118 surgeons said hip and knee surgery had been regarded as a procedure of low priority
Patients waiting for hip and knee surgery are left in pain for longer after being denied the surgery to save money, it has been claimed.
The findings come after 692 surgeons in England sent the BBC information about their primary care trust's policy on hip and knee replacement.
It says that 152 specialists claim patients now have to be more disabled or in greater pain, while just over 100 said that routine operations had been put on hold in their area.
Some 118 surgeons said it had been regarded as a procedure of low priority.
The Department of Health said: "Our modernisation plans for greater patient choice will drive improvements in quality and waiting times as we focus on the entire patient pathway, not just a narrow part of it, so that people live longer healthier lives."