How obese patients have cost the NHS £7 million: Hospitals forced to spend cash buying specialist equipment such a huge mortuary slabs and reinforced beds
- Rising obesity levels have been blamed for increase in bariatric provisions
- Money has been spent on reinforced beds and even larger morgue fridges
- 800 ambulances designed or adapted to cope with 50 stone patients
- About a quarter of adults in the UK are obese and 40% are overweight
Rising obesity levels has forced health bosses to spend £7 million adapting hospitals and buying specialist equipment to handle larger patients.
The money has been spent on reinforced beds, bigger wheelchairs, wider corridors and even larger morgue fridges in the last five years as a result of the obesity epidemic, according to new figures.
The figures revealed many NHS foundation trusts had increased spending on bariatric provisions in the last two years.
The NHS has spent at least £7m adapting or replacing equipment to fit obese patients in the last five years
The new statistics, obtained by Sky News through Freedom of Information requests, come amid a row between health campaigners and the Government over the introduction of a sugar tax to help curb obesity.
Of the 100 foundation trusts asked for information, around half responded suggesting the overall amount of money spent could be far higher.
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The Heartlands Clinic in Birmingham, as part of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, have invested in larger seating, beds, chairs and blood pressure cuffs.
Dr Ahmed Helmy, a consultant physician, told the broadcaster: 'I think the challenge is to try and accommodate those obese patients without having the stigma.'
Rising obesity levels have forced NHS trusts to invest in bariatric beds and chairs, pictured above
Ambulance services have also had to expand their bariatric budgets.
Figures released earlier this year showed there were more than 800 ambulances - often costing about £100,000 each - in the UK which have either been designed or adapted to deal with patients weighing more than 50 stone.
The news will prompt concern about the cost of dealing with the UK’s obesity epidemic, with campaigners describing the increasing financial burden on the health service as ‘unsustainable’.
The financial burden on the NHS is likely to deepen in the future as obesity rates continue to soar.
Around a quarter of adults in the UK are classed as obese – the second highest rate in Europe - and a further 40 per cent are overweight.
The NHS already spends an estimated £5.1billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses.
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