The NHS is planning to “ration” dozens of common tests and treatments which will impact millions of people in England.
The health organisation has prepared a list of 34 tests and treatments which patients in England will only be granted access to in rare circumstances if plans go ahead, the Guardian reported .
Millions of patients will no longer be permitted to have X-rays on their sore backs, hernia repair surgeries pr scans of their knees to detect arthritis under the new controversial NHS plans which will see doctors ration “unnecessary” treatment.
Future patients in England will only be allowed access to these tests in exceptional circumstances.
If the plan is implemented, it will represent an unprecedented restriction of patient’s access to procedures.
The NHS scheme would also see patients advised to use physiotherapy or painkillers to dull the pain of an arthritic knee rather than undergo an exploratory operation called an arthroscopy.
Other types of surgery including some CT and MRI scans and some blood tests are also on the list.
An NHS spokesman told the Guardian the plan had not been approved or implement, adding there was “strong support from senior doctors in the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for action to eliminate wasteful interventions that don’t benefit patients”.
Rachel Power of the Patients Association said the plan, if implemented, could lead to patients having to suffer the pain of their condition or pay for private health remedies.
She said a range of NHS treatments had been cut back in recent years.
Ms Power said: “Often there are good reasons for not using these ‘low-value’ treatments as a first choice, but they are appropriate for some patients.
“We are unhappy at any new barriers being erected between patients and the treatments they need.”
The 50-page NHS plan is the result of months of detailed secret discussion but has now been revealed.
The plan, compiled by NHS England, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, NHS Clinical Commissioners, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, seeks to identify procedures which do not work.
Many medical professionals believe these interventions should be scrapped or used sparingly, because they can put patients in danger or make them anxious.
The four medical bodies were reportedly prepared to publish proposals this month but were forced to delay in accordance with purdah rules.
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