Gastric Bypass surgery on the NHS

[starryeyed]

Oh my goodness, that long for just the referral?

Yep

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

i work for the referral centre for an NHS trust at they aim for 8 weeks for these appointments as they are classed as routine, however government guidelines state that you must be seen within 18 weeks. These timescales are from the referral being received by the hospital.

Hiya, thank you for the info
So my doctor said "we can ask them", I am taking that as a yes to referring me, am I right in thinking that? What happens next, like is that 8-18 weeks when I find out if I'm progressed forward? My BMI today was 50.3

 

[chunkyMunky25]

Hiya, thank you for the info
So my doctor said "we can ask them", I am taking that as a yes to referring me, am I right in thinking that? What happens next, like is that 8-18 weeks when I find out if I'm progressed forward? My BMI today was 50.3

if your GP has said that then i would assume he is putting you forwards to weight management which can take 8-18weeks to be seen, they will decide what you need to do and how much weight you need to try and lose before they decide whether to put you forwards to the MDT for consideration of surgery.

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

if your GP has said that then i would assume he is putting you forwards to weight management which can take 8-18weeks to be seen, they will decide what you need to do and how much weight you need to try and lose before they decide whether to put you forwards to the MDT for consideration of surgery.

Okay no worries, I shall await my letter! With my BMI of over 50 does that mean I should expect to spend about 6 months in weight management? I appreciate that every area is different, hoping Leicestershire is relatively straight forward

 

[chunkyMunky25]

Okay no worries, I shall await my letter! With my BMI of over 50 does that mean I should expect to spend about 6 months in weight management? I appreciate that every area is different, hoping Leicestershire is relatively straight forward

my bmi was 50 and i have co-morbidities i had to do 6month of weight management group sessions, and lose an amount set by the consultant to prove i was giving it my all to lose weight. they discussed me in MDT and now im at seminar stage to pick my surgery

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

my bmi was 50 and i have co-morbidities i had to do 6month of weight management group sessions, and lose an amount set by the consultant to prove i was giving it my all to lose weight. they discussed me in MDT and now im at seminar stage to pick my surgery

Oh wow, that is a lot! How did you find the course and losing weight? So you know which surgery you will go for?

 

[chunkyMunky25]

Oh wow, that is a lot! How did you find the course and losing weight? So you know which surgery you will go for?

the course was all about portion sizes, eating out, making the right choices and reading packaging. i found it abit boring and half of the people there couldnt keep their lies straight and werent willing to actually try. they just want the surgery to do it for them... which it wont. i had to lose 5kg which is just over a stone. I would like the bypass and i will go to seminar and meet the consultant with that in mind however the consultant will then thell me which he thinks would be best for me and ill have to consider that too.

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

the course was all about portion sizes, eating out, making the right choices and reading packaging. i found it abit boring and half of the people there couldnt keep their lies straight and werent willing to actually try. they just want the surgery to do it for them... which it wont. i had to lose 5kg which is just over a stone. I would like the bypass and i will go to seminar and meet the consultant with that in mind however the consultant will then thell me which he thinks would be best for me and ill have to consider that too.

Aw that's rubbish, people have to understand that having surgery is not the easy way out, you have to make serious life changes after wards, so I do think that making the most of the course is the best option! Good luck with the surgeon, hope it goes well! At this stage has your funding already been approved?

 

[chunkyMunky25]

Aw that's rubbish, people have to understand that having surgery is not the easy way out, you have to make serious life changes after wards, so I do think that making the most of the course is the best option! Good luck with the surgeon, hope it goes well! At this stage has your funding already been approved?

yes, i spoke t the hospital who said i was approved for funding at the MDT meeting so its just seminar to learn about all the options, pick what surgery i want, meet the surgeon and be added to the waiting list.... pre-op, surgery and new skinny me. doesnt sound much left but still probably going to be 6-8 months to go.

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

yes, i spoke t the hospital who said i was approved for funding at the MDT meeting so its just seminar to learn about all the options, pick what surgery i want, meet the surgeon and be added to the waiting list.... pre-op, surgery and new skinny me. doesnt sound much left but still probably going to be 6-8 months to go.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer for you x

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Hey guys, I went in and got a copy of my referral letter from the GP today. Would weight management still be a part of this if it says referal to surgery?/what's the likely outcome? Also, is this what a normal referral letter looks like?? Sorry if it seems like I'm going in circles, driving myself crazy with the waiting haha!

 

[Parsnip]

Hey guys, I went in and got a copy of my referral letter from the GP today. Would weight management still be a part of this if it says referal to surgery?/what's the likely outcome? Also, is this what a normal referral letter looks like?? Sorry if it seems like I'm going in circles, driving myself crazy with the waiting haha!

From what I can gather, it's not common to have a direct referral to surgery, you'd still be required to go through some sort of weight management... How long depends on the hospital.
My referral letter goes into a bit more depth but I'm not sure what the heck is going atm

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

From what I can gather, it's not common to have a direct referral to surgery, you'd still be required to go through some sort of weight management... How long depends on the hospital.
My referral letter goes into a bit more depth but I'm not sure what the heck is going atm

What was yours like? If you don't mind me asking? I was worried mine was really vague because the doc that referred me wasn't keen on the idea!

 

[Parsnip]

Mine isn't that much more in depth.

Some of the details have changed I.e my medication dose is up to 10mg and my BP has been higher and lower than that lol

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Mine isn't that much more in depth.

Some of the details have changed I.e my medication dose is up to 10mg and my BP has been higher and lower than that lol

Aw yeah I see! What's strange to me is that yours has a mention of tier 3 and mine doesn't?

 

[Parsnip]

Has that helped?

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Has that helped?

What do you mean? have you heard anything since your referral?

 

[Parsnip]

Aw yeah I see! What's strange to me is that yours has a mention of tier 3 and mine doesn't?

Yeah it's odd, but I guess it depends on how much your gp knows about wls...

What do you mean? have you heard anything since your referral?

Nothing yet but I'm confused as mine has been sent to Dudley (who don't do Bariatric surgery anymore) to a specialist consultant. I'm have someone chasing it up to find out why from the gp who sent the referral as she was on holiday on my last appointment. I'm based in Burton-upon-Trent and would have expected to go to Derby (when I spoke to Derby Bariatric coordinator she expected the same). My GP must have a reason, it's just odd because there are quite a few hospitals much closer that do both tier 3 and Bariatric surgery :/

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Yeah it's odd, but I guess it depends on how much your gp knows about wls...



Nothing yet but I'm confused as mine has been sent to Dudley (who don't do Bariatric surgery anymore) to a specialist consultant. I'm have someone chasing it up to find out why from the gp who sent the referral as she was on holiday on my last appointment. I'm based in Burton-upon-Trent and would have expected to go to Derby (when I spoke to Derby Bariatric coordinator she expected the same). My GP must have a reason, it's just odd because there are quite a few hospitals much closer that do both tier 3 and Bariatric surgery :/

Oh that is so strange!! Did they say how long it would take to chase it up for you??

 

[Parsnip]

Oh that is so strange!! Did they say how long it would take to chase it up for you??

I saw her last weds, she said she'd try and get back to me next week so hopefully I'll hear something this week.