What happens now?

[L Marcelle]

Hi all. I was hoping someone can help explain what this means.

I received a letter in the post today from St thomas' asking me to attend a group education session to discuss bariatric surgery.
This is my first appointment.

What does this mean?
What happens after this appointment?
Does this mean funding has been approved?
Is this tier 3 or tier 4?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[witchlady]

It's just a group meeting. You'll have a group chat where they will talk to you about the various types of surgeries, the side effects, the good and bad points.
They'll weigh you and you'll talk to the dietician and the bariatric nurses (these last three will be 1-1 chats)
Funding won't be approved until you have been seen a few times, shown that you can lose a little weight or maintain at least. You might need to see a counsellor and once they have seen you a few times, they will decide if you are a good candidate for the surgery. Once they have decided this, then you will be told you are on the list and then you will get a letter or a phonecall a little while later with an op date.
This whole process can take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years.
I had my first meeting, this group education session in 2015 and my surgery is next week