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View Full Version : Fat In England? No More Surgeries For You!




ItsTime
04-06-2011, 05:51 PM
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/04/england-raises-threshold-for-pain-obese.html


In several areas routine surgery was put on hold for months, while in many others new thresholds for hip and knee replacements have been introduced...Surgeons have described the delays faced by patients as "devastating and cruel". Peter Kay, the president of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA), says they've become increasingly frustrated that hip and knee replacements are being targeted as a way of finding savings.


They include introducing scoring systems for patients for pain or disability, or not allowing some obese patients to be referred for surgery until they have been on a weight loss programme.

MelissaWV
04-06-2011, 05:54 PM
They include introducing scoring systems for patients for pain or disability, or not allowing some obese patients to be referred for surgery until they have been on a weight loss programme

This is actually a very good idea for patients who are considering hip or knee surgery (or foot surgery, etc.), but ultimately it's up to the doctor. If someone is in such dire need of replacement that they can't exercise then the whole idea becomes counterproductive, and the obese person is likely to gain more weight as they sit around all day eating and hardly able to move :(

ItsTime
04-06-2011, 05:58 PM
A good idea and the government forcing the idea are two different things. But you are right, they SHOULD lose weight or they could hurt it again.

Anti Federalist
04-06-2011, 06:02 PM
This is actually a very good idea for patients who are considering hip or knee surgery (or foot surgery, etc.), but ultimately it's up to the doctor. If someone is in such dire need of replacement that they can't exercise then the whole idea becomes counterproductive, and the obese person is likely to gain more weight as they sit around all day eating and hardly able to move :(

Yup, any number of rationalizations can be offered for denying people medication and surgical services.

Only a matter of time now.

MelissaWV
04-06-2011, 06:04 PM
To clarify, since rereading my post showed me I'd forgotten to mention...

It should be up to the doctor, and not some idiot behind a desk (or worse, in DC) whether or not a medical service is performed. This is a great idea, but only the doctor knows when it's NOT possible, and frankly if the person can pay and wants every joint in their body replaced and are 500 pounds and will need new replacements within a year? Eh, why not....