Knee replacements stall in regions of England with weight rules for patients

The number of knee replacement operations carried out has dropped in regions of England with restrictions on surgery for overweight patients, with people in more deprived areas worst affected, researchers have found.

Patients needing surgery but unable to lose weight are being denied surgery that could ease pain and increase mobility, the team from the University of Bristol said.

Health campaigners expressed alarm, claiming the policy was a “blunt tool” being used to replace conversations between doctors and patients and risked exacerbating health inequalities.

Over the past decade, rules have been brought in by some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England to restrict access to hip and knee replacement surgery for patients who are overweight or obese.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, suggests that regions that introduced policy changes for access to knee replacement surgery based on a patient’s weight or BMI have seen a decline in surgery.

The lead author, Joanna McLaughlin, of the Bristol Medical School, said: “Our study raises the concern that these policies are linked with worsening health inequalities with fewer NHS operations for the least affluent groups.

“We could see the rates of surgery dropped for those worst off but increased for those who are best off, which correlates with more private surgery going on in those areas.”

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Source: The Guardian, 29 June 2022