SMOKERS and obese people living across a vast area are to be denied operations for six months to save the NHS £8.4m.

The decision by Harrogate and Rural District clinical commissioning group (CCG), which provides patient care for 160,000 residents between the Yorkshire Dales and York, has been condemned by The Royal College of Surgeons as a step too far.

The move will see patients who smoke and those with a body mass index of 30 or more told they must attend either weight management or quitting smoking programmes for six months before being considered for non-urgent surgery.

The rules will not apply to those undergoing surgery or being referred for cancer, those with a severe mental health illness or learning disability, or to children and frail elderly patients.

The cash-strapped health authority said it was required to prioritise action on lifestyle factors on its budget, such as smoking, obesity and diabetes, as well as reducing health inequalities and showing leadership.

Its chief officer, Amanda Bloor, said: “The CCG has undertaken a thorough review of all the services it commissions based on clinical evidence to support the decision-making process and I feel the measures we are taking encourage patients to take a greater responsibility for their lifestyle choices.

"It is vital that patients are given the skills and knowledge to take accountability for their own wellbeing to ensure we all lead healthier lifestyles."

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said he supported the CCG in its "leadership on this important issue of prevention".

Last month, NHS England intervened to stop neighbouring CCG, NHS Vale of York, from imposing a similar policy after medics raised concerns the proposals went against clinical guidance and made smokers and overweight patients soft targets for financial savings.

A Lancashire CCG was also recently forced to abandon plans to save money by stopping all non-urgent referrals for four months.

NHS England said it would not intervene in the latest move as it differed from previous proposals by offering patients support.

Ian Eardley, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said Harrogate and Rural CCG had ignored the public outcry that surrounded the earlier plan in North Yorkshire.

He said: "They fly in the face of the intervention made by NHS England to prevent those plans from going ahead.

"NHS England has already said that denying operations to a particular group, such as smokers, is inconsistent with the NHS constitution.

“NHS Trusts and CCGs are desperately looking for ways to save money in very challenging times but singling out groups of patients is not the way to do it. We hope NHS England will now step in to prevent Harrogate and any other CGGs from targeting patients in this way.”