Obesity: Surgery

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on regional variation in the provision of weight loss surgery for obese people; and if he will instruct Clinical Commissioning Groups to work with independent providers to improve provision of that service during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

The Department does not hold data on the provision of weight loss surgery. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning complex obesity services for adults, which include all bariatric surgical procedures and the associated care.

There has been no central assessment or discussions with CCGs on the provision of bariatric services for obese people in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Through ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ we are delivering a range of measures on weight management, including expanding weight management services to help more people get the support they need and making conversations about weight in primary care the norm. Further details about these measures will be available shortly.

Reticulating Splines