Call for more weight loss support to deter foreign treatment

More weight loss surgery should be offered on the NHS to deter people from travelling abroad for treatment, campaigners have said.

An inquest in Caernarfon on Monday heard a mother from Bangor, Gwynedd, bled to death after gastric sleeve surgery complications in Turkey.

Patients who have paid privately for similar treatments are now calling for the NHS in Wales to be more proactive and for better understanding of conditions that lead to obesity.

However, the Welsh Government said that surgery like this is only considered “for sever and complex obesity”.

After years of struggling to lose weight, Bethan Antur, 59, from Llanuwchllyn in Gwynedd decided in 2023 to pay privately for weight loss surgery in the UK.

Speaking to Newyddion S4C, she said her own GP encouraged her to have a gastric bypass, but stressed getting the operation on the NHS would be extremely difficulty due to a strict criteria.

“Since I was 15 years old, I feel like I’ve been on some kind of diet," said Bethan.

Over a period of decades her self-confidence “deteriorated”, she added, saying: "There were things I refused to do, like going to certain places because I didn’t feel comfortable in myself."

After paying privately, Bethan had gastric sleeve surgery which limits the size of the stomach.

“Physically, I’m now not on any type of medication and mentally I've come back to who I really am," she said.

"Issues around food and eating… people don’t understand."

She is now calling on the Welsh government and the Welsh NHS to offer similar surgeries to deter people from travelling abroad for weight loss surgery.

Janet Lynne Savage, 54, from Bangor suffered damage to one of her main arteries during the procedure, going into cardiac arrest.

The mother-of-two went to Turkey for her weight-loss operation.

Iestyn Owen is from Llanrug, in Gwynedd, but now lives in Ireland.

After losing 11 stone, he wanted surgery to get rid of excess skin on his stomach.

But facing long waiting times, he decided to pay privately for surgery in Turkey at a cost of £5,000 as opposed to the £15,000 quoted in the UK.

“Obviously I would have liked to have the surgery closer to home," Iestyn said.

“I just didn’t want to feel like a drain on the NHS but I would like if more surgery was available closer to home."

Bethan Antur said the NHS should look at surgery like this as a preventative method which could save the NHS money in the long term.

“We need a lot more understanding and empathy around obesity because it’s really not an easy subject," she said.

The Welsh government said weight loss surgery is “normally only considered for people with severe and complex obesity”.

“It is commissioned by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee to ensure fair and equitable access to surgery services," a spokesperson said.

They “urged anyone considering private healthcare to carry out thorough research before undergoing treatment”.