Waiting list for bariatric surgery (FOI)

Request

A

How many people are on the waiting list for Bariatric surgery through the States of Jersey?

B

How long is the wait for the initial appointment through the States of Jersey?

C

How long is the wait for the surgery date through the States of Jersey?

D

How many people have been waiting over three years for an initial appointment through the States of Jersey?

E

What is the reason for no acknowledgement from the Bariatric team and a wait of over three years?

Response

A

All patients requiring surgery for Bariatric specific surgery are listed on the General Surgery waiting lists and are allocated to the General Surgeon who specialises in Bariatric Surgery.

All patients who require Bariatric Surgery are required to follow a specific pathway that includes a Bariatric Medicine appointment, specific screenings and a number of interventional tests and procedures. Once all these requirements have been undertaken the patients are then listed for Bariatric Surgery. 

Currently there are 28 patients who have completed all the requirements and are now listed for Surgery. 

B         

There are two referral routes to see a clinician for an initial bariatric appointment. These routes are initially either through Bariatric Medicine team which includes an endocrinologist and dietician or the General Surgery route.  However, patients are required to see both specialties to determine if they meet the criteria and to ensure they understand the complexities of bariatric surgery. 

Appointment time frames can vary dependant on the initial route taken.

Providing the longest waiting time for the first initial appointment will impact on the privacy of an individual and therefore, Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

However, the average waiting time for the first initial appointment is 468 days.

C          

Once patients have followed the pathway (as set out above) and are listed for surgery, the average wait for routine bariatric surgery is 136 days.

D

Across the medicine and surgical Bariatric Waiting Lists there are fewer than five patients waiting over three years for an initial appointment. As the number is small, disclosure control has been used to protect the privacy of our patients. Therefore, Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. All other patients across both waiting lists are waiting less than three years for an initial appointment from the date of referral from their GP.

E

For those medical and surgical specialities that have substantial waiting lists, patients should receive a letter of acknowledgement from Health and Community Services giving details of which waiting list they have been placed on.

Article Applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.