Hip and knee surgery is ‘low priority’

Hip and knee replacements are being classed as ‘low priority’ by an increasing number of local health authorities according to research.

By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent; 6:30AM BST 20 Jul 2011

Two-thirds of primary care trusts (PCTs) in England have added new procedures to low clinical priority lists since April, according to Pulse magazine.

Other treatments being limited are those to deal with cataracts and acne scarring, scans to detect osteoporotic bone fractures and treatment for obstructive sleep apnoae.

Meanwhile, GPs in Hertfordshire have agreed to bar smokers and those who are obese – with a body mass index over 30 – from routine joint replacement surgery.

Dr Tony Kostick, chair of East and North Hertfordshire GP Commissioning Consortium, told Pulse that although the decision was “divisive” it was necessary.

“We spend fortunes on treatments of limited clinical value,” he said.

Smokers will be referred to smoking cessation centres and those who are overweight put on weight management schemes.

However, Dr Mike Ingram, a member of the county’s local medical committee, said: “I’m very worried about denying people care on the basis they are fat.”