CONTROVERSIAL plans to deny non-life threatening surgery to obese people and smokers in the York area will now go ahead.

The plans by Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will mean that patients with a body-mass index (BMI) of more than 30 will face delays in receiving non-emergency surgery for up to a year unless they reduce their BMI to less than 30 or lose ten per cent of their body weight.

Plans will also delay surgery for smokers for up to six months unless they stop smoking for at least two months.

The CCG's plans were halted by health bosses at NHS England earlier in the year following a national outcry. But NHS England has now sanctioned their go-ahead and they will be implemented in York from January.

The Royal College of Surgeons has said the plans are wrong and "frankly shocking".

Clare Marx, President for the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “We are concerned that the CCG says that they have worked on this policy with NHS England meaning rationing of NHS treatment is now being given the thumbs up at a national level.

“The NHS funding crisis is not an abstract issue; it is affecting patients’ fundamental right to treatment. If smokers and obese patients are hit this time, where will the rationing decisions fall next?”

Exceptions to the guidelines will include children, patients needing emergency surgery, patients receiving surgery for cancer or for weight loss, and vulnerable patients.

People can also appeal to independent funding review panels, a CCG spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, the city's MPs have spoken of their concerns over the decision, with Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, describing it as "outrageous".

She said: "Smoking cessation and NHS Health Checks funding was axed last spring by the local authority, the very support services designed to support people with smoking cessation, diet and exercise. You cannot jeopardise the same people twice. I will now be calling for the Health Secretary to intervene and on local clinicians to ignore this diktat which breaches their professional duty of care."

Julian Sturdy, MP for York Outer, said: “I have reservations about these proposals by the Vale of York CCG. While it is important that we continue to look at new ways to reduce obesity and smoking, denying services does not deal with the root problem."

The estimated cost of obesity to the NHS for the Vale of York CCG was £46.6 million in 2015.

Earlier this year Dr Shaun O'Connell, of Vale of York CCG, presented the plans in the context of ongoing financial difficulty for the NHS in the Vale of York, which faces a multi-million pound deficit. He said the city needs to make difficult decisions to get back on track.

"There are no quick wins and that makes us look for mid to long term wins," he said, "We don't want to spend the NHS resources on avoidable illnesses - in fact we can't afford to."

In a statement today, he denied it was a "ban" on surgery, saying, "NHS Vale of York CCG has introduced new criteria which asks patients with a BMI of 30 or above to lose weight before surgery and those recorded as a current smoker to quit smoking for at least two months. Support and help to achieve this is also being offered."