Obese patients could have to be scanned at zoos because hospitals lack 'supersize' equipment, surgeons warn (UK)

Hospitals will have to use 'supersize' scanners built for zoo animals to treat a growing number of obese patients, surgeons have predicted. A survey found that almost half of all hospitals lacked basic equipment such as wheelchairs, MRI scanners and hospital beds that were wide and strong enough to care for heavier patients weighing more than 35 stone.  Veterinary scanners and other stop gap measures will have to be used until hospitals get to grips with the issue, members of the Royal College of Surgeons have said.

Struggling: A survey has found almost half of all hospitals are inadequately prepared to deal with the growing number of morbidly obese patients

The latest NHS figures show the number of patients undergoing weight loss surgery has risen nearly fivefold to 8,600 since 2007.  The number of adults who are morbidly obese, which means having a body mass index of at least 40, has tripled from 450,000 to 1.4million since 1993.

The survey of 18 hospitals in south-west England conducted by Sally Norton, a consultant bariatric surgeon in Bristol, and some colleagues, found that only half had cubicles designed for extra-large patients and only one in six had a MRI or CAT scanner big enough for patients who weighed more than 35 stone.

 

'Supersize': Many hospitals lack basic equipment such as large hospital beds (pictured) that are strong and big enough to hold obese patients

Consultant bariatric surgeon: Sally Norton found only one in six hospitals had a MRI or CAT scanner big enough for patients weighing more than 35 stone

Many also did not have ‘adequately sized gowns to preserve dignity’. The survey also found that only 39 per cent of surveyed theatre departments had a specialised strategy to care for bariatric patients, which include those undergoing gastric band or bypass operations. Ms Norton, whose survey was published in the Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Failure to provide adequate equipment and appropriate management of obese patients could result in their safety being compromised and injury to both patients and staff.’ She added it was not just a patient's weight that could be a problem, and noted: 'Abdominal girth may be too great for the aperture of the scanner.' She said that unless hospitals dealt with the problem, veterinary scanners would have to be used.

There have been reports of equipment collapsing under the weight of patients leading to patient and staff injury. There were also reports of injuries sustained by staff while moving obese patients. A standard hospital bed is designed to hold only 28 stone while wheelchairs can carry 25 stone.  Large hospital beds have heavy duty frames and a larger sleep surface than the conventional version and can hold up to 70 stone. ‘Supersize’ wheelchairs have a weight capacity of up to 60 stone and often have a double reinforced cross brace.

In England, almost 63 per cent of adults, aged 16 and over, were overweight or obese while 30 per cent of children, aged two to 15, were considered overweight or obese according to the latest Health Survey for England.

 

On the rise: The number of adults who are morbidly obese, which means having a body mass index of at least 40, has tripled from 450,000 to 1.4million since 1993

Source: Daily Mail UK 

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