Surgery for snoring among NHS cutbacks to save £200m

THE NHS is to drastically cut back on “unnecessary or risky” procedures in a drive to save as much as £200million a year, it emerged last night.

Treatments such as tonsil removal, snoring surgery and varicose vein surgery are among a list of 17 operations that bosses want to cut back on.

Such procedures cost over £400million a year and are carried out as much as 350,000 times annually. Announcing a consultation on the measures, Professor Steve Powis, the medical director of NHS England, told The Times:

“We have to spend taxpayers’ money wisely.

“Therefore, if we are spending money on procedures that are not effective, that is money we could spend on new treatments that are clinically effectively and would provide benefits to patients. It’s absolutely correct that in getting more efficient, one component of that is to make sure we are not undertaking unnecessary procedures,” he added.

Injections for back pain and knee arthroscopies are being considered for the chop altogether, as such problems tend to get better by themselves.