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NHS rationing has sparked a 45% rise in patients being turned down for hip and knee surgery.

Such operations transform the quality of life for thousands of people.

But the procedures have been halted completely in some regions.

Last year 1,675 Exceptional Funding Requests (EFRs) by doctors were rejected – 1,188 for knee surgery and 487 for hip operations.

That was a rise from 1,155 rejections in 2016/17.

Ananda Nanu, president of the British Orthopaedic Association, said: “It’s a huge problem.

(Image: Getty)

“In some areas, there has been a moratorium on hip and knee surgery for months.”

Clinical Commissioning Groups have required GPs to submit EFRs and a panel decides whether to fund it.

But Ian Eardley, of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “Hip and knee surgery has long been shown to be a cost effective treatment.

(Image: Getty)

“We are appalled that a number of Commissioning Groups are effectively requiring patients to beg for treatment.

“Decisions about treatment should be made between a doctor and a patient, not by a panel.”

Julie Wood, chief executive of NHS Clinical Commissioners, said: “The money has, in effect, run out.”

The data, obtained via Freedom of Information laws by the British Medical Journal, came from 167 of England’s 195 CCGs.