An investigation by the BMJhas found that increasing more and more exceptional funding requests for knee and hip surgery are being refused.
The journal reports that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) rejected 1188 funding requests for knee surgeries and 487 related to hip surgeries last year, a total of 1675 operations. The figure is a 45% increase from 2016-2017, when 1155 requests were denied - 766 for knee surgery and 389 for hip surgery.
The data, obtained by the BMJ under the Freedom of Information Act, were provided by 167 of England’s 195 CCGs. They show significant variations in the number of requests received and the proportion denied across CCGs.
Doncaster and Rotherham CCGs topped the list for the proportion of funding requests rejected in 2017-2018. Rotherham rejected all requests it received in relation to hip surgery and 88% of requests related to knee procedures. Doncaster rejected 96% of requests related to knee surgery and 90% of hip surgery requests.
Hull, Vale of York and Barnsley were also among the top 5 CCGs in terms of the proportion of exceptional funding requests for knee surgery that were rejected, while East Riding of Yorkshire, North East Essex and Harrogate made it to the top 5 for hip surgery funding requests denied.
Last year the Royal College of Surgeons criticised 2 CCGs in Worcestershire over plans to decrease the eligibility threshold for patients requiring hip and knee replacements. Just a few months ago, doctors in London slammed draft NHS plans to restrict knee and hip replacement surgery for patients with osteoarthritis to cases where there was a “substantial impact on quality of life.”
