NHS to offer more weight loss surgery
HEALTH chiefs have vowed to allow more people to have weight loss surgery on the NHS.
So called bariatric surgery - procedures such as ‘stomach stapling’, inserting gastric bands to reduce stomach size or performing gastric bypasses - is highly restricted.
NHS policy is the surgery is only ever performed as a last resort on morbidly obese people who meet strict criteria and have been unable to lose weight through dieting or exercise.
Health bosses approved just 19 surgeries in Huddersfield and 11 in North Kirklees in 2018/19.
The operations cost taxpayers roughly £5,000 each - £153,403 in total. Now a decision has been made to allow more of the costly surgeries in a bid to remove the postcode lottery that existed before.
Previously there were different criteria in the various parts of West Yorkshire. It has now been agreed to harmonise the rules and let all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) refer 4% of the eligible patients to go under the knife.
The move could see the numbers of surgeries roughly double at a predicted cost of about £300,000.
Health chiefs say ultimately it will save money as people of a healthier weight cost the NHS less.
As spokesperson for North Kirklees and Greater Huddersfield CCGs said: “In North Kirklees and Greater Huddersfield, adopting the target of 4% of the eligible population means that more people in Kirklees will potentially be offered bariatric surgery, which is good news.
“In 2020/21 this could result in up to 34 patients in the Greater Huddersfield area receiving treatment, at a total cost of £167,385, and up to 25 patients in the North Kirklees area, at a total cost of £128,714. Funding for this has been included in CCG budgets for 2020/21.
“There is clear evidence that bariatric surgery reduces healthcare spend in a number of areas, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes and the significant cost of drugs related to these conditions.”
Data provided by the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership shows there were 158 weight loss surgeries across the district in 2018/19 - at a cost of almost £750,000.