NHS England has launched a raft of new weight management services to help both adults and children, as part of the government’s drive to tackle obesity.
Launched on 1 July, the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme will offer free online support via GP and primary care team referrals for adults living with obesity, who also have a diagnosis of either diabetes, high blood pressure or both, to help manage their weight and improve their health. The programme is being supported £12 million of government funding,
The government is also providing £30 million of new funding to councils across England to roll out expanded management services for adults living with obesity. Services can be delivered face to face, remotely or digitally. With 98 per cent of councils accepting the funding, NHS England said that individuals will be able to sign up for this service via their primary care services or in some areas, refer themselves via their local authority.
In most areas, services will include 12-week sessions, with dietary advice, physical activity guidance and support to help people start and maintain healthier habits.
An additional £4.3 million of new funding has also been allocated to 11 local authorities to support the expansion of child weight management services from 2021 to 2022. They will trial new ways to improve access to services for up to 6,000 children identified as living with excess weight or obesity.
Commenting on the new services, Public Health Minister Jo Churchill said: “It’s really important we help people access services that are convenient for them and tailored to their needs. By expanding virtual and face-to-face weight management support across the country, we’re bringing improved health and wellbeing closer to home.”
Almost two-thirds of adults in England are living with excess weight or obesity, and one in three children living with overweight or obesity leave primary school — obesity-related illnesses cost the NHS £6 billion a year. The government’s Office for Health Promotion, set to fully launch later this year, will lead efforts nationally to help people manage their health and wellbeing.
However, the British Medical Associaton (BMA) has previously criticised the new enhanced service (ES) for general practice in England, saying that it is "fundamentally flawed, will have little to no impact in tackling the problem, and will present significant rise in workload at a time when practices are at breaking point".
Dr Richard Vautrey, BMA GP committee chair, said: “Obesity can have a devastating impact on people, their health and ultimately their way of life, and GPs want to be able to support their patients in the best way possible. However, this ES is not the right way to do it. It is clinically flawed, overly bureaucratic and shows a lack of trust in GPs and their teams to do what is best for patients. It tries to micromanage practices and creates a laborious tick-box exercise, the very limited funding for which does not match up with the work involved, with a cap on funding that could limit people who could benefit from it."
