Quote:
But with the rights will come the responsibility to lead a healthy lifestyle. There were fears last night that this could lead to smokers and people who drink or eat too much being refused treatments.
Already around one in ten hospitals refuse to carry out joint replacements for obese patients or orthopaedic surgery on smokers.
Presumably we will see potential suicide victims refused treatment, along with drug addicts, and charges for calling out the Coastguard and other emergency services?
On the second part however, that refusal is as I understand it only made on health grounds - ie carrying out surgery on patients with underlying problems is liable to prejudice their recovery.
Where an obese patient required say a shoulder replacement, it might go ahead, where as a hip or knee may not.
I'm not sure of the criteria for smokers - perhaps Mad Doc can fill in, but these refusals can be made in private hospitals, and in France.
My mother has had THREE hip replacements, both knees and a shoulder. In each case apart from the first hip done on the NHS, being a non smoker was part of the criteria for consideration, and an aid to her prompt recovery.
After the two hip and two knee operations in France, she was walking within 3 days of the operations.
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This was levied on "luxury" items like caravans, boats - and petrol. They did this just when they knew an imminent OPEC price rise would mean an 8p/gallon rise to the price of petrol, and the timing meant that the OPEC price rise gave the govt an extra 2p/gallon VAT.
