§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many surgeons performed weight reduction operations in the last 12 months;[127088]
(2) if he will state for each hospital trust whether it has established a database to monitor surgery undertaken to aid weight loss for patients;[127091]
(3) how many children in the last year have undergone surgery to aid weight reduction. [127092]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 8 September 2003]: The data collected by Hospital Episode Statistics do not identify individual surgeons, so it is not possible to confirm how many surgeons performed these operations.
The Department does not collect centrally information on whether trusts have developed databases to monitor surgery undertaken to aid weight loss. The decision on whether surgery is the most appropriate option for children to aid weight reduction is for clinical judgement. Hospital Episode Statistics data show that in 2001–02 there were 16 Finished Consultant Episodes for children aged between 0–17 years of age with a primary diagnosis of obesity and which included a main operative procedure.