Ben Pct

[madstaffyblonde1]

I have been refered by my gp for gastric bypass surgery at Walsall Manor with Mr Amir Khan, my bmi is 41.6 at present and I have a bad back, hips, carnt walk far as i start wheezing and i carnt lie on my back as i feel as if i am being crushed, I am also on sleeping tablets and anti depressants will all these things be taken into account when they decide of i can have this op, I have been a off on dieter for many years and have been to super slim, slimmer world, weight watchers, slim fast, xenical and most recently reductil. Both of my grandparents died from heart attacks, my grandmother has type 2 diabetes and artheritus (sp), my mother is obese and also has artheritus and a thyroid problem. i am so scared that the hospital will turn me down or that i wont beable to get funding for this operation :cry:

When do they apply for the funding is it when they have received the referal and you pass the nice criteria or is it after you have had your first appointment with the doctors at the hospital?

 

[PinkyButtonz]

Have a read through the link it may help.

http://www.minimins.com/surgical-weight-loss/73087-critirea-walsall.html

 

[Nezzy]

Hi

I don't think your doc would have referred you if you didn't fit the criteria, My BMI was 49 and I had high blood pressure and when I went for my 1st appointment at walsall manor I walked in and the 1st thing they said was 'what operation do u want' I was flabbergastedcause my doc said they might put you on several diet plans first but that wasn't to be, and 12 months later I had the op gastric bypass and am now 4 weeks post op, so I would think you need to stop worrying,

Take Care

Anez xxx

 

[thinkbethin]

Sorry I'm of no help here as I don't know the procedures for your area. Just did'nt want to read and run. Hope you get all the info you need though.

 

[Sambucca]

I have been refered by my gp for gastric bypass surgery at Walsall Manor with Mr Amir Khan, my bmi is 41.6 at present and I have a bad back, hips, carnt walk far as i start wheezing and i carnt lie on my back as i feel as if i am being crushed, I am also on sleeping tablets and anti depressants will all these things be taken into account when they decide of i can have this op, I have been a off on dieter for many years and have been to super slim, slimmer world, weight watchers, slim fast, xenical and most recently reductil. Both of my grandparents died from heart attacks, my grandmother has type 2 diabetes and artheritus (sp), my mother is obese and also has artheritus and a thyroid problem. i am so scared that the hospital will turn me down or that i wont beable to get funding for this operation :cry:

When do they apply for the funding is it when they have received the referal and you pass the nice criteria or is it after you have had your first appointment with the doctors at the hospital?

Hi Hun

If your BMI is over 40 thats the only criteria you need for BEN to fund your surgery. The other health issues would only be called in to play if your BMI was below 40.

Try not to worry hun. Easier said than done, I know, and I did all the worrying you are doing now when I was in your shoes.

The normal route now is that you will have an initial appointment at Walsall with Dr Hartland who is lovely. He will discuss the different options with you. You may or may not see other people on the day of this first appointment, including Ana the bariatric nurse, georgia the dietician and Dr Kendrick the psyche. Whether or not you see these "extra" people at your first appointment will not hold things up for you.

After your intial appointment you will be given another appt for about 8 weeks later. You will be expected to tell the hospital at this point which surgery you would like. After this second appointment they will apply for funding. The waiting for funding (in my opinion) was the hardest bit - but if your BMI is over 40, its only a formality. Your funding will be granted.

ONce funding in place you will be placed on waiting list and then sent another 2 appointments. One for pre op tests including bloods, ecg, mrsa and the other appt to see anaesthetist. At the 2nd pre op you will be given an op date (or sometimes you are given the date a couple of days later)

The whole process seems to take around 8 - 9 months hun. The wait is horrid but theres nothing you can do to hurry it up so best advice is to try not to stress about it.

Have you got the date for your first appointment yet?

 

[madstaffyblonde1]

no appointment date yet, I rang friday to make sure they had got my referal which they said they did and that it had been passed to leslie hannan. I hate the waiting game as this is the second time around as my gp sent a referal of about 8-9 weeks ago but they put the wrong bmi down so it was rejected but i only found out when i chased it up.

 

[margaretmc]

Hi Madstaffyblonde
Good luck with your weight loss journey . I`m sorry I cant help you but I`v been on antidepressants for many many years and it hasn't stopped me going for surgery I haven't had it yet but hopefully soon . Good luck and take care .
Margaret xx

 

[madstaffyblonde1]

Thank you to all who have replied your comments have been really uplifting and i hope we can all get to the other side of this journey.

 

[madstaffyblonde1]

has any1 had closed bypass at the manor instead of open, if so was this also funded by the pct has i no to have it larascopically is more expensive but i also no that mr khan can do both

 

[Sambucca]

Hun it is very rare for BEN PCT to fund Lap surgery. THe cost difference is huge and so they will only fund in exceptional circumstances. Tesmaralda had Lap but thats because she was due to have her gallbladder out at same time.

 

[madstaffyblonde1]

If im honest Im not really that bothered about how they do it as long as it is done and I can start to live my life the way it should be :bliss:and the way I am looking at things is I will need to have a tummy tuck at the end of this journey so some of the scaring will be removed with that.

 

[Bonita]

The answer is yes. While I was in there were several people that had lap instead of open. One woman was down for open and ended up having a lap when she didn't expect one.

I think you can have it done with a lap if you stick out for it but its more expensive and take longer to get the funding.

One thing that I don't think Sam mentioned is that in some cases the Bariatric team themselves will insist you get the funding if they think it warrant you having th op sooner rather than later, especially if your health is suffering.

Anyway good luck with it this time, but I think it will go through fine.

xx

 

[mells]

Hi, I am also in Great Barr. My GP referred me to Walsall Manor and it was about 7 weeks later that I got my appointment. I went for my appointment 3 weeks ago. No-one mentioned funding to me, they did ask what health authority I came under as my address comes under Walsall, but my GP is North Birmingham. They did say that if I had decided on a band then I would e able to have it at Heartlands instead.

My next appointment has come through for Sept (I think this is with the Psyc.?), then I have an appointment in October and they said that is when I have to tell them what op I want.

My BMI is about 45 at the moment, I have high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, so I am now considering a bypass instead of a band.

All I can say is the staff I met, dietician, Anna the Bariatric Nurse and Dr Hartland were so lovely. They explain eveything, and are happy to answer any questions, and my husband asked loads (I couldnt get a word in!).

So hopefully now your form is filled in correctly you should hear from them very soon.

 

[madstaffyblonde1]

As far as I no the doctor didnt fill in a form thay just sent a standard letter which was shown to me just asking for me to be seen and the problems I was having at present nothing was mentioned about previous attempts at weight loss. mells I also have a Walsall adress but my gp is north birmingham.

:fingerscrossed: I will hear from them soon

 

[tesmaralda]

Ben PCT don't fund keyhole surgery for gastric bypass as they say Mr Khan is to expensive however other pcts do. I had keyhole as it was approved for removal of gall bladder to. Normally wm will apply for funding on your behalf after you have confirmed you want your op after the cooling off period which is somewhere between 8-12 weeks after your initial consultation.

Your lower limb co morbidities should help you qualify with your bmi as nice criteria is bmi of 35 - 40 with comorbities and 40+ without co morbidities if you have tried all other conventional forms of weight loss including tablets from your gp and anyone with a bmi of 50+ should be offered surgery as first line treatment