GPs in the UK could soon get paid to refer obese patients for weight management classes, a new report has revealed.
The report, published by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and seen by Pulse, lays out a draft proposal for a new referral system.
According to Pulse, the NICE report said it ‘aims to increase the proportion of people referred to digital and non-digital weight management programmes by general practice when they have been identified as obese based on their BMI measurement.’
The report also indicates that patients with hypertension or diabetes should be offered further support from GPs.
It added: “Patients with hypertension or diabetes may experience additional benefits from attaining and maintaining a healthy weight and patients should be given a targeted offer of support.”
The ‘weight management advice’ would include discussions about the patient’s weight, as well as advice on diet and exercise.
While the system will now be subject to negotiation between NHS England and the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, GPs have raised initial concerns.
Speaking to Pulse, Dr Stephanie de Giorgio, a GP based in Kent, warned that in some areas, up to 60% of patients are obese.
This means that GPs in those areas could be faced with a huge amount of additional work on top of their every day consulations.
She said: “There aren't the services to send them to, so that's not possible without massive investment when you think of the number of patients this is going to involve.
“At the moment, weight management services are incredibly patchy and for the most part of very little value.
“We know that only 5% of people who have obesity will lose weight and maintain that weight loss ever. So unless significant input is put into effective weight management - which includes psychology, proper nutritional information, obesity medicine and bariatric surgery - then there is really very little point in doing any of this.”
The consultation will end at on 15 July 2020.
