MoreLife ‘Weight Management’- waste of NHS Funds?

[JediKnightingale]

About a year ago I rang my GP surgery to ask if I could be assessed for my eligibility for one of the weight loss injections. I was told there was a wait list of over a year but they would add me to the list.

In November last year I got a call from someone at MoreLife saying they had gotten my referral from the GP and wanted to set up an appointment. I assumed this was an initial screening program for the weight loss injection.

Filled out a health questionnaire, asked about the injections and arranged a ‘convenient’ time for my weekly weight management zoom meeting.

The weekly zoom meeting turned out to be a 12 week 1.5 hour ‘course’. On asking about the injections on the first session we were all told ‘No weight loss injections are currently available on the NHS so stop asking about it’

Basically this ‘MoreLife’ lot must be squeezing the NHS for pots of cash taking 20 people per session (at 1.5 hours a time) telling us gems like - eat less, move more, chew longer, lots of red traffic lights on food is bad, eat more veg. But padded out with words like ‘mindfulness’ and ‘portion control’.

Homework tasks like food diaries and calorie counting FFS! We are a group of obese people who have all tried every diet under the sun and are desperate for help - which is why we all signed up for the injections. Being told to eat one less spud and go for a walk by a jolly 22 year old size zero gym bunny is insulting and not helpful.

It infuriates me that the NHS is pissing money on these weight management schemes. They had me on Second Nature a few years ago and that came with digital scales, a Fitbit thing and recipe books - all of which I already had. Weight lost: zero. What a huge waste!

Anyone else agree the NHS needs to speak to obese people and find out what we REALLY NEED? Surely -money spent on a proven medication is a much better use of resources?

I realise that some people my find these weight management things helpful - but our group is 90% weary, perpetually overweight, miserable and are only continuing because MoreLife say if we don’t complete the course IF the injections become available we won’t be approved unless we’ve finished their stupid, infantile course.

What is the criteria for the NHS out of interest?

Their website is a bit difficult to navigate, it seems very easy to say that someone meets the criteria and yet people arent being helped?

What reason is given for people not meeting the criteria?

A few years back I got referred to an NHS weight loss service.

this consisted of…
one in depth conversation with a nurse who had read my whole file and suggested lots of actions so I was excited to see how they could support me.

a referral to a sleep apnoea clinic who concluded that I had it, but mildly and the treatment was to lose weight…helpful!

a physio appointment that only offered phone-calls, asked lots of questions but repeatedly snapped at me that I could only answer yes or no and not volunteer any further information.

a Zoom group counselling course offered which was 10am till 12pm every Tuesday for twelve weeks. When I pointed out that I worked full time in a job that didn’t offer that degree of flexibility and asked for a late afternoon/evening/weekend course she was astonished and said “we don’t offer that sort of thing”

blood test results that got lost, took several phone calls before they eventually found them again then informed me that I was “normal” and put the phone down.

So… not value for money in my opinion.

I think people with serious weight issues need much more support around why they eat rather than what they eat…they probably also need support service organised by people who have actually experienced significant issues with food and weight.

You need to be having fertility treatment, close to having a knee operation or having a kidney transplant. All with supporting evidence of such. Wish I had been told the criteria before these silly zoom calls.

If fat clubs worked, weight watchers /slimming world etc. wouldn't have a business, if mounjaro worked it would put them out of business, oh hang on.......
NHS and their money making scam partners don't want the fat jabs interfering in their money making enterprises. The nation being fat keeps the big pharmacy in business. If we all suddenly lost weight, we wouldn't need the blood pressure tablets the statins the antidepressants and the stupid fucking dumbed down approach of the eat less move more shite fat club etc. Mounjaro is kicking the ass of the complacent drug companies that have literally lived off the fat of the land for so long. It simply targets those hormones that make us constantly hungry and stabilises our blood sugar, if used correctly then we can swap our bad habits whilst on it and continue. That's what I've done and it WORKED, after years and years of stupid diets. I knew what to do but I needed the kick start to help.