This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Harrogate CCG to issue six month surgery ban for obese and smokers
NHS Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is set to deny operations to patients who are obese or smokers for six months, as part of a wider cost-cutting strategy.
The new rules will affect patients who smoke and those who have a BMI of 30 and over.
The patients will have to attend either a weight management programme or a stop smoking service for six months, as part of a plan to generate £8.4 million in savings.
Amanda Bloor, of Harrogate and Rural CCG, said: "The CCG are not saying patients can't have the surgery.
“By introducing a six-month health optimisation period, we are encouraging and supporting patients to undertake a lifestyle change which will provide them with the best possible clinical outcome."
"The NHS spends around £9 billion a year on patient care for those living with diabetes and with spending on obesity-related ill-health and smoking-related illness increasing year on year."
Ian Eardley, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "The policies for smokers and overweight patients that Harrogate and Rural District CCG intend to impose ignore the public outcry that surrounded similar plans."
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