NHS hospitals 'misusing pain scoring tools to restrict access to joint surgery'

NHS patients in England may be being inappropriately denied access to hip and knee surgery due to the use ofpain scoring tools as a means of determining eligibility for treatment. New data, shared with the Health Service Journal by the UK Orthopaedics Industry Group, has indicated that at least ten per cent of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England are using unproven scoring tools to restrict access to orthopaedic surgery, despite a lack of regulatory authorisation to do so. Inappropriate use of pain scoring tools Pain scoring tools such as the Oxford hip and knee scoring system and the New Zealand scoring system are used by clinicians as a means of quantifying the degree of pain experienced by people with conditions such asarthritis. While these tools have numerous potential applications, they are not endorsed by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in identifying which patients are eligible for surgery - particularly given that many CCGs are doing so in a way that directly contradicts NICE guidance. The report noted that many hospitals only allowing patients whose pain has reached a severe level to receive surgery, despite NICE's guidelines stating that any discussions around surgery should happen before the pain becomes severe enough to hamper daily activities. A NICE spokesperson said the regulator"doesn't recommend the use of scoring tools to identify which adults withosteoarthritis are eligible for consi...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news