National Assembly committee calls for more specialist obesity support services across Wales
21 May 2014
A National Assembly Committee has found that only one out of Wales’s seven local health boards has sufficient ‘Level Three’ specialist services in place for obese people.
The inquiry by the Health and Social Care Committee concluded that the Welsh Government’s All Wales Obesity Pathway
is appropriately focused on tackling obesity but it needs to be fully implemented nationwide to give all patients consistent, high quality services which can help them with lifestyle, exercise and dietary regimes.
Six out of ten adults in Wales were classed as overweight or obese in 2012, according to the Welsh Health Data Survey. Almost a quarter of all adults fall into the obese category. It is also a problem among Welsh children with more than a third of under 16s classed as overweight or obese.
It is estimated that obesity costs the Welsh NHS £73 million per year with it contributing to conditions such as depression, diabetes, some cancers, high blood pressure and sleep apnoea.
“The Welsh Government’s All Wales Obesity Pathway
is a laudable and comprehensive strategic document which unfortunately hasn’t been fully implemented across Wales,” said David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
“That only one, out of seven local health boards in Wales, has full specialist ‘Level Three’ obesity support services in place is clearly concerning, and we urge the Welsh Government to set out a timescale for the others to follow suit.
“Sufficient provision of specialist dietary, physical, and behavioural support is so important in order to avoid the invasive and drastic option of surgery, which can lead to long-term consequences as well as benefits for patients. In our view surgery should only be seen as a last resort.
“As well as the social, psychological and economic impact of obesity on the individual, it is costing our health services millions every year and figures show it is becoming a serious problem among our children as well.
“It is absolutely vital that we provide as much support as we can in addressing this growing problem and we hope the Welsh Government will take on board our findings.”
The Committee makes eight recommendations in its report including:
That the Welsh Government work with Local Health Boards to provide a clear outline of the actions that will be taken to implement the All Wales Obesity Pathway fully, and provide details of the associated timescales;
That the Welsh Government provide assurances that it will require forthcoming Local Health Board plans and the all-Wales Level 3 service specification to include measures to address the lack of multi-disciplinary service provision in Wales within the next 12 months; and
That the Welsh Government develop and publish a monitoring and evaluation framework for bariatric services in Wales, which also indicates lines of accountability, to measure the consistency and effectiveness of the referral pathway for overweight and obese patients to move up and down the relevant tiers of support.
Report: The availability of bariatric services