More than 50,000 people were “denied treatment” on the NHS last year to cut costs and keep them off waiting lists, Labour claimed last night.
He claimed access to interventions like varicose vein operations, cataract removals, carpel tunnel syndrome surgery and tonsillectomies was commonly being restricted to improve NHS waiting time statistics.
Labour said the situation amounted to “Cameron’s health lottery” and has called for an immediate reversal of rationing decisions that leave patients in severe pain or with restricted mobility.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burnham told Dan Poulter, the health minister: “An estimated 52,000 patients in England are being denied treatment and kept off NHS waiting lists because of new restrictions imposed by your Government on cataracts, varicose veins, carpal tunnel syndrome and other serious treatments.
"You boast of lower waiting lists - it's because you've stopped people getting on the waiting list in the first place.”
He added: “Patients in pain and discomfort, unable to work, are being forced to pay for treatment."
His aides found 46 of 100 local health bodies which replied to Freedom of Information requests admitted restricting or decommissioning services since the general election.
Trusts have restricted access to 125 services, including 22 that have been entirely stopped in some areas.
For the eight most commonly restricted treatments, admissions dropped by 51,815 between 2009/10 and 2011/12, according to Labour’s analysis of NHS statistics. That drop includes 22,942 fewer operations to remove skin lesions for cosmetic reasons.
Labour found 21 health bodies had put in place new restrictions on knee surgery, while 18 had tightened access to hip operations. Twenty-four has restricted tonsillectomies and 16 cataract removals.
Mr Burnham said of the restrictions: “Many of them will leave patients in pain, discomfort, unable to work or, sadly, facing the choice of having to go private given how crucial these treatments are."
But Dr Poulter retorted: “We are very proud of our record. Sixty thousand fewer patients are waiting more than 18 weeks than they were under the previous government, and over 16,000 fewer patients are waiting longer than a year than in 2010.
"Waiting times are coming down, infection rates in hospitals are coming down and people are getting better care.
"It's this Government that ended the worst scandal in healthcare of all, which was that people with cancer were not getting access to the drugs they needed."
A Department of Health spokesman said that rationing on the basis of cost alone was "wrong and compromises patient care".
He added: "Decisions on treatments, including suitability for surgery, should be made by clinical experts taking the needs of each individual into account.
"We have already written to the NHS to set out clearly that access to services should not be restricted on the basis of cost."
Telegraph
His aides found 46 of 100 local health bodies which replied to Freedom of Information requests admitted restricting or decommissioning services since the general election.
Trusts have restricted access to 125 services, including 22 that have been entirely stopped in some areas.
For the eight most commonly restricted treatments, admissions dropped by 51,815 between 2009/10 and 2011/12, according to Labour’s analysis of NHS statistics. That drop includes 22,942 fewer operations to remove skin lesions for cosmetic reasons.
Labour found 21 health bodies had put in place new restrictions on knee surgery, while 18 had tightened access to hip operations. Twenty-four has restricted tonsillectomies and 16 cataract removals.
Mr Burnham said of the restrictions: “Many of them will leave patients in pain, discomfort, unable to work or, sadly, facing the choice of having to go private given how crucial these treatments are."
But Dr Poulter retorted: “We are very proud of our record. Sixty thousand fewer patients are waiting more than 18 weeks than they were under the previous government, and over 16,000 fewer patients are waiting longer than a year than in 2010.
"Waiting times are coming down, infection rates in hospitals are coming down and people are getting better care.
"It's this Government that ended the worst scandal in healthcare of all, which was that people with cancer were not getting access to the drugs they needed."
A Department of Health spokesman said that rationing on the basis of cost alone was "wrong and compromises patient care".
He added: "Decisions on treatments, including suitability for surgery, should be made by clinical experts taking the needs of each individual into account.
"We have already written to the NHS to set out clearly that access to services should not be restricted on the basis of cost."
Telegraph
