Post Bariatric (weight loss) Posted or Updated on 28 Jun 2024

Many people are disappointed with wait times and availability of NHS weight loss treatments. There are various clinics providing access to private, surgical treatments in the UK and overseas. The NHS has no way of ensuring these treatments are safe, individually suitable or performed by reputable practitioners. Any private course of treatment should include the whole package, i.e., pre-assessment and counselling, surgery and follow up. For weight loss surgery, this is recommended for at least 2 years following surgery. This is to ensure the surgery has no complications and that your weight loss and nutrition is achieved and maintained safely.

Private, non-NHS providers often state a longer list of monitoring than is strictly necessary or available to NHS patients, even for NHS bariatric surgery. Endoscopes, ultrasounds, and several blood tests would fit into this category. This means, that even if the NHS were to take on post-operative care following your surgery, it would be at a level determined by the NHS.

We are being approached regularly to provide follow up for surgeries which have taken place in the private sector or abroad. As GPs we have neither the knowledge nor time to do this follow up. We have therefore produced this document (DOCX, 27KB) to be clear about what we will do and what we will not do.