UK health service to ban smokers, obese from surgery
Unless corrective action is in place, patients in the UK who suffer from certain addictions could see themselves not getting the surgical treatment they need.
Listen as KZN and Damon share their view on the topic in the podcast then read more below:
According to UNILAD, hugely overweight people and smokers in the UK could be banned from having surgery unless they lose weight or kick the habit. There is already an existing policy in place which can see obese patients having their surgery delayed for up to nine months if they have a high body mass index (BMI).
The new criteria from the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK means that smokers will only be referred for operations if they’ve kicked the habit for at least eight weeks and a breathalyser test will be conducted before they receive a referral for treatment.
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The reason for this controversial new policy is to improve patient safety and outcomes, both during and immediately after non-urgent surgery. However, in exceptional circumstances, doctors will allow surgery to go ahead even if the smoking and weight loss criteria are not met.
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Is this forced way to live a healthy life justified or is it wrong that smokers and obese patients should be denied surgery until they’ve either lost weight or kicked the habit?
Are you a smoker or overweight? What if you were told you can't have surgery - would it make you stop smoking or lose weight?