The NHS could stop funding certain surgical procedures soon in an attempt to crack down on "wasteful" spending.
Some surgeries such as liposuction and tummy tucks are amongst over a dozen procedures that could be scrapped, so that health officials can get some additional funding from taxpayers, the Mirror reports.
It comes amid efforts to focus on more effective treatments, according to the NHS medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis.
In the past, these cust-cutting efforts haven't been effective, according to the Express. The proposed cuts fit into a bigger discussion within the Tory government as Rishi Sunak attempts to find cash for its "fiscal black hole" of up to £50 billion in public finances.
The list has been drawn up by NHS chiefs along with senior medics at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
Some procedures that look set to lose funding include corrective surgeries for congenital breast asymmetry and male gynecomastia.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Prof Sir Stephen said the service aims to give patients "the most effective treatments possible at an affordable price for taxpayers".
He added they "routinely assess and change services to make sure they are as efficient as possible".
Professor Powis said medical experts have already cracked down on "medications and interventions that are of low value for patients and take money away from the public purse".
In 2020, it was proposed that 31 procedures would be scrapped, among them non-elective treatments such as adenoid removal for glue ear and imaging for lower back pain.
A spokesperson for the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said: "Any money saved from procedures which the evidence tells us are no longer clinically appropriate is spent on procedures which are.
"Medicine is constantly evolving and the Evidence-based Interventions programme is about capturing those clinical advances and making sure we offer the best and most appropriate care to the greatest number of people."
Full list of surgeries that could be axed
- Male gynaecomastia reduction surgery
- Breast prosthesis removal
- Corrective surgery for congenital breast asymmetry
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) use in diabetic retinopathy referral
- Shared decision-making for cataract surgery
- Glaucoma referral criteria
- Thyroid nodule referral and investigation
- Asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis screening
- Management of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs)
- Liposuction
- Diastasis recti repair
- Angioplasty for PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) in stable angina
- Non-visible haematuria
- Needle biopsy of prostate
- Penile circumcision
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