggested that weight-loss injections could help obese patients suffer fewer complications after surgery.
However, experts warned that more research is needed first before the shots are given the green light for such use.
The new elective care plans would see the NHS “reformed from top to bottom”, Sir Keir said yesterday.
he too pledged to make “better use” of the private sector so that sick Britons can be treated more quickly for a wider range of problems.
GPs will be forced to actively inform patients when they can have their scans, tests or operations in a private clinic.
Under the plan, up to half a million more appointments a year are also expected to be made available by extending the opening hours of community diagnostic centers and by creating 14 new surgery centers and expanding three by June.
Under plans, tens of thousands of patients awaiting hip and knee surgery will be asked to first undergo a 12-week weight loss program. Smokers will be urged to quit
Giving patients the option to forego currently booked follow-up appointments by default could free up up to one million appointments.
Wearable technology will also be used more widely to collect health data and reduce appointments that are routine and not for clinical need.
NHS trusts that most quickly reduce waiting times will be rewarded with more funding for local projects, such as investments in new diagnostic equipment or maintaining hospital wards.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the aim of reducing maximum waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks would be achieved by “bringing care closer to home and giving patients more choice over their treatment”.
But earlier this week he also warned that meeting Labour’s promise to restore the 18-week standard by the time of the next election will be a “big and difficult challenge”.
The Health Secretary added that the NHS would “collapse” like retail chain Woolworths unless it adopted reforms designed to drag it into the 21st century.