By Charlotte Webster-
North Yorkshire’s health officials have warned that smokers and people suffering from obesity will be denied basic operations by the national health service, according to health officials in North Yorkshire.
Patients with a BMI body mass index weight above 30 will be affected by the move, it has been revealed, health officials told the UK Telegraph.
Unless obese patients lose up to 10 percent of their weight, they will suffer the consequences of being deprived treatment.
The new rule is to be applied mainly to hip and face operations- which are the most common surgeries carried out by the NHS.
Smokers will be heavily hit by the move and will be denied operations for 6months, unless they kick the habit and show they have given up for up to 8 weeks, health officials have said.
The Vale of York clinical commissioning group (CCG) said “severe” pressure was the cause of the latest actions.
In a statement, the group said ” hospitals are being warned they will not be paid for surgery if they carry out operations on obese patients not exempt from the policy.
“This would help ensure we get the get the very best value from the NHS, and does not exceed resources or risk the ability of the NHS being there.”
The ban notably will not apply to cancer patients and those with life threatening conditions.
Designed to cut expenses, some fear the move is a dangerous one. Claire Max from the Royal College of Surgeons said the move is “the most severe the modern NHS has ever seen”.
“It could lead to catastrophic consequences”, she argued.
Whatever way it is viewed, it provided an opportunity for smokers with health issues to reconsider their habit.
Obese individuals should be changing their diet as a matter of life style and in the interest of their health anyway, but the move may serve to make they feel marginalised.
Obese people need more psychological therapy and greater levels of encouragement to motivate them to address the challenges they face in addressing their weight problem.