NHS to double spend on obesity surgery

A FUNDING boost will see more people undergoing NHS weight-loss surgery to help tackle the nation’s obesity epidemic. The budget for bariatric surgery operations, such as gastric banding or stomach stapling, is forecast to almost double to £500,000 this year. The extra cash could also help establish the nation’s first specialist morbid obesity service, operating out of hospitals in Bridgend and Swansea.

By comparison, £520,000 has been spent on weight loss surgery for Welsh patients over the past two years and most of the operations have been carried out in either Bristol or Salford.