Useless NHS Weight Management Service

[Picklypickles]

My GP made a referral to the NHS Weight Management Service for me back in the summer, I received 2 copies of the exact same letter from them, on the same day, saying I was on their waiting list, a couple of weeks after the referral was made. In late November I received another letter from the service requesting that I e-mail them to opt in to the service, which I did and received an automated response from them. At the start of December I received a text message from them saying I had not yet e-mailed them to opt-in and that if I did not do so before the date stated I would be discharged from their service. So I sent another e-mail and again received an automated response. I have now received a copy of a letter they have sent to my GP saying that I have not requested an initial assessment appointment with them and so they have discharged me!

What the hell?! I waited for months to hear from them, I've done what they've asked and have proof that I've done so and they've just fucked me over and lied to my GP, what a pile of shit! What am I supposed to do now then, just accept that clearly they unable to actually provide any kind of service and rather than being honest about that they've lied and blamed me for their own incompetence?

Ffs this is terrible.

Write (proper letter!) to them detailing what you've said above including a print out of the confirmation. Make it clear that you've ccd your GP as they did with the letter to you. In your copy to your GP include a note saying you still wish to use the service.

I'm hoping this will mean they'll reinstate your place on the wait list rather than going back to the beginning.

Also, is there any chance the postal delays mean you missed the email deadline?

I've got got a reminder for something that was due a week ago 😬😬

Forward your emails to your GP, PALS and any email you can find for the service. Ask them to review their communications and to accept you into the scheme with immediate effect.

I think all the communications from your side has been via email? I suspect it's got rejected as spam or something. I'd try another method and explain the situation. Abdulrazak then complain if you they don't use common sense to resolve it.

Yes all e-mails, the letter from them says "To opt in: If possible, please e-mail livewell/[email protected] to confirm you would like the Induction details. Please include your full name and date of birth so that we can verify your e-mail address. This will be needed to send you the Induction details"

The letter was dated 21/11/22 and gave me 2 weeks to respond. I e-mailed them on the 28/11/22 and then again on 09/12/22 after getting the text message saying they'd not heard from me!

No it's not that, I got the letter on the 21st November and had replied by the 28th when I had been given 2 weeks to reply!

I've filled in an online form for my GP practice to let them know what has happened, I'm more annoyed about the fact I look bad for not engaging with a service I've been referred to when I actually have! To be honest I'm not sure if I even want to use their service now even if they do admit their mistake, it doesn't seem very well run or professional and I'm wondering if I might just be better off joining WW or something instead.

This is one for a PALS complaint because it won't be just you. Total shambles.

I was referred to the NHS service after an operation. Nice lady but completely useless. You’d be much better with Weight watchers or some other type of support in my experience.

Out of interest, what did the automated response say? Sounds ridiculous that they can acknowledge your email and simultaneously claim not to have received it!
Give them a chance though, once this is sorted out It won't reflect the service itself, just the admin

This is the automated response I got (twice!)

Thank you for your email.

Your enquiry is important to us, and we will endeavour to reply as soon as possible.
We are unable to specify response times and we thank you for your patience and understanding with regards to this.

In the meantime, please consider accessing the following for further support and information that may be helpful:

Our website: www.livewellsouthwest.co.uk/weight-management

Please also note that we are not an acute emergency service.
Should you have an urgent medical query please contact your GP, attend A&E or call 999.

Further 24 hours support with mental health difficulties can also be obtained from the following:

Livewell First Response: Tel 0800 923 9323

Samaritans: Tel 116 123 (free from mobile or landline)

Many Thanks

The Weight Management Team

That's so useless!
I wonder if someone left the out of office reply on!

This is the NHS all over. Incompetent, fuck up then lie and blame the patient. It's not unique to this "service" (ha ha), it's NHS culture.

This shit happens all the time. I frequently refer patients for this, or other courses and when I review them a year later they haven had similar experiences, or just never get any contact at all.
Chasing it up isn't simple either. It was fine to blame covid a few years ago and yes we understand there were backlogs etc, but if we can provide our normal level of service now then we expect other agencies (yes they are NHS commissioned services but most are private companies delivering them) to do the same. Or at least communicate.

