3. Mrs C explains that in July 2022 she had private surgery. She complains the Practice refused to give her routine aftercare after this.
4. Mrs C says she went without blood tests and scans that would have assured her she was recovering well. She says she is anxious about her long-term recovery. Mrs C asks for the Practice to reconsider its decision not to give her aftercare.
7. Mrs C explains she was on a long NHS waiting list for bariatric (weight loss) surgery. She had this surgery abroad and paid for it herself.
8. NICE guidance explains that after bariatric surgery patients need care from specialist bariatric and dietetics (nutrition) teams for two years. It adds, patients should firstly get follow up care from a dietician and/or bariatric physician who may later involve the patient’s GP.
9. The Regulations say Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) are responsible for funding healthcare treatments in their local areas. The Regulations also say, ICBs can decide what will and will not be available in their area.
10. In line with NICE guidance, secondary care services (like a GP practice) give follow up care for patients after bariatric surgery.
11. We see from the Practice’s complaint response that it discussed Mrs C’s case with the ICB. The ICB said it did not routinely fund aftercare for patients after they had surgery abroad. Because of this the Practice advised Mrs C to refer her complaint to the ICB and it took no further action.
12. Without an NHS service to refer Mrs C to, there was nothing more the Practice could do for her. We do not think the Practice did anything wrong. For this reason, we will take no further action on this complaint.
1. We have carefully considered Mrs C’s complaint about a GP practice in the Doncaster area (the Practice). We understand Mrs C is concerned about her recovery from private surgery.
2. We do not think the Practice did anything wrong in how it dealt with Mrs C’s request for aftercare. We explain our decision below.