However, health managers are under intense pressure to avoid overspending and hit “efficiency” targets, to ensure the NHS can cope with increased demand on the same budget in years to come.
In some cases trusts are denying treatment despite guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that patients should receive it.
For example, some are restricting access to weight-loss surgery for those with a body mass index over 50 (which means they are exceptionally obese), when Nice recommends surgery for all those with a BMI over 40.
Last month the Royal National Institute for Blind People found patients in many areas were having to wait until their eyesight deteriorated until they were unable to drive or even read, before being deemed suitable for cataracts surgery.
Dr Julian Spinks, a GP in Kent, said of the PCTs: “They’re introducing waiting lists by the back door. People are not getting treatment or having to wait until they get worse, but the Government and the NHS can say they’re meeting targets.”
All the operations examined are classed as being either ‘non-urgent’ or of ‘limited clinical value’ - a label disputed by many surgeons.
Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said: “The reality is that this is simply a cost-saving exercise.”
He said patients could not understand why they were being denied operations when Nice indicated they should get treatment.
Simon Burns, the Health Minister, lay the blame on the PCTs.
He said: “No right-thinking person could possibly understand how anyone could delay a patient's treatment unnecessarily. If patients need treatment, they should get it when they want it and where they want it.
“If local health bodies stop patients from having treatments on the basis of cost alone we will take action against them.”
