Children with hearing problems caused by glue ear are being denied surgery to relieve the condition because of NHS rationing which is increasingly common despite ministers' promises to ban it, Labour claims.
NHS cost-cutting meant almost 52,000 fewer patients underwent treatment for eight common conditions in 2011-12 compared to 2009-10, Labour's last year in power, according to research by the party.
In total 3,823 fewer people had an operation called a myringotomy last year compared to 2009-10, according to statistics from the NHS's hospital episode statistics data analysed by the House of Commons library. There were also falls over the same period in the number of people who had cataracts (down 3,307), varicose veins (8,842) or skin lesions (22,942) removed, or had their tonsils out (3,588), the data shows.
Most people who have a myringotomy are children, though a few are adults. The charity Action on Hearing Loss warned that people denied treatment could end up with a perforated eardrum as a result.
"We are very concerned that people with hearing loss may be missing out on myringotomy, which is a treatment to relieve pressure or fluid from the middle ear of people with 'glue ear'.
If left untreated they could experience unnecessary pain, discomfort or temporary hearing loss, and it could even lead to a perforated eardrum if the pressure continues to build," said Dr Pritti Mehta, the charity's head of research and policy.
NHS decision-makers and budget-holders should "protect people with hearing loss from the false economy of cuts to life-changing hearing services", she added.
Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, accused the Department of Health of not honouring pledges made last year by then health secretary Andrew Lansley to stop NHS primary care trusts in England from restricting access to treatments on cost grounds. "They boast of lower waiting lists, but that's because they've stopped people getting on the waiting lists in the first place. On his watch patients are suffering, losing their independence or being forced to pay for treatment. How many more people will have to suffer before he finally acts?", Burnham said to health secretary Jeremy Hunt in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The DH said that the NHS need to become more efficient did not mean it should be cutting services. "Rationing services on the basis of cost alone is wrong and compromises patient care. Decisions on treatments, including suitability for surgery, should be made by clinical experts taking the needs of each individual into account. We have already written to the NHS to set out clearly that access to services should not be restricted on the basis of cost," said a spokesman.
Meanwhile, groups that look after mental health patients who are suffering a crisis are "under-resourced, understaffed and overstretched", the charity Mind claims.
Four in ten crisis care teams in England and Wales, which support people exhibiting suicidal behaviour or having a psychotic episode, have too few staff, Freedom of Information requests to NHS trusts and health boards reveal. In addition, the number of people whom GPs refer to crisis teams varies from 42 per 10,000 to 430 per 10,000, Mind says.
Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said it was "irresponsible and short-sighted" to cut crisis teams. "Waiting longer for crisis care, being assessed to slowly or in some cases not at all, are all situations with profound consequences for the individual concerned and their loved ones", he said.