County NHS rejects expert advice from surgeons on benefits of gastric bands for weight loss (From Herald Series)

County NHS rejects expert advice from surgeons on benefits of gastric bands for weight loss

4:09pm Tuesday 2nd February 2010

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WEIGHT-LOSS surgery which could benefit 10,000 people in Oxfordshire is being rationed by the county’s health chiefs in a bid to save money.

The Royal College of Surgeons said the NHS should recognise surgery, such as gastric bands, as the best treatment for serious obesity — a call backed by an Oxford surgeon.

Last year, NHS Oxfordshire received 64 requests for surgery — which can cost between £5,000 and £14,000 — but only 25 were approved.

Despite agreeing with the idea, the body said it could not afford to carry out more operations.

Nick Maynard, a surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital for Oxford Radcliffe Private Healthcare, called for a rethink and said: “There is proof that this treatment works.

“I would say up to 10,000 Oxfordshire people could benefit from this surgery. Surgery can help with those diseases related to obesity, particularly type two diabetes.

“Between 60 to 70 per cent of type two diabetes can be cured through surgery, the risk of heart disease can also be very significantly reduced, and other conditions such as the breathing problems associated with being overweight can be improved.”

Clare Burnett, 51, from Wallingford, was fitted with a gastric band to help her lose weight.

She said: “I did have some reservations before, but now I am in awe of gastric surgery.

“It has changed my life. I now have plans and goals that would have been impossible to contemplate a year ago.”

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which offers guidelines to healthcare providers, thinks patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above should be referred for surgery.

A healthy BMI shows between 19 and 25 per cent body fat, overweight is 25 to 30, and more than 30 is obese.

It is estimated about half of Oxfordshire’s 635,500 population is overweight or obese — with five per cent morbidly obese, meaning they have a BMI above 40.

Nice said people with a BMI of between 35 and 40 who had other conditions such as type two diabetes should also be referred.

However, NHS Oxfordshire will only pay for the life- changing surgery for people with a BMI of more than 50 who also have a serious illness because of their weight.

NHS Oxfordshire, which needs to make £80m savings, said it could only afford to treat the most severely overweight with serious health problems and preferred spending money on helping people lose weight.

It has been asked to consider the surgery for anyone with a BMI of more than 50, and those with a BMI of more than 40 but who also have diabetes.

But it said it would cost an extra £750,000 in the next financial year and it already spends £600,000 a year on its weight management programme.

A spokesman said a review at the end of the year would reconsider the matter.

Iain Playdon, from Bicester, who lost half his body weight through diet and exercise, said: “I believe most people could lose weight if they put their minds to it, but they give up too easily.”

Clive Stone, a campaigner for cancer sufferers, thought the NHS was right to make priorities.

He said: “To my mind, someone who is dying because they can’t get drugs, is a higher priority than someone who wants this surgery.”

*CLARE Burnett has battled with her weight most of her adult life.

At 5ft 5in tall and weighing 16 stones, Miss Burnett, from Wallingford, said she was always conscious of her weight.

But it was only when she was struggling to breathe as she ran to see her nephew’s school play that she said she realised how bad things had got.

Miss Burnett, 51, said: “I had a diabetic father who had recently suffered from a major stroke and my mother died of a heart attack in 2006.

“I felt my weight was increasing the chance of experiencing the same conditions.”

Over the years, she had tried to lose weight by joining clubs such as WeightWatchers, undergoing the Rosemary Conley diet and taking prescription fat-absorbing pills — but said nothing worked.

With a BMI of 37, she was not eligible for surgery on the NHS, so decided to have a gastric band fitted privately last August.

Since then, she has lost two-and-a-half stones, moving from a dress size 22 to a loose-fitting 18.

She now has a BMI of 31.

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