Consumer Health Forums

NHS 'limiting obesity operations' ---- BBC Web News

Should surgery to tackle obesity be available on the NHS?

Would you resort to such drastic measures?

__________________
Please use this forum to share your experiences and discuss health issues. For diagnosis, treatments and remedies please consult your doctor.

I think surgery should be available in extreme cases of obesity as it has a huge impact on a person's health and quality of life. If they have tried all other options first and unable to lose weight then I think it should be available. Obesity makes people's lives miserable.

__________________

I don't think it should be available. There are people with cancer and other awful conditions who are refused treatment. Obese people bring it on themselves. They should go on a diet and stop lazing around.

Im a student operation department practitioner about to embark on my final year and whilst my skills are limited i have to say that the cost of Lap Banding far far outweighs future potential healthcare costs. It is certainly not true to say that all people who are obese bring it on themselves and are lazy. There are many conditions whereby obesity is a by product. Cushings syndrome for instance, people with limited mobilty through no fault of their own....how can one accuse a obese wheelchair user of being lazy? There are those with a genetic disposition to weight gain, this has been proven, just as there are those with genetic predispositions to being skinny, carry cancer genes and so forth.

Its not a black and white subject and its also fair to say that the average PCT allocates something along the lines of 13500 per patient per year for healthcare, the average lap band costs 2500. So say for instance a person is obese and later in life develops joint and mobility problems, the cost of joint replacements starts 6000+. This cost could have been avoided by a simple lap band op and the remaining money goes back in the pot to assist life saving operations.

Usually a patient has to be round about double their normal weight to be considered for lap banding.....a normal person a couple of stone overweight would not be eligable so by default, it is usually the obese ones who have an overlying medical problem who are given the option of surgery. People pay their National Insurance for this, and whilst i agree that there is a lot to be improved by the NHS regarding funding for cancer patients ect, this is a life saving op, but in the majority of cases so is lap banding.

Just my two penneth!

Well said flick I don't think anybody actually choses to be obese and as you say it is generally because of other underlying factors. Its interesting to know the cost factors and how it can save the NHS in the long run. It should be available on the NHS.

__________________

I agree it should be available on the NHS. Long term problems related to obesity will be reduced and people's lives will be greatly improved.

Not every obese person is disabled and incapable of losing weight. The vast majority simply don't want to put in the effort the line has to be drawn somewhere. I'd far rather the money was spent on treating a cancer patient than an obese person that is unwilling to do something about it themselves.

hi shrinking violet this is a cliche to view of obesity as being related to food intake and not willing to do anything about it .

i am myself consider as a mobidly obese and i can tell you that was due to yo yo dieting . i use countless diet weight wacthers , lighter life and so on went ot dieteticin as nutritionist etc..... is at if my body can loose weight but cannot keep it that way. once the diet stop well the weight is put back on with a vengeance extra pound .... .

Guess what my Gp doesn not recomand them as he think they can be dangerous to your health in a long term.

i the end of day health professional should not choose who to treat someone or not .. this is very unethical .

i think the medias are partly responsible for the protrayal of obese people are lazy and binge eater whjich is so ott and not a true portray of us .
but obesity comes with a numerous problem which cost a lot more to the NHS such as diabetes , depression, heart disease, joint problem etc.....

so i think it is false economy for the Nhs and secondly refusing to treat someone in need of care and treatment simply because he/she obese and/or of cost well there is a big problem in this thinking......

Absolutely agree froup. It should be available. Its not easy maintaining wieght loss and the health implications of being obese far outweigh the costs of the surgery.

__________________

The vast majority of the obese are not lazy, refusing to put any effort into losing weight. If you read the PCT guidelines on gastric banding, patients will not be considered until they have put every effort into trying to lose weight themselves beforehand, it is simply not just offered as a quick fix.

It involves a complete lifestyle change, the patient has to show total committment else the option for surgery will be withdrawn.

I am one week post-op after having my own band fitted, following years of trying to lose weight and succeeding, to a certain degree, but I had reached a point where no more would come off and I needed help.

Please think twice before tarring obese people with the lazy brush, obesity is an illness in it's own right, often with many causes including physical and emotional and it's help that is needed, not judgement by those who do not understand.

__________________
Roll on the rest of my life!!!