County rules on weight-loss surgery mean bigger is better when seeking ops on NHS
PATIENTS in Lincolnshire need to be even fatter in order to have drastic weight-loss procedures on the NHS.
Guidance released by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), states a patient should be entitled to stomach stapling and gastric banding procedures if they have a Body Mass Index of 40 or more.
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Kevin Brown, of Sleaford, who weighed about 38 stone before he started using the Phoenix Weight Management Programme.
But in Lincolnshire, patients now need to have a BMI of more than 50 in order to have weight-loss surgery on the NHS.
This can be reduced to 45, provided they have another long-term health condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
A patient put forward for bariatric surgery is supposed to have exhausted traditional weight loss methods such as diet and exercise first.
NHS Lincolnshire, which funds the procedures costing about £9,000 each, says it now follows a regional policy set by the East Midlands Specialised Commissioning Group (EMSCG) for the funding of bariatric surgery.
The policy does not follow Nice guidance, meaning people across the region need to be fatter or, more worryingly, fatten up to be granted weight-loss surgery on the NHS.
The EMSCG estimates 59 patients living in the NHS Lincolnshire area will opt for bariatric surgery each year.
This is the highest number out of all nine primary care trusts in the East Midlands.
Spokesman for EMSCG Serina Korol said during the 2009/10 financial year, the criteria for eligibility for bariatric surgery was made tougher when prioritising the NHS budget.
She said: "Primary care trusts are focusing on tackling obesity by increasing their investment in community based services which aim to prevent or manage weight problems at an earlier stage.
"The surgical option will be reserved for those patients with the highest BMIs who are at most risk of the health consequences of morbid obesity and where the treatment has been shown to be most cost effective."
Dr David Baker, Lincolnshire representative for the British Medical Association, said treatment such as bariatric surgery needs to be assessed against an individual patient's needs.
"This would mean it's not necessarily the whim of NICE or the East Midlands Specialised Commissioning Group," he said.
The Echo revealed last month 189 Lincolnshire patients have undergone weight-loss surgery on the NHS since April 2007.
13 Comments
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by crazydaisy, lincoln
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 7:59PM
“Its simple. Put their fridges in the attic...make them work for their food.”
by John, Lincoln
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 5:46PM
“Michael, you are right that it is not a physical problem and people who suggest this are incorrect for a number of reasons e.g. obese people have a higher metabolic rate than if they were thinner.
However does no one consider that it could be a mental issue? I know someone who is over weight and goes to the gym and watches what they eat, but in hard times go on a binge. They are unhappy because of their weight but have been taught since childhood that eating makes you feel better. It is a vicious circle. They have always said were they slimmer they would work hard to stay fit. it is frustrating having worked with them to slowly chip away at 2lb a time, that they binge for 3 days and put on 5lb.
Aside from all that, 9k to get a slim healthier person is a lot cheaper than the 35k for a heart bypass alone.”
by Nick, Lincoln
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 5:33PM
“Sorry to disappoint Nicky, but I was close to 39 stone as a result of an illness. by taking exercise and adjusting my diet, I am now just over 17 stone. So yes, they need to get off their fat backsides and eat less lard.”
by Emma, Lincoln
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 4:54PM
“Congratulations, Phil. Just when I thought this website had hit rock-bottom in terms of rabid, ranting nonsense, you've managed to take it another stage down.”
by Missouri Marten, Lincoln
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 4:52PM
“"Not every one who's fat is fat because they eat to much.some are fat because of medication that there taking.
medication that causes fluid retention,medication that alters there metabolic rate etc etc."
Which is a moot point in the context of this story, because no amount of surgery would help those particular people.”