The Rotherham Institute for Obesity (RIO) is celebrating its second anniversary with the news that its patients have shed a massive 10 tons of weight.
The service, which forms part of the award-winning NHS Rotherham Weight Management Strategy, was formally opened on 6 November 2009 by Professor David Haslam, Chairman of the National Obesity Forum, during the 2009 National Obesity Week Campaign.
Since opening the service has supported 3,556 adults and 331 children to lose over 10 tons of weight. That is equivalent to one of the capsules on the London Eye, 10 cars or 1,052,631 pound coins!
Patient satisfaction with the service is extremely high, with 97% of patients reporting satisfaction with the service, including 75% who described the service as ‘excellent’.
Analysis of the data collected at RIO shows that 96% of patients who have completed the six month weight loss programme lost weight and that 71% of adults and 72% of children met or did better than the NHS Rotherham weight loss targets. This helped to reduce the anticipated numbers of patients expected to be referred for bariatric surgery by 50%. The average adult weight loss was over than 8.3kgs (18.3lbs).
Dr Matthew Capehorn, Clinical Manager at RIO, said: “Ten tons of weight loss is an incredible achievement and we are very proud to be leading the way in tackling the growing obesity problem. This isn’t an issue that can be cured overnight; it involves changing behaviours and lifestyles and will take several years before a significant impact will be visible in the population.
“By providing good advice, intervention and treatment we hope to raise awareness and understandings of the health dangers associated with obesity and engage the public with our Weight Management Strategy.”
RIO is a national leader in tackling obesity. It is the first service in the country to offer this fully comprehensive, multi-disciplinary team approach within primary care and the first to routinely screen all obese diabetic patients for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, a potentially fatal and currently under-diagnosed condition.
RIO is based within the Rotherham Health Village on Doncaster Gate and provides specialist support for overweight and obese adults and children who have been referred by their GP or other healthcare professional. On site facilities include a gym, resource centre and a kitchen to provide educational cooking classes.
A multi-disciplinary team approach is taken to weight loss by providing a wealth of specialists including obesity specialist nurses, specialist dietitians, talking therapists, an exercise therapist and a general practitioner with a specialist interest in obesity. This is supported by an on-site gym, cooking facilities and resource centre. RIO’s overall aim is to identify problems and put together an appropriate plan for each individual, and to maximise their chances of weight loss.
Patients who are worried about their weight should visit their GP to be referred into RIO or any of the other services. Services are free and are available to people registered with a Rotherham GP.
Photo Opportunity:
A photo call will take place at RIO on Monday 7th November at 12.30pm.
A ten ton truck will be present at the photo call, which will take place in the car park at the Rotherham Health Village, Doncaster Gate. A number of patients who have used the service will also be attending, along with Dr Matthew Capehorn and RIO staff.
Last reviewed: 03/11/2011
