Obesity is detrimental to health, life limiting and an increasing problem within the population.
Within Surrey alone there are estimated to be over 150,000 obese individuals. It is a long term condition which medically responds to lifestyle changes. The challenge is to embed and anchor these changes in people's lives in a way that fits their individual needs and circumstances.
We are delighted to strengthen the preoperative component of our existing Bariatric service by offering patients from Surrey and the surrounding counties individually targeted, specialist, non-surgical weight loss support. This locally based service prevents the need for patients to travel further afield to access similar services such as in London or the South Coast and conforms to NHS Commissioning Board requirements for Bariatric surgery.
The programme will be personalised to the individual patient and consist of:
- a dietary assessment and support program;
- a physical activity goal setting and activity plan;
- a medical evaluation with implementation of appropriate risk modifications;
- an assessment of psychological issues relevant to success of the program and an assessment of the patients engagement in the program.
The individual assessments will be supported by group based activities of an educational dietetic weight management program targeted to support both the dietetic and psychological aspects of weight loss.
Patients will be eligible for the initial one-stop specialist obesity clinic if they meet the referral criteria of BMI>40kg/m2 or a BMI>35kg/m2 with significant other diseases.On completion of the programme each patient will be reviewed for success against their agreed targets for the weight loss program following which they will either be discharged or recommended for further intervention consistent with local and national guidelines.
We look forward to helping people from our local community to facilitate lifestyle changes that will be beneficial to weight loss and health and enable them to take the first steps towards possible bariatric surgery.
If you have any questions about the service please do not hesitate to contact the Specialist Weight Management Service (SWMS) at
To refer patients to the service please refer to the Bariatric Service, c/o Bariatric Service Coordinator, Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
For more information on the service, please visit our website at: https://ashfordstpeters.net/bariatrics/.
