Three more treatments added to NHS North Yorkshire and York's vetted list (From York Press)

Three more treatments added to NHS North Yorkshire and York's vetted list

9:41am Thursday 29th October 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(3)

PATIENTS seeking certain hospital treatments face being blocked by a controversial vetting panel – but NHS bosses in York and North Yorkshire insist it is not a cost-cutting measure.

Three extra procedures have been added to the list of restricted treatments that cannot be carried out without approval from a panel of clinicians at NHS North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) – the body that commissions and funds health services in the county and city.

If GPs believe their patient requires one of these procedures – which include facet joint and epidural injections for lower back pain – they must prove to the panel that there are exceptional circumstances.

The news, which comes the day after finance chiefs at the PCT revealed they must find savings of about £30 million to balance their books, has received a mixed reaction from York GPs.

Dr David Fair, of Jorvik Medical Practice, said one of his patients had already been turned down for a spinal injection.

He said: “Her pain is very severe and the injections have always made a huge difference to her in the past.

“Now she has been denied that treatment option when nothing else works for her. It is irritating and I’m upset for the patient.”

But Dr Brian McGregor, director of North Yorkshire’s Local Medical Committee, said unlike three years ago when similar measures were introduced, he was confident there would not be a detrimental impact on patient care.

He said: “This is not like historical behaviour from the primary care trust. They are not just banning anything, like in the past.

“They actually consulted the doctors and discussed a much greater list of procedures with us, of which many have been put to one side because we didn’t feel they could restrict them at all.

“The procedures that will go before the panel have been chosen because there is good evidence on a national and international level that there are alternative treatments that are of similar or greater benefit to the patient and of less risk.

“Everybody can still get these procedures, but they will have to make a case as to why they need them compared with alternative therapies which are of less risk and similar benefit.”

The two other procedures to be added to the list are a hysterectomy for menorrhagia and dilatation and curettage – a minor surgical procedure where the lining of the womb is scraped away.

A further two procedures – tonsilectomy and insertion of grommets – will not be restricted, but will be audited more closely.

Trust underlines responsibility

THE medical director of NHS North Yorkshire and York said as the “local leader of the NHS” the primary care trust (PCT) has an obligation to ensure patients in the area have access to treatments that provide them with the best possible clinical outcome.

Dr David Geddes said it was also vital the PCT provided the taxpayer with value for money.

He said: “To that end, as a responsible commissioner, it is important that we commission services that give our patients the best possible outcome.

“This must be based on recognised clinical evidence that is used across England.

“This is not a measure designed to make financial savings, as any savings made from not routinely commissioning these procedures is small compared to our overall budget of £1.2 billion. “This is about commissioning services responsibly which will provide the best outcome for patients.”