Long waiting lists for obesity healthcare in Ireland are pushing patients towards ‘unthinkably’ risky treatments abroad, a leading specialist has warned.
Waiting lists for obesity can be up to five years long – with the treatments available often very expensive.
As a result, some patients are opting to travel abroad for gastric sleeve surgeries.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, National Clinical Lead for Obesity Dr Donal O’Shea described the phenomenon of people seeking treatment abroad as a “major problem”.
“It’s understandable why people would look for treatment in that space because, the surgery is such a good treatment for people who need it,” he said.
“The issue is that there are people going abroad who don’t need it, who wouldn’t benefit from it in medical terms - they don’t have severe and complex obesity.
“There are people going to, effectively, almost a warehouse facility; we’re aware of people having their surgery done at 10.30PM on a Sunday night in a warehouse facility.
“It’s unthinkable that people would take that risk and that’s why we have to stand up the services in Ireland, so that we’re doing it in line with international best practice.”
Dr. Donal OShea, our @HSELive
Clinical Lead for Obesity, outlines the clear message and difference between prevention and treatment when it comes to obesity, during the break at our #ObesityLetsTalk22 Event. pic.twitter.com/HQ8znpBXpf— HSE Health & Wellbeing (@HsehealthW) October 6, 2022
Dr O’Shea said waiting lists are currently “unacceptably long”, warning that the health service has only recently started to take obesity seriously as a condition.
“We started our obesity service in 2004 without proper funding,” he said.
“The first proper funding for obesity treatment in Ireland came in December 2022 and in 2023, we had more activity, more surgeries, more people seen in services living with obesity than ever before.
“If you have a historical underfunding of treating a disease, you are going to have ridiculous, unacceptable waiting lists - which is what we have at the moment.”
Funding
In Budget 2022, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced funding for an Obesity Policy and Implementation Plan and Dr O’Shea said the health service now has to build on that momentum.
He cites the HSE’s recruitment freeze as a particular impediment to treating patients, noting the health service had been hoping to hire new dieticians.
“That’s stalled because of the recruitment embargo and some of the inpatient surgical activity is elective and may not be considered frontline,” he said.
“Given the historical underfunding for obesity treatment, I think the obesity services should be considered in the same category as frontline.
“We had a meeting with [HSE CEO] Bernard Gloster before Christmas where we made that point to him and he’s very supportive of the full development of obesity services but he doesn’t hold the specific purse strings to say, ‘Release that funding.’”
Ireland is one of the heaviest countries in Europe, with 60% of adults overweight or obese.
For people looking to lose weight, the HSE can refer them to a free 12 month course run by dieticians under the Best Health programme.
Main image: A person on a weighing scales.
