Schemes for obese patients to continue

ONLY HALF of patients considered too obese for surgery in East Yorkshire went on to start a weight management programme, new figures show.

Almost 500 obese patients were referred by GPs to the sixmonth programme, run by East Riding Council at leisure centres.

But only 237 patients – 54 per cent – started the programme in just under a year, while 108 patients did not take it up at all.

Under rules introduced in October 2017, routine operations like hip and knee replacements are delayed by six months for patients with a BMI of over 35 and smokers, who are offered stop smoking programmes.

The measures were introduced by East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group, which at the time denied the delay was about saving money and said it was to “encourage and empower patients to take greater responsibility for their lifestyle choices”.

After six months patients become eligible for surgery, even if they do not reach their target weight or stop smoking. However the move was condemned at the time as “wrong and frankly shocking” by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Health chiefs admitted at a scrutiny meeting that patient numbers had been lower than expected and some GPs were sceptical at first.

But Will Uglow, assistant director of planned and primary care at East Riding CCG, said doctors were “now coming on board”. He confirmed the pilot would continue for another year.

He said: “I think we’ve seen some very good outcomes (and) the vast majority of patients have lost weight through the process.”