Obesity Op Ban Row
November 24th 2005
Senior doctors in the county of Suffolk have been defending their plans to prevent obese people from having some operations.
Doctors in the East Suffolk area are said to have agreed to introduce a series of conditions - or thresholds - that patients must meet before they can undergo common procedures.
The conditions apply to grommets for children as well as varicose veins or hip operations.
The restrictions have been introduced because of "pressing financial problems" afflicting health services in the district.
The guidelines require a patient to reach a body mass index of less than 30 before surgery can take place.
The figure represents a person six foot tall carrying 16 stone in weight or a person of five foot weighing 11.5 stones.
The proposals were condemned by some campaign groups.
Dr David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said a BMI of 30 was too low - and would affect about a quarter of the population.
He said: "I think that the trusts would be better off treating obesity or getting people to lose weight rather than introducing a blanket ban."
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