NHS may consider outsourcing of obesity surgery to India

Bariatric surgery in UK has become a real medical market with average of 5,000 surgeries per year and is growing annually with 25-30%. Especially for those who can effort private surgery because for a large group of patients the NHS turned down their applications for this type of surgery year after year. Unfortunately this situation doesn’t help the extreme obesity and morbidly obesity situation in UK. More than 20% of their total population is obese and may feel this is just the start of a growth in the next years. Child obesity like USA has become a real danger and is more difficult to treat than obesity to adults. What will be next?

The NHS plays an important role in the obesity treatment in UK, first of all not funding is making the problems worse and worse but funding these type of surgeries creates an enormous financial gap in their budgets. But what is the best strategy to follow for the NHS? Obesity is the largest medical danger in direct relationship with diabetes, hypertension, joint problems and joint replacements, sleeping apnea, cardiac problems and most cases also a lot of extra medication too. Would bariatric surgery not safe a lot of these costs NHS is already refunding? In USA bariatric surgery is paid back by many medical insurance companies who found out that funding is saving more money and more investments than all these other medical costs.

The same strategy was followed in France, Belgium, Holland and Scandinavia.

With respect to the NHS because of their strategy the only solution for obesity surgery is paying private. Because so many people need surgery the private prices in UK are really high. Gastric band surgery from 5,500 till 9,000 GBP, the Roux en Y gastric bypass (being the most popular bariatric procedure worldwide) know prices till more than 18,000 GBP.

Prices in India are totally different with approx. 3,400 GBP for gastric band, 3,800 GBP vertical sleeve and 5,600 GBP for roux en y gastric bypass. And those prices are average for the total care. In some case patients stay in luxury suits with their partner with no extra costs.

Because of these high prices for bariatric surgery it motivates a lot of people to chose for medical tourism to countries to cheaper countries like Belgium or France. Or even for medical tourism to more exotic places in far east. To bariatric patients, at this more than 12 million people not a very positive picture. Would the NHS not be better of funding bariatric surgery till a specific maximum like in Belgium or the Netherlands? Total price including the pre-op and post op care for every patient who falls in the International criteria? Knowing that these thoughts will be far away for UK bariatric patients at this moment, let us hope for better times for the UK. Obesity is and will be a disease what causes many medical problems to everyone unfortunately.

If the NHS would pay for surgery on regular basis, patients are better off and also UK surgeons and NHS-hospitals would also consider a part of their patient population for outsourcing. Maybe this is all future music and not realistic at this moment one thing is very clear: the moment NHS would consider outsourcing their bariatric patients to India, we, as being the largest bariatric surgery centre n India as Obesity asia, www.obesityasia.com will be ready.

Obesity in India

Obesity in India dramatically rose under their population in the last 10 years. 20% of the population in India suffers for obesity what is with 240 million people the largest figure worldwide. Not different from other countries, like USA and Europe, it is well known that there is direct relation with economics besides human behavior and personal feeling of happiness. In relation to obesity the biggest medical danger is diabetes. Although exact figures are not known, at the Internet figures between 30 and 50 million with very large number undiagnosed diabetes we can say that diabetes is the real medical problem in India. As known diabetes has a huge effect on our health, like heart and coronary diseases, heart stroke, blindness, failure of kidneys and much more.

If you can effort diabetes treatment like daily medication, insulin injections diabetes can be under control in a lot of situation. You have been very strict and motivated with your health but you can. If you can’t effort diabetes treatment with hospital/physician and you have no money for medication/insulin and diabetes needles on the long turn amputation of arms and legs is the future for you.

Diabetes type II caused by obesity is to be cured by bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgeons around the world know this and more and more surgeons are making their data known to the world.

Although for 8 years bariatric surgery is quite new to India, with a handful of experienced bariatric surgeons in India, the real treatment for diabetes is bariatric and metabolic surgery like Roux en Y gastric bypass, Vertical Gastrectomy or vertical sleeve, and other bariatric methods. In Pune in several hospitals multidisciplinary team of surgeons and physicians offers diabetes surgery. Dr. Shashank Shah and his team of Obesity Asia www.obesityasia.com having the largest expertise in India, being the first bariatric surgeon in India and trainer to hundreds of new surgeons with their focus to bariatric surgery.

Although there is very long way to go in India there is possibility to cure diabetes.

Help of medical tourists to India for the poor.

Medical tourism is for many years high topic in India. Indian governments of Tourism and Health are investing better structures for years. But evaluation makes that the actual flow of patients in relation to expectation that is is still not huge. Despite the tremendous infrastructure, good private hospitals and very good and high level medical education (one of the best of the world).

Chosing for medical tourism is in most cases a choice to have surgery for affordable price, good and for most european countries even much better service, combined with luxury resort holiday or travel.

Medical tourism is in most cases used for cosmetic or plastic surgery and dental surgery and for the last years bariatric surgery is become an important type of surgery for this type of tourism. Bariatric surgery or with other words obesity surgery like gastric banding, Roux en Y gastric bypass and Vertical gastrectomy/Sleeve has become in Europe and USA one of the most important types of surgery. Everybody who has more details about the tremendous results from bariatric surgery knows that this type of surgery will become number one surgery worldwide in the next 10 years. Solving hypertension, diabetes, sleeping apnea, joint problems and other medical issues within 1-6 months after surgery in most cases is one of the biggest motivators.

In 2007 in Europe and USA more than 350.000 operations were carried out but with the enormous rate in obesity worldwide (In Europe obesity is calculated between 10-35% of the total population depending of which country and USA is approx. 30-35%). Bariatric surgery in India started 8 years ago and approx. 20 surgeons are focusing to bariatrics. A lot of surgeons in India are starting up but can’t be considered as experienced surgeons of course. Especially for stapling surgery like Roux en Y gastric bypass and Vertical sleeve expertise makes the difference between safe and risk full surgery.

Nevertheless India will play an important role in medical tourism for bariatrics sooner or later. But one of the major questions what medical tourists will ask themself if I’m traveling and spending money anyway who will it benefit. Only the surgeon and hospital or can it benefit more people? India has besides very high diabetes and obesity rate also still one of the highest poverty situations of the world. Would it be fantastic if medical tourism would really increase to high number of patients and it would direct benefit also to the poor. This would be one big opportunity.

With strong believe we started as Obesityasia, www.obesityasia.com with help of foundations for healthcare projects in Pune to make a small difference in one of our hospitals for bariatric surgery. One of the private hospitals in Pune, Poona hospital, established in 1986 by late Shri Dongreji Maharaj foundation, is offering free and also concessional surgery to lower socio-economic strata for many and many years. With this motivation and this agreement to the Indian society and to medical tourists we all make small difference with medical tourism.

The future will tell if others in India will follow and if they can make the same effort to medical tourists. Especially for those lower socio-economic Indians who suffer for diabetes and obesity to get bariatric surgery instead of getting blind, get legs and arms amputated or dying after heart stroke. By this way and good structure guided by the Indian governments we call together an make huge difference.