‘We need to get a grip on obesity’
A TOP surgeon has warned the Government needs to get a grip on obesity before it bankrupts the NHS.
Specialists Chris Pring says action needs to be taken now to treat morbidly overweight patients to cut back on the costs of treating the long-term health problems they will develop.
Mr. Pring said the cost of paying out now for gastric surgery would be recouped in most cases within three years. He said: “Having surgery like this is not just about losing weight it is about improving health.” Mr. Pring, who is based at St. Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, spoke following the publication of a report which predicts obesity will cost the health service £20 billion a year by 2025.
He said: “When you are treating people who are morbidly obese, they have conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis and blood pressure. “If the weight is not dealt with then these patients will continue to need expensive treatment for years to come. “Having an operation that will lead to them losing weight can remove these problems in the majority of cases within a relatively short period of time. “This obviously then saves the NHS money in the long term. As well as the financial side, there is the obvious benefit to the patient in terms of their health and quality of life. “The problem is that authorities are wary of spending so much in one go, especially at a time when the organization is supposed to be trying to save money.
“It is too easy to simply say that obesity is all the individual’s fault and therefore don’t spend the money but as a society we are getting fatter and fatter and we need to tackle this straight on.”
Latest figures show there are an estimated 114,697 people classed as obese in Sussex compared with 109,620 the year before.
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