RATION MANAGERS

SHOULD smokers and obese patients be denied surgery?

Some trusts are now rationing care based on patients’ lifestyles, and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has now had words to say on this — insisting that whether a patient has surgery should be judged on an individual basis, not according to a blanket policy. Quite right, too, not least because the tax on cigarettes is a nice little earner for the state, so smokers really are paying their way. A better way for the NHS to save money would be to start by cutting back on managers who come up with such policies . . .