The Aintree LOSS (Tier 3) pathway is historically one of the leading obesity management pathways in the UK and served as an excellent model for the development of other obesity services in the UK and internationally. In November, the ASO learned that Liverpool City Council have withdrawn funding for this service for Liverpool residents due to financial pressures, and it will cease to operate in September 2024. Patients receiving care from this multi-disciplinary specialist service have been signposted to the NHS Change4Life website for further information on healthy lifestyle choices, to the Live Your Life Well website for lifestyle advice, and the NHS weight loss support app.
The ASO feel that its decommissioning is disappointing and worrying. It is not clear from the public information available why the decision was made for this service to cease to exist next year. Decommissioning of services for any other chronic disease like cancer or diabetes would be considered unethical and would have been met with resistance. We are particularly concerned that other councils will follow suit, or may have already done so without our knowledge, as they face increasing funding pressures.
People living with the disease of obesity are suffering in a similar manner to any other group of patients with chronic conditions. The ASO believe that the discontinuation of this evidence-based specialist service to support people living with obesity to manage their disease is discriminatory and unethical. The decision violates basic principles underpinning good clinical practice as it denies access to good care to people that are suffering. The alternatives offered are not fit for the purpose of treating people with severe and complex obesity who would be eligible for Tier 3 care.
The ASO call for the decision to be reversed and encourages people with obesity living in the region to complain to Liverpool City Council and their MPs.