mandymoo said:Oh well letter arrived today & it's a no from the NHS never mind sort of thought that it would be. Lucky I got my head round paying for it lol x
ldavidson84 said:So sorry to hear that Mandy xxx
I still haven't even got my first appointment with the special weight management team which my GP refered me too about surgery. I knew it would be a long process (at least 12 - 24 months) so i payed for it myself!
It annoys me that the NHS dont help the people that actually want helping!!!
Angler said:Sorry to hear that Mandy
Kevin1708 said:Sorry to hear about the NHS turning you down, however, given the current financial climate and the restraints on the NHS coupled with what can only be described as a bleak economic outlook, I can understand their reasoning (please don't hate me !). With funds being so limited it must be a very difficult process for a PCT - and we all complain when a PCT fails to comply with guidelines ! I note your BMI is 37.3. The NICE guidelines state that bariatric surgery should be offered to patients with (1) a body mass index (BMI) of 35-40 who have co-morbidities* (2) those with a BMI of 40-50 with no other weight related conditions or (3) those with a BMI of 50 and over, as a first-line treatment. If your GP does not consider you back problem to be 'weigh related' or fall under the co morbidity heading then bariatric surgery is considered to be more 'cosmetic'. I see your profile does not state your height, weight and alike but a reduction of 2.3kg/m2 would take you outside NICE guidelines altogether - assuming you are say 5'5" (being the average/mean height of a female in the UK) then 14lb loss takes you to a BMI of 35 (or there about).
*Accepted co-morbidities (general list only may vary between PCTs)
· Type II diabetes, especially severe, uncontrolled diabetes;
· severe obstructive sleep apnoea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome;
· obesity related cardiomyopathy;
· clinically unmanageable hypertension;
· established coronary heart disease; for example a history of myocardial infarction in the past 6 months;
· cerebrovascular pathology, for example a history of transient ischaemic attacks or stroke (if good functional recovery) in the past 6 months;
· obesity related pulmonary hypertension;
· other co-morbid conditions which have been agreed by the PCT as exceptional, for example Pickwickian syndrome, on an individual patient basis; and/or a condition which requires surgery at the same time as bariatric surgery (e.g.hernia repair, cholecystectomy or severe gall bladder disease);
· or a condition which needs surgery or complex technological intervention as soon as possible after bariatric surgery
Best wishes for your consultation x