Obese to be fast-tracked for weight loss surgery

The Standard has learned that nine hospital trusts in London and the South-East have been chosen to provide stomach-shrinking surgery for the first time.

These include Chelsea & Westminster, the Homerton and Imperial College Healthcare, which are all setting up special units for treating patients.

At least 2,000 operations will be carried out a year to reduce the burden on the NHS of weight-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The number of trusts awarded "provider" status for obesity surgery is more than four times the original planned, reflecting demand.

NHS bosses will decide in the next few weeks on their system for allocating at-risk patients to different hospitals for surgery. Those at the top of the list will have a body mass index - the ratio of weight to height - over 35.

The hospitals chosen have recruited psychiatrists to screen patients for eating disorders which make them unsuitable for treatment. Many have also recruited obesity surgeons to carry out operations such as gastric bypasses and "sleeve" gastrectomies, which restrict the amount of food a patient can consume by reducing their stomach.

They have spent thousands kitting out operating suites with reinforced tables, weighing scales and lifting hoists. But they will be rewarded financially by the NHS for every patient they treat. Health chiefs expect to save cash in the long-term because they estimate surgery is cheaper than treating obesity-related illness.

The latest figures show only 3,000 weight loss operations are carried out annually despite the fact more than 700,000 Britons are overweight.

Imperial has recruited the country's youngest obesity (bariatric) surgeon. Ahmed Ahmed, 35, is one of 35 NHS obesity surgeons in the UK.

He said: "We're just touching the tip of the iceberg. Patients who suffer from obesity are very well informed - they know what they want. But in the medical community there are people out there who think obesity is a selfinflicted problem. There is a lot of stigma associated."

The trust plans eventually to carry out 900 operations a year on people over 18 in their five-bed unit at Charing Cross Hospital. Mr Ahmed added: "Drugs and tablets have their role but when we're faced with someone who is 150 kg and they have tried everything else then it's a life and death situation."

Chelsea & Westminster has recruited surgeon Gianluca Bonanomia from the US to head a team of doctors. He said: "Obviously diet and education is vital but we're are talking about people where it's too late to reverse their condition without surgery."

But the plan to fast-track patients into surgery has been attacked as "extreme". The Growth Foundation blamed the Government for not acting earlier to tackle the obesity crisis.