Weight Loss Surgery Could Save Millions

A new report on weight loss surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) suggests that the controversial operation could pay for itself in a year. The calculation in the report suggests that severely obese patients who had the operation would be able to return to work more quickly and start paying taxes, thus both saving the cost of benefits payments and earning for the exchequer. Such savings and the new income generated would quickly surpass the £8,000 cost of the operation.

The RCS report supports a recent article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) about which we commented in the UK News Reporter. The BMJ article highlighted an eightfold increase in this type of surgery. It comes out clearly in favour of more funds being made available for more operations of this type to be carried out so as to save the economy money in the longer term.

Figures from the Office of National Economics quoted in the report show that reducing the size of the stomachs of a quarter of obese patients would cost the NHS £546 million. But the NHS would save £104 million over the next 3 years as the patients’ health improved and, over the same period, the benefits bill would fall by £450 million, a net saving of £8 million over the shorter period.

St George’s Hospital consultant surgeon, Marcus Reddy commented: “In the short term it is new expenditure. But, after surgery, patients’ diabetes is resolved, their medication reduced and they’re not attending hospital so frequently. It’s staggering.”

But what of patients who have the operation? Anthony Colyer lost 6 stone after having the operation a year ago. He believes the NHS should carry out more operations like his. He has cut down from 14 pills a day for his medical conditions to just a single tablet. He said: “I don’t go to my doctors as often. I don’t expect to need any hip operations or knee operations because riding my bicycle tells me all my joints are good. I don’t get any aches. So I think surgery is incredibly important.”

The current waiting list for obesity operations on the NHS is about 240,000. Last year only 3,600 such operations were performed.

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