Hundreds of thousands of elderly people are needlessly suffering in pain while they wait for hip operations because care is being rationed by the NHS, leading doctors have warned.
The waiting list for hip, knee and other orthopaedic operations has risen by a quarter over the past eight years to more than half a million in 2016. One in 10 people have to wait more than 18 weeks for surgery amid rising concern that NHS is deliberately delaying treatment because it is not seen as life threatening.
Those forced to wait for surgery suffer extreme pain as their bones wear away and are left increasingly immobile, often unable to climb stairs or go outside. It comes as hospitals have been ordered not to schedule any more major non-urgent operations over the next month to avoid a meltdown. Routine operations could be cancelled because regulators say that beds are too full and wards must make space for emergency patients coming in over the festive period.
