The NHS (National Health Service) in England needs to save £20bn by 2014-15 as part of an efficiency drive. They are making plans to ban operations for hernias, cataracts and arthritic joints to save money. John Black, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said that the NHS is taking a dangerous course by refusing treatment to patients, who will then suffer unnecessary pain and have less chance of recovering fully. “The immediate need to save money by going for the soft targets of elective surgery would leave a lot of people with unpleasant symptoms and build up future health problems. Medically that makes no sense.” said Black. To leave people untreated will cause on the long-term health problems that will inevitably built up if operations designed to prevent long-term harm are delayed or stopped. The Patients Association helpline has received calls from patients whose planned operations had been cancelled without a new date. Patients suffer in order to balance the £20bn, they should not make patients the victims of budget cuts and save money elsewhere but National NHS bosses made clear that care of patients should not be affected in the quest to save the £20bn.
My reaction:
I think it is absurd that they are banning surgeries that could be life saving. Some surgeries may not be necessary for them now but on the long-term it would have helped a lot of problems such as a hip transplantation, if someone’s hip is in a bad shape and should be replaced and they will not do that this person will eventually stop walking because of the pain. NHS prefers to ban surgeries and leave people in pain instead of helping those people and try to find another source or solution for their problem.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten