CCG suspends non-urgent surgery amid cash crisis
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j613 (Published 03 February 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j613
- Gareth Iacobucci
- The BMJ
A cash starved clinical commissioning group has suspended non-urgent surgery such as hip and knee replacements until April 2017 in a bid to make financial savings.
West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) implemented the measures from December 2016 onwards in an attempt to generate savings of £3.2m (€3.7m; $4m) by the end of this financial year.
The move was criticised by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), which said that the length of the suspension made it the most severe example yet of NHS rationing, and warned that it could harm patients.
The plans were disclosed in recent CCG board papers1 which explain that the policy had been enacted …
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