Obese patients face being sent to back of surgery queue
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/06/obese-patients-to-be-sent-to-back-of-surgery-queue/
by ParkedUpWithCoffee
Obese patients face being sent to back of surgery queue
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/06/obese-patients-to-be-sent-to-back-of-surgery-queue/
by ParkedUpWithCoffee
37 comments
Jesus Christ. They pay their taxes don’t they, why do this punitive shit?
If you don’t help yourself, don’t expect others to help you.
Seems counterproductive on the weight loss surgery queue.
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The article states that patients will only be able to have the surgery if they are “fit to proceed” which is how it has always been. Obesity is a medical issue and if it makes the surgery dangerous then of course they can’t have the surgery – it happens for people with high cholesterol too.
My sister who is, or rather was, morbidly obese was told the same, but the consultant allowed her to not do the 12 week program on “mental health” grounds.
Always a way around it, I am afraid to say. So just a headline for headlines sake really
They’ll be put on ozempec till they slim down. Increased health risks if they don’t and no surgeon would cut through a chronically obese person.
I’m waiting for lung volume reduction for emphysema and have had to stop smoking.this makes sense to me or its just a waste of time, if I carried on smoking I’d be back to square one in no time.
Looking at the graph in the article, it seems that the income from taxes on smoking and drinking far outweighs the cost to the NHS from related illnesses.
I wonder how long it’ll be before someone finds a way to tax the obese? While some cry “Nanny State!”, I do think there should be some nudges away from convenience and fast foods offered up by the many delivery apps, which often send multiple alerts to the user each day reminding them that such-and-such is offering 10 winds for 99p or whatever the offer is, and instead try to get the country eating healthier.
The misleading headline thing is getting ever more tiresome. It is the Telegraph so, quelle surprise.
Their interpretation is that obese people are going to the back of the queue.
In fact what is being proposed is actually a positive thing; patients who are not fit for surgery (one such reason might be due to being overweight) are going to be kept on the waiting list whereas – and here’s the key bit – **currently they get discharged back to their GP who would need to make another referral, thus actually costing more time.**
The next key bit of information is that, as far as elective surgery is concerned, surgeons and anaesthetists always have and always will be entitled to decline to operate on you if they think your chances of being killed or maimed by the operation are higher than the benefits to you of successful surgery. **Nothing has changed.** If you weigh 150kg, no rational surgeon is going to give you a knee replacement because you won’t be able to rehab and you’ll probably end up completely disabled (that’s if you survive the anaesthetic, which you are at far greater risk of not doing than if you weighed less).
The final key bit is that they’re going to try to support people in improving their fitness for surgery whilst they “send them to the back of the queue” which seems, err, completely sensible, does it not?
This country’s culture is slowly turning into: ‘Do what you want; someone else will sort it out. But if they don’t, it’s anyone else’s fault but mine.’
I’m not sure how people are confused with this, obesity is one hell of a large risk factor in surgery.
Has anyone seen a knee surgery on a obese person?
Just the cut itself is massive because they have to stretch the skin so much just to even see the bone.
It takes twice as long, sometimes longer. So that’s a couple of surgical slots taken.
More risk with anaesthetics.
Do they need a bariatric bed? Probably. Special ward and care needed
Will not be weight bearing for longer, so another hospital bed taken for longer.
Any complications, some can’t fit safely in CT/MRI, so they stay longer again because no one knows what’s going on.
In about the same time, you could have done several replacements already. Cutting down your waiting list.
So if, for instance, you need a new hip and can’t exercise, you won’t be considered for a new hip until such time as you’ve starved yourself slim enough. Hmm .
culturally and societally we have a poor relationship with food. too many people opt for the convenience and tastiness of constant takeaways, kebabs, uber eats delivery – anything really than taking the time to learn how to cook healthy meals from whole foods at home. unless you have a medical condition that makes you gain weight or weight loss difficult you’ll find my sympathy vanishingly thin. at the end of the day you are simply destroying yourself and robbing yourself of a healthy fulfilling life.
A friend needed a keyhole hysterectomy. She was put on ozempic for 12 weeks to reduce stomach fat in order to make the surgery and recovery easier. She lost 27lb during that 12 weeks and underwent the surgery successfully.
