NHS told to end ‘needless’ surgery to save £2bn a year

THE NHS will be compelled to stop paying for thousands of needless procedures, such as “tummy tucks” and liposuction, amid concern over the use of taxpayers’ money.

Along with circumcisions, the operations are among 13 procedures to be singled out in a health-spending drive. It is estimated up to £2billion a year could be saved if efficiency programmes are properly implemented along with plans to curtail wasteful prescribing.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS’S medical director, said the “crackdown” was part of efforts to improve efficiency, focus on the most effective treatments and prevent waste. However, previous efforts to clamp down on such spending have been largely unsuccessful.

It comes as Rishi Sunak draws up plans for tax rises to fill a £50billion “fiscal black hole” in the public finances.

In 2018, NHS England ordered an end to spending on procedures such as breast reductions, tonsillectomies and varicose vein surgery after warnings they cost it £439million a year.

However, in the year that followed, spending in those areas fell by only 3 per cent. In 2020, a further 31 procedures were put on the list after having been found to be ineffective or of limited use. Removal of adenoids for treatment of glue ear and routine imaging for lower back pain were among those axed.

Latest estimates for 2018-2019, suggest around 2.7million such procedures are carried out annually. Since then, no figures have been published to track the programme, even though it was drawn up to improve value for money.

Now NHS chiefs and senior practitioners at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, have drawn up a third list to prevent other operations being routinely funded or can only be performed if specific criteria are met.

Operations targeted include circumcisions – with 23,000 funded annually, liposuction (1,000) and abdominoplasty, or tummy tucks, of which more than 500 are paid for by the NHS each year.

Draft guidance says procedures such as liposuction and tummy tucks should not be carried out for cosmetic reasons, while procedures including circumcision should be funded only to treat specific medical problems.

Prof Powis said: “The NHS is committed to ensuring patients receive the most effective treatments possible at an affordable price for taxpayers, which is why we routinely assess and change services.”