Monday 13 December 2010

GP warns against delaying surgery for smokers and the obese

A leading doctor has slammed proposals to delay surgery for smokers and the obese, saying any such move is likely to lead to a great strain on the NHS.

The plans are among NHS West Kent’s initiatives to drive down costs and avoid a budget deficit at the end of this financial year that is currently predicted to run into the millions.

Dr Robert Blundell, the vice chair of the Kent Local Medical Committee (LMC), said: "The PCT is effectively asking GPs to seek to ration health care in a fashion that will sit ethically most uncomfortably with most of them."

He warned that consequences would put strain on GP resources and other health and social care services.

Source: Kent News

3 comments:

blackdog said...

The sickest aspect of all of this is, the rubbish advice one is given, to lose wieght, or not become diabetic, is often actually contributory to the condition. Low fat high carb diets, which are peddled by these dense idiots, does not work, and has been scientifically, proven not to.
So you do your time on the bike, treadmill etc, eat the tasteless rubbish they advocate, to slim and be healthy, and arrive back at the starting point. They then tell you that you haven't been adhereing to instruction and to start all over.
Are we also to include in the cohort of self-harmers, the idiots who destroy their joints by running marathons? Or are they exempt because they are 'healthy'. My Hospital has a whole dept. dedicated to 'sports injuries', I suggest we close it.
I'm so old that I started smoking when it was not classed as unhealthy, so am I exempt from the tyrants rule? I'll give up, when Steve Field drops down to 11 stone.

Unknown said...

Dear National Death Service,

Our editorial team loves your observant and informative blog on the dangers of bureaucratic rationing, and have decided to nominate it for the Best British Health Blog 2010 Award.

We have been on the hunt for great blogs that make for intelligent and unique reading in the healthcare space, and we thought National Death Service was up there with the very best.

Feel free to check out the 9 other contenders in your category -
http://www.cliniccompare.co.uk/vote-best-health-blog

We run a health care comparison website called cliniccompare.co.uk, dedicated to providing users with the best service for their healthcare needs.

We will be offering the blog with the most votes on the 1st February 2011 the coveted award and a crate of Virgin wine. Bang goes the New Year’s resolutions!

Best regards and Good luck

Matthew Nunn & The Clinic Compare Editorial Team
Ps. If you want a widget to encourage your readership to vote, then shout and I can send you the code.

SadButMadLad said...

Thats what you get when you get a service run by bean counters rather than people who know the business. And I use the term bean counter in a derogatory manner - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bean+counters