Hospitals & services

Referrals

A referral can be made if patients meet the criteria under the ‘who is eligible for surgery’ section. If a patient does not meet these criteria, but is felt that surgery is necessary, then please contact the service.

Referrals from Tier 3, local weight management services -these should be sent on with a copy of the tier 3 report to:

Consultant Surgeons
First Floor, Old Nurses Home
Northern General Hospital
Herries Road
Sheffield
S5 7AU

Referrals from GPs can only be accepted if sent electronically via the Choose and Book service. Any paper referrals received from GPs will be returned.

Current NICE recommendations state that the following criteria need to be met:

  • A Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 35kg/m2 with obesity-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea or arthritis, which could be improved by weight loss
  • A BMI of greater than 40kg/m2 with or without obesity-related conditions
  • There must be evidence of previous attempts at weight loss
  • Patients with a BMI of 35-50kg/m2 must have attended a tier 3 weight loss programme for a minimum of 12 months
  • Prior to referral (or a minimum of 6 months if BMI is greater than 50kg/m2)
  • Patients must be fit for anaesthesia and surgery
  • Patients must agree to commit to a two year follow up with the Sheffield Bariatric Surgery Service. After this time patients are expected to have lifelong follow up with their General Practitioner (GP) with an annual micronutrient blood check

If the referral criteria are met, patients are invited to attend a pre-operative group session. This is a session led by the Specialist Nurse and Specialist/Senior Dietitian where patients will be educated on the different types of surgery offered, along with risks and benefits. Information will also be provided regarding the pre-operative diet, diet after surgery, and other changes that need to be made.

At the end of this session, patients will be asked to make a decision as to whether they wish to go ahead with weight loss surgery or whether they would like to think about it further. If the patient would like to proceed, an appointment will be made to meet their Consultant Surgeon. If more time is needed before a decision is made then patients have 12 weeks before a decision needs to be made.A clinical psychologist is also available to help patients consider the potential suitability of bariatric surgery for them.

At a patient’s first appointment with their Consultant Surgeon, there will be a discussion as to which surgery will best suit the patient’s needs. Baseline micronutrient bloods will be taken and patients will need to complete a sleep questionnaire. Other tests may need to be performed depending on individual circumstances; this can be discussed further with the Consultant Surgeon. Patients should bear in mind that if weight is gained between being referred and meeting their Consultant Surgeon, it is likely that they will be asked to lose weight before a decision to operate is made. Any weight loss prior to surgery is seen as beneficial in that it shows a patient’s commitment to surgery and also lowers surgical and anaesthetic risks.

If you have any queries about bariatric surgery or on referring patients please contact a secretary on 0114 3052411

Clinical Nurse Specialist and Dietitians for Bariatric Surgery – sth.bariatricteam@nhs.net

This service is available at the following Hospitals:

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