Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

[cnredd]

From jolly old England...

Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

Fertility treatment and "social" abortions are also on the list of procedures that many doctors say should not be funded by the state.

The findings of a survey conducted by Doctor magazine sparked a fierce row last night, with the British Medical Association and campaign groups describing the recommendations from family and hospital doctors as "out*rageous" and "disgraceful".

About one in 10 hospitals already deny some surgery to obese patients and smokers, with restrictions most common in hospitals battling debt.

Managers defend the policies because of the higher risk of complications on the operating table for unfit patients. But critics believe that patients are being denied care simply to save money.

The funny part here is that if these people are denied the ability to participate in the medical process, they should be able to opt-out from PAYING into the medical process in the first place...

Why on earth should taxes be taken out of their paychecks they can't be a part of?...

[Yagmi]

Originally Posted by cnredd

From jolly old England...

Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

The funny part here is that if these people are denied the ability to participate in the medical process, they should be able to opt-out from PAYING into the medical process in the first place...

Why on earth should taxes be taken out of their paychecks they can't be a part of?...

to help pay for the millions of welfare cases spitting out unwanted children.....

[foundit66]

The survey found that medical professionals wanted to go much further in denying care to patients who do not look after their bodies.

Ninety-four per cent said that an alcoholic who refused to stop drinking should not be allowed a liver transplant, while one in five said taxpayers should not pay for "social abortions" and fertility treatment.

I have heard of the liver / alcoholic thing before.
If you have a scarce resource (livers for donation), should you give it to the guy who will likely destroy it again?

As for the rest, that's quite the eye opener.