The NHS have been asking patients to get fit for surgery for a long time, the new weight loss drugs make this even easier for people.
Oh look it’s the telegraph so I just assume it’s utter bs then… Literally less trustworthy than the mail at this point.
This pour patient who urgently needs face surgery. Cruel.
I love the picture, “if you’ll look at my chart you can see your a fatty fat fat fuck.”
Good. We tax and punish every other vice. The eating habits of this country are pretty disgusting anyway.
and so starts a 2 tier health system. You either fight for the NHS, or we might as well kill a health care CEO on the streets of London, and get it the long drawn process over with.
Why is it thr telegraph and daily mail is constantly posted here.
Can we get something better?
Surgery only takes place if they think it has a good chance of success. Being obese makes it more complicated. It also hinders recovery. If your weight reduces your chances of the operation being successful then they have to make a decision. They don’t want you to die.
The only NHS post I’ve seen since NHS reforms were announced this week
You’re getting closer to the US health system every day
Good. Obesity is a health issue. There are surgeries that cannot be performed on obese people, quite often in relation to keeping the airway open. People can’t just yell “fatphobia” when some poor doctor has the temerity to point out a patient is obese.
You know its bad rage-bait when even this sub knows it
I have a family member who is severely obese because of medical steriod use and a few medical conditions that make weightliss harder. But they need major surgery.
Was told to ‘lose weight’ but was not told how much or by when which was a bit frustrating for them.
But when she had the pre-surgery check up, they said that all her tests were good, and they were happy with her progress and surgery is booked in for a few weeks time.
Just wanted to let people know that it’s not that they are just refusing surgery to obese patients. There is a process, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to reduce your risk in surgery.
>Obese patients face being sent to back of surgery queue
It’s going to be a long walk to the back of that queue. Might help with the obesity.
Surely being assessed as fit for surgery to proceed is a logical step. Operations can be life threatening if the patient isn’t in a fit condition to have the operation.
From the look of it they’re helping people loose weight so I don’t see the issue. As someone going through my own weight loss journey having NHS support would be very beneficial to those who need it.
So obese people need to lose weight to be fit for surgery?
Sounds fine to me. Safe too….
Maybe now ppl with come to terms with the fact that being obese is a health issue. It’s not healthy no matter how much you cope.
You don’t deserve to be relentlessly bullied for it or whatever but let’s cut the shit.
Obesity is a aggravating factor in almost all health conditions and quality of life issues, but you still get people saying “healthy at every size!”
Imagine you had a group advocating for the health benefits of drinking or smoking?
Absolutely a rage-bait article with a particularly rage-bait headline. From the Torygraph. Who knew…
Bottom line: if you’re not fit for your elective surgery then it’s not happening — and there’s really nothing new in that!
Well, duh. If you *weren’t* fit for an anaesthetic and surgery then, just maybe, going ahead is actually *not* the best idea…? I’d be far more worried if people did want to plough ahead in those circumstances.
But it’s not just about the operation, it’s about making a good recovery from the operation and getting back to a better quality of life afterwards. If there are problems that would increase the risk of complications (either at the time or later in the recovery and rehabilitation process) then far, far better to identify than and help patients to address those issues *before* undertaking surgery.
The purpose here is *not* simply to punt people to the “back of the queue” but to identify the problems individual patients face and to deliberately put in place systems to help them *get fit* for their anaesthetic and operation so that it *can* safely go ahead!
I used to work in the operating theatres and many surgeons would refuse to.operate on obese patients unless it was absolutely vital. Not only is there a risk due to the anaesthetic and the immediate post-op recoverybut healing can affected as well (longer healing time, dvt risk, infection risk etc). Additionally, particularly in orthopaedics, many of the issues were as a result of the patients weight and could be eased as a result of losing weight. It6been going on for many years.
I’ve become obese and getting worse. My BMI is over 135 and my blood tests aren’t good. My GP got worried so he gave me a referral for injection. Like Mojarro. The referral was rejected without reason.
It’ll be a far higher custody NHS if my condition worsen and I’ve become diabetic or other medication and then get the injection done anyways for a long period of time than if I got it now .
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