NHS England and NHS Improvement have launched a weight management enhanced service to encourage primary care to engage with patients living with obesity about their weight.
Description
Despite obesity being a recognised risk factor for the development of several long-term conditions and serious illness with Covid-19, there is evidence that the numbers of people identified by general practice as living with obesity have fallen during the pandemic.
The weight management enhanced service aims to:
- Support practices to develop and implement a proactive approach to the identification of patients living with obesity. For the purpose of this enhanced service obesity is defined as a BMI ≥ 30 or ≥ 27.5 for those of Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups
- Support practices to engage with individual patients living with obesity and to refer patients who are ready to make behavioural changes to appropriate weight management programmes.
Please refer to the specification for the full requirements of the service and details of payment.
Summary of components
Component 1: Developing a Supportive Environment
1. Education & Training: GP practices must assure themselves that practice and PCN staff involved in referral and signposting conversations have the necessary skills and training on conversational approaches to lifestyle and weight management.
2. Development of a practice-based approach to the identification and support of people living with obesity
3. Review and maintenance of the GP Practice Obesity Register
Component 2: Patient support and referral
4. For individual patients recorded on the QOF Obesity Register as of 31 March 2021 and those identified as living with obesity during the service period, the GP practice should make an individual assessment of patient readiness to engage with weight management services. All referrals to Weight Management Services must be made by suitably trained and competent GP practice or Primary care Network (PCN) healthcare professionals.
Weight management services
The following weight management services are available across NCL.
- Full service details can be found on individual GP website pages.
- For borough-level summary weight-management infographics, see downloads (right).
NCL
Barnet
Camden & Islington
Islington
Haringey
Haringey & Islington
Bariatric Surgery
