20 February 2008 Swansea Evening Post
Obesity services in Wales are among the worst in the country, a Swansea surgeon has claimed. Professor John Baxter was responding to a study which has found many obesity units are refusing surgery for patients on the grounds of cost.

The study found that hospitals and primary care trusts had seen a 650 per cent rise in patients being referred for surgery over the past five years.

Six out of 10 consultants approached at 20 hospital trusts across England said they were not given the resources to cope with the huge rise in demand.

Half (52 per cent) of the consultants said they were forced to bounce patients back to their GPs after refusing surgery.

Morriston Hospital-based Mr Baxter, president of the British Obesity Surgery Society, said: “To say there’s under-funding is a massive understatement. It’s appalling. There should be a public inquiry in my view.”

The survey of 20 specialist obesity units was carried out by Pulse magazine, a publication for doctors.

Dr David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum and a Hertfordshire GP, told Pulse he believed the move was a “completely false economy” and “people would be dropping down dead because of it”.

He added: “To limit it on the grounds of cost is disgraceful. Some PCTs refuse altogether while others take 10 or 20 procedures and no more.”

A Department of Health spokesman said funding would be increased over the next three years “to support the commissioning of more weight management services in the NHS, where people can access personalised services to support them in achieving real and sustained weight loss.

“It is up to PCTs as local commissioners and providers of services to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver healthcare to their populations”.

He added: “There is an increased risk of complications during bariatric (obesity) surgery, given that there are existing medical conditions in obese patients, so operations are not always the best option.”

One of those waiting for surgery is Jemma Butler, aged 24, of Neath Road Plasmarl.

She has been refused surgery to remove most of her stomach so she can trim her 33 stone weight, because doctors have said she is not ill enough for the £10,000-£20,000 opearation to take place on the NHS.

She said this month: “I’m a 24-year-old, but I’m living like I’m a 70-year-old.

“All right, I haven’t got diabetes, and I haven’t got heart disease now, but who’s to say in a couple of years’ time that I could have it if I don’t have this operation?”
COSMETIC BLISS COMMENT
We are saddened but not surprised by the story. Obesity is an illness, NOT a lifestyle choice, contrary to the beliefs of some. We do wonder if the attitude of “it’s your own fault you are obese” prevails in the minds of some of those responsible for allocating resources within the PCTs. Long term, surgical solutions would actually SAVE the NHS money in terms of the extra costs associated with treating obesity-related illnesses.
Poor Jemma Butler is in a no-win situation - she is young enough not to have developed any of the diseases associated with obesity - and so cannot qualify for surgery, yet, according to the quote from the Health Department spokesman if she were to develop these conditions surgery might be considered “not the best option”. Cosmetic Bliss provides safe bariatric surgery outside the UK (incidentally at less than half the £10,000 minimum it apparently costs the NHS)
We are able to flourish as a company because of the appalling lack of provision for bariatric surgery within the NHS - to which we ALL (including the obese) contribute. We will continue to offer the highest quality Bariatric Surgery and our unique personal support and assistance through the surgical procedure and afterwards to our patients - providing a much needed safe & affordable option to those who cannot afford to wait for surgery on the NHS, and who are reluctant to pay the high prices charged for private treatment in the UK.