A recent cost analysis published this month has demonstrated the enormous financial burden obesity is having on the NHS in terms of specialist and general equipment required in NHS hospitals and GP surgeries. More than 30,000 people will die this year from obesity and its related problems. However, as well as this terrible personal cost, there is a ballooning cost to the NHS in terms of supplying super-size X-ray scanners, specialist beds, reinforced operating tables, stronger hoists and over-sized wheelchairs for example.

A standard wheelchair costs £300-400 whilst a wide (Bariatric) version can cost £1,500. Standard hospital beds usually can take up to 25 stone. On average, it has been shown that each hospital has spent £600,000 on specialist equipment (this figure has doubled in 3 years).

Obese women have been shown to be more likely to need caeserian sections due to higher risk of pre-eclampsia, which causes high blood pressure (hypertension) in a group where blood pressure is often already raised. 40% of obese women are shown to have sections compared to the national UK average of 23%. This carries an additional cost in terms of reinforced theatre tables, along with other items.

It is estimated that the overweight and obese make up 23% of the current NHS drugs bill. What is important to note is that drugs used to help patients lose weight – Orlistat and Sibutramine – make up a fraction of this. The bulk of the costs are down to drugs used to treat the obesity co-morbidities such as type 2 Diabetes, asthma, heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure) and some forms of cancer. Obesity increases the number of drugs someone has to take by more than 50%. A recent study showed that for women with a BMI of 20 the annual drug spend was £62, for a man £50, but if you’re obese it’s £111 for women and £115 for men.

A recent published study showed that obese patients were 64% more likely to visit their GP than normal weight patients, and treating obesity and its co-morbidities constituted 33% of primary care (GP) work.

There were approximately 6 bariatric surgeons in the UK 10 years ago, compared to about 60 now. However, there are still several areas of the UK offering little or no obesity surgery, with only 1-2% of NHS patients eligible for weight loss surgery such as gastric band or gastric bypass getting funding for it.

Vita Clinics continues to work alongside the NHS to improve access to and funding for proven weight management treatments and provide expert bariatric surgeons to train existing NHS surgeons to perform obesity surgery safely.