Policy Number: SRP 056
Policy Name: Haemorrhoids
Status: Individual Prior Approval
Effective Date: 1 April 2024
Next Review Date: 1 April 2026
This policy does not apply to referrals for suspected cancer and acute, profuse rectal bleeding
Haemorrhoidectomy will be funded for patients with first- or second-degree haemorrhoids who do not respond to:
- Conservative treatment (e.g. lifestyle changes and pharmacological treatment)
- Other techniques (e.g. rubber band ligation, sclerotherapy, or infra-red photocoagulation).
Haemorrhoidectomy will be funded for patients with third or fourth-degree haemorrhoids that are either too large for other measures or have not responded to them.
- Grade 1 are small swellings on the inside lining of the anal canal. They cannot be seen or felt from outside the opening of the back passage (anus). Grade 1 piles are common. In some people they enlarge further to grade 2 or more.
- Grade 2 are larger. They may be partly pushed out from the anus when you go to the toilet, but quickly spring back inside again.
- Grade 3 hang out from the anus when you go to the toilet. You may feel one or more as small, soft lumps that hang from the anus. However, you can push them back inside the anus with a finger.
- Grade 4 permanently hang down from within the anus, and you cannot push them back inside. They sometimes become quite large.
Ref: https://patient.info/health/rectal-bleeding-blood-in-faeces/piles-haemorrhoids
Patients not meeting the above criteria will not be funded unless there are clinically exceptional circumstances.
Individual funding requests should only be made where the patient demonstrates clinical exceptionality.
Find out more information on applying for funding in exceptional clinical circumstances