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Hewitt defends medics' right to refuse treatmentDate: 30/04/2007 09:09:21
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Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has given her support to medics who choose to refuse smokers and obese people certain treatments on the NHS.
Speaking on Sky News Sunday Live programme yesterday, Ms Hewitt defended some doctors' decisions to deny certain people treatment if they did not feel it would be in their best interest.
Her comments came days after junior doctors called for her resignation at the British Medical Association's conference.
Ms Hewitt also said that it would be "perfectly legitimate" for primary care trusts to set up their own policies about allocating treatments to patients.
A Sky News survey had discovered that nine primary care trusts had denied hip replacements to obese patients and four had refused to offer orthopaedic surgery to smokers.
Ms Hewitt however insisted that the decision whether to grant or take away the access to treatment remained in the hands of doctors.
"What's happened in these particular primary care trusts is, as I understand it, doctors have come together and arrived at guidelines for the whole of that particular area, saying that this is what they regard as best practice," she commented.
"For instance if you are very overweight, if you are obese, a hip replacement may well have a lower chance of success because of the weight that you're going to put on the joint.
"Primary care trusts are absolutely entitled to get together with their doctors on any particular area of clinical judgment and say, 'These are the guidelines we are putting in place for this particular kind of treatment'.
"This isn't a matter for managers or indeed government ministers to decide who gets what operation," Ms Hewitt stressed. "It's a matter for doctors and always has been.
In related news, Ms Hewitt will join Tony Blair today to deliver a report on improvements in the NHS over the past decade.
According to reports, the prime minister will look at progress in cardiac care, cancer treatment, emergency services and metal health.
 © Adfero Ltd
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