Obese patients and smokers banned from routine surgery in ‘most severe ever’ rationing in the NHS

Obese people will be routinely refused operations across the NHS, health service bosses have warned, after one authority said it would limit procedures on an unprecedented scale.
Hospital leaders in North Yorkshire said that patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above – as well as smokers – will be barred from most surgery for up to a year amid increasingly desperate measures to plug a funding black hole. The restrictions will apply to standard hip and knee operations.
Read more: Obese patients and smokers banned from routine surgery in ‘most severe ever’ rationing in the NHS