Half a MILLION hospital appointments are canceled every year to reduce the NHS waiting list: GPs, opticians and clinics will be asked to carry out further tests
- Chiefs claim streamlining services will stop “unnecessary” hospital visits
Half a million hospital appointments will be canceled annually as part of plans to reduce the NHS’s record waiting list.
Health chiefs say streamlining services for conditions like glaucoma and mini-stroke will stop “unnecessary” hospital visits. Instead, further tests will be carried out by GPs, opticians and clinics.
According to the guidelines, more MRI scans will be offered to men with suspected prostate cancer to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, while breast implant removal and child circumcision will no longer be funded by the NHS.
Health officials hope streamlining services for conditions such as glaucoma and minor strokes could prevent ‘unnecessary’ hospital visits
The changes are part of a shake-up by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, endorsed by NHS England. The plans, which will save the NHS at least £250 million a year, will add ten conditions to a list now totaling 58 that should not be routinely provided.
NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the changes will prevent thousands of unnecessary referrals, “maximize efficiency for the taxpayer” and ensure “effective and efficient” treatment.
In England, a record 7.3 million people are on waiting lists. Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, president of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said the decisions were ‘about improving the quality of care’.