THE decision by some NHS trusts to deny hip and knee replacement surgery to obese patients was criticised by doctors today.
Last month it emerged that obese people would not be entitled to such surgery on the NHS in East Suffolk.
Today Huddersfield health chiefs said they would not be placing restrictions on patients in the town according to their weight.
The ruling in East Suffolk came as part of a series of measures to be taken by the three primary care trusts in the area in an attempt to save money locally for the NHS.
It is believed that the risks of operating on obese patients are higher and the treatment may be less effective, with replacement joints wearing out sooner.
But Nicholas Finer, a consultant in obesity medicine at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, challenged claims that surgery could be withheld on the grounds of increased risks for obese people.
Dr Finer, writing in the British Medical Journal today, said: "No evidence supports withholding joint replacement from obese people, even on utilitarian grounds. There is no evidence that age, gender or obesity is a strong predictor of functional outcomes".
