Losing weight can be incredibly difficult for many people. Unfortunately, sometimes the process isn’t as simple as eating your 5 a day or going on a walk. There are a tonne of reasons that someone can become overweight. Statistics show that between 2022 and 2023, 64% of adults were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity. So why does it feel so hard to get help?
What is Weight Loss Surgery?
There are several different forms of weight loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery) available to support people when they are trying to lower their body mass index (BMI).
The surgery alters our stomach to lower the amount of food that can be consumed. There are two main types of bariatric surgery available:
Gastric Bypass Surgery
A gastric bypass works by altering the structure of the stomach. In bypassing some of the existing stomach, a smaller, new ‘stomach pouch’ is created to help patients to reduce the amount of food that they can consume.
Following a gastric bypass, a patient could expect to see weight loss of up to 80% of their excess body weight within two years. Like all weight loss surgery, this is a permanent solution to help patients lose excess weight and as such should be very carefully considered by potential patients.
Gastric Sleeve
Another of the more common bariatric surgeries is a gastric sleeve. A gastric sleeve, also known as a sleeve gastrectomy, works by permanently removing 75-80% of the stomach to help patients lose weight.
Not only does this weight loss procedure aid weight loss by limiting the amount of food that can be consumed by a patient, but it also reduces the production of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. After a sleeve gastrectomy, patients typically lose around 70% of their excess body weight.
Weight Loss Surgery Through The NHS
It is important to know that although it is not impossible to receive weight loss surgery on the NHS, it is highly unlikely. The NHS do wonderful things across the UK, but as we have all heard, cutbacks have been made and it is overwhelmed – unfortunately, what that means is that bariatric surgery has taken a backseat to cancer treatments and other more urgent and time sensitive surgery.
If you are looking to undergo weight loss surgery through the NHS, there are several things that you will need to be conscious of. In order to qualify for a referral for any of the above weight loss procedures you must meet the following criteria:
- A BMI of 40 or more, or a BMI between 35 and 40 with a serious condition that might improve with weight loss, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
- Proof that you have tried and exhausted all other methods of weight loss.
- Agree that you will show up to long-term follow up appointments after surgery.
- Be fit and healthy enough to have surgery under general anaesthesia.
- Show willingness to work with a specialist obesity team.
Following sign-off that you are approved in this sense by your GP, you may then be referred to the next step in the process towards undergoing a bariatric surgery.
Commonly, before you make it onto a surgeons waiting list, you will then have to undergo a 6-12 month intensive weight loss programme. This will ensure that all other weight loss routes have truly been exhausted before surgery is considered. If, after this programme you are still eligible, you will then be referred to a surgeon – where the average wait time is currently 18-24 months.
The NHS are currently only performing an average of 4,500 bariatric surgeries a year, and there has been a drop in the number of weight loss surgeries performed consistently over the last 10 years.
While this data does mean that you can be seen on the NHS, but the chances of everyone who is obese or overweight being seen for bariatric surgery would be 0.01%.
Why Are So Few Surgeries Performed?
Bariatric surgery isn’t just rarely performed by the NHS because of cutbacks and staff shortages, there are a couple of other predominant reasons that you’re unlikely to receive bariatric surgery on the NHS:
Cost
The reality is that bariatric surgery isn’t a cheap procedure for the NHS to perform. Not only is there lots of support required prior to the procedure, but the cost of performing the procedure and the support following also incurs additional cost. For people who aren’t experiencing other illness or disease that require medication due to obesity, it is unlikely that the NHS will see the benefit of this cost.
Risk of Failure
Arguably, the most important part of bariatric surgery is not the surgery itself, but rather the aftercare that patients receive after the procedure. It is this that will teach a patient healthier lifestyle habits, how to care for their digestive system and adopt a new diet. It is the aftercare that extends past the recovery time after surgery that really helps patients to lose weight. Because of a lack of aftercare, some resources suggest that the risk of weight regain after surgery can be as high as 60%.
Private Weight Loss Surgery
If you are seriously considering bariatric surgery or even a gastric balloon, and believe that you are eligible, then going private for weight loss surgery might be a far more reasonable option than going through the NHS.
There are several reasons that choosing to go privately might prove to be more beneficial:
Shorter Wait Times
At Allure Weightloss, you don’t have the same wait times that you have with the NHS. Our wait times range across weeks rather than years. Our team know how frustrating sitting on a waiting list can be and strive to make sure that your journey is as seamless as possible.
To account for different safety factors, each of our procedures has different wait times from booking to the procedure taking place. For example, our bariatric procedures require patients to take on a liver shrinking diet for 2-3 weeks prior to the procedure taking place so they can’t be immediate, but can still take place far quicker than if they were done on the NHS.
Our wait times start from:
| Gastric Bypass | From 3-4 weeks |
| Gastric Sleeve | From 3-4 weeks |
| Gastic Balloons | From 1-2 weeks |
Bariatric Experts
Our team are experts in their field, and are on hand to offer advice. Following a consultation, they will be able to provide you with their advice on the best approach to your care. For example, you may have come to us for a mini gastric bypass, but our team might think that the less invasive and non-permanent route of a gastric balloon is better suited to meet your needs.
Celebrated Aftercare
At Allure, we are known and celebrated for our aftercare programme. Our bariatric nurses are on hand to make sure everything about your surgery goes as well as possible, and following this you will also have regular check ins with your HCPC registered dietitian. They will be able to teach you everything about the size of portions you should be consuming, to expert diet advice that will help you develop healthier habits and set you up on a journey of sustainable weight loss.
We also offer weight counselling. Our reasons for weight gain are often varied and deeper than simply eating the wrong things. To help us work through mental health problems that may have contributed to weight gain, it often helps to talk our issues through. Our specialist weight counsellor is on hand to provide expert advice and guidance to set you up on the journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Reduce Weight Related Medical Conditions
Weight loss has been shown to help reverse a range of health conditions, from type 2 diabetes to sleep apnoea. It can even help with joint pain and acid reflux. Often, for people to improve their general health, they need a little extra help and undergoing a weight loss procedure can do a wealth of good for many people.
Interested In Weight Loss Surgery?
If you’re interested in a weight loss procedure and want to avoid the NHS wait times, then get in touch with our team today, we’ll happily discuss your options with you and set you up on a journey to weight loss success.
