Referrals to NHS board commissioned weight management services
1 October 2019 to 30 September 2021

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on referrals, and outcomes following interventions, for the weight management service pathways commissioned by NHS boards.

Main points

• 17,881 referrals have been recorded between 1 October 2019 and 30 September 2021.
• During the emergence of Covid-19 referrals declined sharply but have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

• Female adult referrals were more than double male referrals; it was more even for children and young people.
• More deprived areas in Scotland accounted for a higher proportion of referrals.
• More than half of adults, and three quarters of children and young people, were referred with severe obesity.
• Approximately 1 in 3 adult referrals resulted in a 5% weight loss from referral to their completion of the core programme/active intervention phase.

Background

Prior to 2019, there was a lack of standardised information collected by NHS Boards in relation to provision of weight management services. Approved by the Scottish Type 2 Diabetes Framework Oversight Group, a core dataset was developed in collaboration with Scottish Government (SG), PHS and NHS Boards.

The core dataset was introduced to support the evaluation of the Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Early Detection and Early Intervention Framework and Standards. It applies to all NHS board commissioned services (Tier 2 and Tier 3), whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, commercial organisations or voluntary/third-sector organisations.

NHS boards commenced the first year of data collection on new referrals from 1st October 2019. This is the second national report of the series, incorporating further information on those existing cases and the accrual of new referrals for a second year ending October 2021.