MORE anger has erupted over radical health cuts after many of them were formally rejected by leading doctors' groups.

As revealed in The Press last week, North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) is unveiling a wide range of cuts to health services in an attempt to claw back millions of pounds in debt.

The Press understands that chief executive Janet Soo-Chung has already told doctors that the trust has the worst debt in the country - but the latest figure has not yet been revealed.

The PCT's drastic measures include suspending a wide range of procedures - such as MRI scans for back pain and IVF unless a woman is near 40. Hospital A&E departments are also being asked to turn away patients with "minor ailments" to alternative care - such as the walk-in centre at Monkgate.

Yesterday representatives from doctors' groups such as the local medical committee and local hospitals met to discuss the measures, which were circulated to GPs just before Christmas.

Dr Brian McGregor, York branch secretary for the committee, said several of the PCT's proposals had been rejected out of hand - including its demand to A&E departments.

"To turn away anyone for any reason - there are huge issues of clinical governance if someone is turned away from A&E and they have an adverse event," he said. "Everybody agreed that turning anyone away from A&E was not a safe or clinically sound idea."

The PCT told hospitals in its pre-Christmas letter that it would not pay them to treat patients who were treated in A&E who could have been cared for elsewhere.

The PCT's list of "non life-threatening conditions" for which it was suspending treatment was also thrown out by doctors.

The list includes treatment for wisdom teeth, varicose veins, surgical intervention for chronic pain, plain x-rays and MRI scans of the back, joint injections, vasectomies, and ganglions.

Dr McGregor said: "There's a big difference between life-threatening and conditions which have a huge impact on your quality of life.

"Each and every one of these conditions can have a serious impact on your quality of life.

"Are we now in a situation where the NHS can only afford to treat you if your life is threatened?"

But the meeting also agreed that medics would try to work with the PCT to help them with their financial crisis.

A PCT spokesman said its proposals would be discussed at its next board meeting on Tuesday, and doctors' views were being actively sought.