Public asked for views on weight-loss surgery funding

Yorkshire and the Humber Specialised Commissioning Group is inviting members of the public to take part in an online questionnaire.

One of the questions asks whether the NHS should fund gastric band or gastric bypass surgery for anyone who is morbidly obese, people that have already tried to lose weight, or people who are morbidly obese and have other illnesses such as diabetes that could improve after successful surgery.

A spokesman for the commissioning group said all answers would be taken into consideration by the region’s primary care trusts, including NHS North Yorkshire and York, when they review their criteria for funding bariatric surgery.

At present, NHS North Yorkshire and York will only consider funding this type of surgery if the patient has a body mass index (BMI) of 50 or over.

This is despite guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that recommend surgery as a treatment option for people with a BMI of 40 or more.

Meanwhile, obese patients who also have conditions such as diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and sleep apnoea will only be considered for surgery by NHS North Yorkshire and York if they have a BMI of 45 to 50. The bar set by NICE for this category of patients is a BMI of between 35 and 40.

A spokesman for Yorkshire and the Humber Specialised Commissioning Group said: “The primary care trusts in this region are currently reviewing the criteria for funding surgery for individuals who are morbidly obese.

“We want to understand your views on NHS-funded surgery for people who are considered morbidly obese. As such we are working with patients, carers, members of the public, health care professionals and a number of organisations to understand these views.

“Responses to this questionnaire will be used to shape recommendations on how morbid obesity surgical services should be commissioned.”

To complete the questionnaire, log on to nyypct.nhs.uk