Thank you, it's helpful to hear from someone who has actually used the service and not found it helpful. I think you are probably right. The NHS can't seem to help anybody with anything any more. I'm also on a waiting list for podiatry services that my GP refused to refer me for. I have excrutiatingly painful ingrown toenails that need removed and I can't afford the £500 per toenail that would cost me privately, I actually got referred by the podiatrist I was referred to by my physio to get orthotic insoles made! That was in september, I really hope I don't get the same nonsense trying to get seen for this!

Yes, it certainly seems that way. I've been living with ear problems for about 4/5 years now (blocked ear) and was referred to ENT at the hospital. The consultant shoved a camera up my nose and when I (shockingly) did not find this comfortable he threw a strop and said I'm too oversensitive and to go away "it will probably sort itself it eventually". I still can't hear, recently I went to a private ear clinic and paid for wax microsuction but there was no wax and the lady had a look and said it looks like I have a retracted ear drum and googling says I'll probably need surgery to fix that but I've not bothered the GP about it again as I'm just going to get fobbed off again so what's the point.

It's fucking miserable, my poor body is falling to pieces and there is nothing I can do about any of it unless I have a massive lottery win.

That's rubbish for you.OP but to all those saying it's crap and typical NHS poor service, it's a contracted out service a bit more of privatisation by stealth. Private companies being paid a fortune of public money to provide a shit poor service.
That's why we kept our WM service in house as we know we can do a better job!

NHS podiatry might as well not exist nowadays, GPs are told to restrict it to those with comorbidities (e.g. diabetics). The rest of us have to sort our own ingrown toenails out, which is shit if you've got no money. What you can do, though, it continually bug your GP about it, and make sure you emphasise the impact it's having on your quality of life.

You could also try a podiatry school - they sometimes offer cheap treatments so their students can practise. It takes longer, but it'll all be supervised by a fully qualified podiatrist so it'll be good treatment.
Whereabouts are you in the country? There are 13 schools of podiatry dotted about.

Your expectations seem a bit high anyway in regards to what this service can actually do.

Have you took any positive steps yourself in the interim?

I was referred to St Thomas's Tier 3 weight management programme and found it useless as the sessions were all about things we already knew, ie calories, the diet plate etc. However, I was also offered a council weight management programme and that included a practical couch 2 5k weekly session leading to a park run, and also an online CBT course on emotional eating, which I found immensely useful.
However, they both operated through text and email without issue, so in your case I would complain to PALS, and also request specific things from the GP, such as CBT training, weight loss medication or bariatric surgery referral (or whatever you feel would be helpful to you)

What expectations is it you think I have other than that they don't lie to my GP about my not having attempted to opt in to their service? I have taken lots of positive steps actually, I've quit smoking, I've given up diet soft drinks and meat. I've actually lost about 2.5 stone by myself, but I still have a lot further to go and it's something I really struggle with. I'm 5ft nothing, and if I so much as think about food I gain weight. Struggling to do much exercise with flat feet and ingrown toenails.

Engaging with health services about a health issue is taking positive steps herself.

@bellac11

Agreed but there are certainly things you can do to also help yourself in the interim.

I have used saxenda with success this year to lose the weight and get the job I wanted back in my 20's!!! I thought sod it, life's too short

So I lost 4 stone with saxenda and got the job

Took a year ish

As I said in my above post that you seem to have missed, I HAVE made positive changes for myself without any help. I've quit smoking, caffeine, diet soft drinks, and meat. I'm eating 3 meals a day without any snacks in between, cooking healthy meals from scratch with plenty of fresh veg and protein in the form of lentils/peas etc. Apart from completely starving myself I'm not really sure what else I can do! I've done slimming world over and over again and have a certain amount of success and then it all just stops. I'm not an idiot, I'm not sitting here stuffing my face with junk food day and night and wondering why I'm so fat!