NHS prepare to reduce funding for non-urgent operations and medication

Following the recent Budget, which allocated £2.8 billion to the NHS over a 24 month period, NHS England is drawing up a list of non-urgent drugs and routine operations which they say they cannot afford to fund.

The amount allocated fell far short of the £8 billion that Health leaders had requested.

Medicines at risk include tramadol-paracetamol combination painkillers, which are commonly used for cancers; Co-proxamol, a common drug for arthritic pain; and Fentanyl, a drug which is given to relieve pain in cancer sufferers.

Also under the risk of being restricted are routine operations such as hip and knee surgery, hernia removal and gallstone operations, as well as IVF. Patients are unlikely to be offered treatment unless they are immobile, in severe pain, or can prove their quality of life is severely diminished.

Chief Executive of the Patients’ Association, Rachel Power, said “More cuts, more rationing and longer waiting times now seem inevitable.

“These cuts have mostly spread out on the basis of a postcode lottery, but we can expect them to become more like the norm than the exception.

“Many more people will be left having to battle the system, often in pain or dealing with other elements of illness such as reduced mobility or sight, all as a direct result of the Government’s decisions on NHS funding.”

The King’s Fund think-tank’s chief executive Siva Anandaciva, said “While the Chancellor provided more money than expected for the NHS, it still fell a long way short of what the service needs to do everything required of it next year.

“Everyone agrees it is important to reduce hospital waiting lists, meet A&E targets, improve quality of care, and invest in mental health, primary care and community services.

“But the reality is that the NHS cannot afford to do all of these things within its current funding. It has got to the point where some really difficult choices have to be made.

“It is important that both the NHS and the Government are clear and open with the public about what these difficult choices are, so that the people who rely on its services are at least able to contribute to the debate.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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