For some people who are seriously obese sometimes surgery seems like the only sensible option. It has been a growing area of science regarding dealing with weight issues and weight loss operations could now be considered the norm. But all this is about to change in Wales where a new system has been brought in to prevent too many people having surgeries that they may not need.
It now seems that if proposals by a Welsh health board are approved, obese people will have to complete a full weight loss programme before they can be considered for operations. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board have also said that requiring smokers to go on courses to help them give up before surgery is considered an option could save over £400,000. The Board has stated that the new regulations would not apply to cancer patients or those in need of emergency treatment.
The board has had to cut its costs by £90m just to break even in the next financial year. This is seen by many as a sign that the NHS actually needs extra funding rather than the different boards having to cut out essential aspects of treatment.
In these new measures any smokers must have been offered, accepted and completed smoking cessation programmes before they can be listed to have surgery. It is estimated that this move could save the board around £437,650 a year.
It is known that around 23 percent of the population of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan are smokers. Between ten percent and 30 percent are considered to be likely to quit if they had smoking cessation support before surgery, the board says.
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