Weight management
Obesity is a significant problem across the country. While rates of obesity in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) reflect the national average, it still has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of local people.
We have a number of different services available in BSW to support people to manage their weight and to provide more intensive support for those living with obesity. You can find out more about the services available and the criteria for accessing them using the links below.
We are currently working on making some changes and improvements to our weight management services and want to hear from local people about this. Use the link below to share your views.
https://bsw.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/which-nhs-service-should-i-use/weight-management-services-in-bsw/
FAQ's
Weight management services is a term that refers to a wide range of support for people to help them maintain a healthy weight or reduce their weight if they are overweight or obese. These services can range from online resources available to everyone, through to specialist services provided by hospital teams of health professionals that offer intensive support.
You can find out more about the weight management services available in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire here.
Our current services were designed at a time when rates of obesity were lower and before the advent of new weight loss treatments. When our current services were established, there was no clear eligibility criteria set either to help doctors and other healthcare professionals know which service to refer people to.
Over recent years increasing numbers of patients have been referred to our specialist weight management services, provided by Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The waiting lists for these specialist services are long and there isn’t enough capacity to see everyone in a timely way.
The increase in referrals for weight management services is in part due to rising rates of obesity and also because of newly available weight loss drugs, semaglutide (Wegovy ®) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro®). These drugs can be prescribed by the NHS to a clearly defined group of patients who meet nationally set eligibility criteria (see the NHS England website for further details).
In light of the growing waiting list and the availability of new drug treatments that can be prescribed by GPs, we have reviewed some of our weight management referral and eligibility criteria to ensure they reflect the nationally set guidance.
We already have arrangements in place so that GPs across BSW can prescribe tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) to patients who meet the national eligibility criteria.
We have also updated our arrangement with Oviva (our online specialist weight management service) to reflect national guidance so that we ensure that people with the greatest need are prioritised for treatment.
In addition, we have established referral criteria for our specialist weight management service provided by hospitals to reflect the fact GPs can now prescribe tirzepatide (Mounjaro®).
Our approach in BSW is in line with recommendations from the Society for Endocrinology and the Obesity Management Collaborative UK, as well as the approach taken by other Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across the country.
We are also carrying out a review of the patients who are currently on the waiting list for our specialist weight management service to determine if this is still right for them, according to the most recent national guidance and availability of treatment in primary care.
Once the audit of the current waiting list is completed, we will be writing to patients to let them know what will happen next. Further details on this will be shared over the coming weeks.
We have seen an increase in referrals to our online specialist weight management service, provided by a company called Oviva. Oviva can prescribe semaglutide (Wegovy®), however Oviva is not able to offer tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) as this must be prescribed along with face-to-face support, and Oviva is an online only service.
Looking further ahead, the acute hospital trusts in BSW, as part of the BSW Hospitals Group, are developing a proposal on the future of specialist weight management services. This proposal is being developed alongside colleagues working in our three local councils, to ensure we provide a joined-up service that also aims to address the wider causes of obesity. This proposal will be used as the basis for funding application for the opportunity to receive a share of £85m for obesity funding innovations. To be successful in our application we will need to develop an innovative community and primary care-based weight management service.
To support our ongoing work to ensure that weight management services best meet the needs of local people, and to support the development of the application for funding, we have begun a period of engagement with past and current patients, the public and stakeholders to seek views. You can find out more about how to get involved and share your views here.