Standard treatments for some 13 medical conditions will be scrapped from national guidelines to save money, the federation of medical specialists ( FMS) has confirmed.

Weeding out treatments which are always carried out but have not been proven to be effective will save the health service at least €70 million a year, the federation said.

“If we think a treatment is not or less effective, it is usually stopped when there is solid proof is doesn’t work. That can take years. We are turning it around: we stop certain treatments that seem ineffectual in a responsible way and evaluate at a later date to see if it was the right decision,’ a spokesman for the FMS told RTL Nieuws.

Among the interventions to be scrapped is an operation for a simple appendicitis, which in practice can be solved by antibiotics and pain remedies.

People with a mild stroke will no longer be admitted to a stroke unit but sent home with a follow-up appointment, something not all neurologists agree with, neurologist Esther Verstraete told the Volkskrant.

Cardiologists are also cutting the number of ultrasounds for people with biological heart valves, currently at once a year for five years. Ultrasounds for people who have had a TIA or a stroke will also be scrapped because they do not add to the information gathered in previous tests.

Apart from saving money, fewer treatments will free up time for other medical interventions, which have been proven to be effective, the FMS said.

Dubbed “Less is More”, the scheme has been welcomed by patient organisations who say it will prevent unnecessary stress for patients.

Meanwhile, some €10 billion of the total €100 billion annual health budget is pocketed by fraudsters, including millions raked in by criminal gangs, a 2024 police report said.