Public hospital system 'failing obese'

2 Jun 2009, 3:24 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 62 per cent of people are now overweight or obese, a marked increase from past surveys. (AAP)

Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 62 per cent of people are now overweight or obese, a marked increase from past surveys. (AAP)

The commonwealth should work with the states and territories to ensure morbidly obese people can have stomach-reduction surgery in public hospitals, an inquiry has recommended.

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The commonwealth should work with the states and territories to ensure morbidly obese people can have stomach-reduction surgery in public hospitals, an inquiry has recommended.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing has also recommended doctors collate information about patients' weight and height, which could be used to compile national data.

The committee, in a report tabled on Monday night, expressed concern about a shortage of bariatric surgery in public hospitals, which means poorer people have less access to procedures than those who can afford to pay to have operations in a private hospital.

Bariatric surgery refers to procedures that reduce the size of the stomach, including gastric banding, and can cost up to around $20,000. After such lapband surgery, patients often experience a reduction in Type 2 diabetes.

"A number of witnesses and submissions have stated that many patients, especially those of a lower socio-economic status, are unable to access surgery through the public system," the report said.

"The committee heard that this means a large section of the population, a group which is often more likely to be obese, is denied access to a proven successful treatment."

The committee urged federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon to engage with her state and territory counterparts to ensure equity of access to bariatric surgery. It noted bariatric surgery should only be used as a last resort once all other methods of weight loss have been attempted.

Figures show that of 6,253 lapbands provided in 2007, 96 per cent were in private hospitals, with none at all provided in the public system in South Australia, Tasmania or the Northern Territory.

The committee recommended Ms Roxon explore ways in which GPs can collate data on patients' weight and height, and how this could be used to generate obesity statistics.

Committee chair, Labor MP Steve Georganas, said obesity data in Australia was lacking and GPs were well placed to assist in data collection. "Most of us are asked by our doctors to hop on the scales," he told AAP.

"We believe that doctors already have a lot of that information. We wouldn't make it compulsory, of course, for people to be forced to be weighed. There is no way in the world we would do that."

The committee also recommended the government consider using tax incentives to make healthy foods more affordable, particularly for people living in rural and remote areas.

It also wants obesity listed as a chronic disease on the Medicare Benefits Schedule and the government to introduce food reformulation laws if the industry fails to make concrete changes through self-regulation.

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