Government targets mean bunions get treated before cancer, says top surgeonBy Joe Murphy and Lorraine Fraser (Filed: 10/03/2002) A SENIOR NHS consultant has accused the Government of forcing doctors to treat patients with minor problems such as bunions before those with more serious illnesses like cancer in order to meet targets for waiting lists.Richard Rawlins, an orthopaedic surgeon and chairman of the Eastern Region Consultants' and Specialists' Committee, said pressure on consultants to meet official targets was stretching surgical ethics to the limit.In a letter to Sir Peter Morris, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England,...