YORK Council has written to the health secretary Jeremy Hunt to object to a controversial “operation ban” for obese people and smokers.

Patients in the York area who smoke or have a body-mass index (BMI) of more than 30, face new rules which mean if they don’t quit or lose weight, they face lengthy delays for many operations.

The council has strongly objected to Vale of York NHS Clinical Commissioning Group’s rules - saying they are more likely to unfairly affect people from poorer backgrounds.

In a letter to Jeremy Hunt, Sharon Stoltz, the director of public health at the council, said the rules set a dangerous precedent and the council had no option but to object.

York Press:

She said: “There are significant inequalities in smoking and obesity within the local population with a clear link to deprivation.

“Cuts to the council’s public health budget have resulted in a reduction in the services available to support residents with smoking cessation or weight management and there are concerns that support will not be available in a timely way for those patients affected by the CCG policy.

“Thus there is a real possibility that the policy will have, what I am sure, is an unintended outcome of exacerbating health inequalities across the city of York and therefore the council has no other option but to object to the policy.”

Under the rules, obese people are being denied many non life threatening operations for up to a year unless they reduce their BMI to less than 30, or lose ten per cent of their body weight. Smokers are being delayed for up to six months unless they stop smoking for at least two months.

When the rules were brought in, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons,Clare Marx, labelled Vale of York CCG’s policy as “frankly shocking”.

The council has also written to Phil Mettam, head of Vale of York CCG, and Sir Simon Stephens, head of NHS England.

Meanwhile, Ms Stoltz has also been asked to assess the impact of the policy and to report back to the Health and Adult

Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee with suggestions for what can be done to mitigate its impact on health inequalities.

The new rules over operations have come as City of York Council had to cut stop many of its smoking services due to government health cuts.

A report due to be considered by the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee, evidences health inequalities in the city, showing how a quarter of all pregnant women in Westfield , considered to be a more disadvantaged area, are smokers at the time of their booking appointment, compared with four per cent in Knavesmire.

There is also a clear connection with children living in the more deprived areas of the city having a rate of obesity more than twice that in the least deprived areas, the council report states.

In 2015 the estimated cost of obesity to the Vale of York CCG was £46 million and the estimated cost to adult social care in the area £3.4 million per annum.

Vale of York CCG has said the new rules do not amount to a ban and are in the interests of patients and their health.

There is a list of exemptions to the rules, including surgery in the case of diabetes.