Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The Department of Health has traditionally encouraged NHS surgeons to operate a high patient turnover with as short a waiting time as possible ? the faster patients are treated, the more "efficient" the service is considered.
But lately, doctors have been under pressure to do exactly the opposite. Operative options for several common conditions are being restricted by the reclassification of certain treatments as "procedures of limited clinical value".
"Limited clinical value" is a term that first appeared as part of the McKinsey report on the future direction of the NHS, which was leaked to the Health Service Journal in 2009. McKinsey estimated that in decommissioning non-essential operations for varicose veins, elective hernias, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, and orthodontics, the NHS could save up to ?1.2bn per year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2013/jan/16/nhs-funding-total-rethink
But lately, doctors have been under pressure to do exactly the opposite. Operative options for several common conditions are being restricted by the reclassification of certain treatments as "procedures of limited clinical value".
"Limited clinical value" is a term that first appeared as part of the McKinsey report on the future direction of the NHS, which was leaked to the Health Service Journal in 2009. McKinsey estimated that in decommissioning non-essential operations for varicose veins, elective hernias, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, and orthodontics, the NHS could save up to ?1.2bn per year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2013/jan/16/nhs-funding-total-rethink