Patients complain of 'fat-shaming' at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

By: Alan Smith ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 10:56, 02 July 2019

Updated: 10:10, 03 July 2019

A patient received an apology from NHS staff after complaining of being "fat-shamed".

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust told one of its consultants to say sorry to the patient, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The consultant told the patient: "The only surgery I would book for you is bariatric (weight reduction) surgery or you’ll end up housebound and lifted out the window at the end."

Two thirds of all adults are overweight

It was just one of three instances of "fat-shaming" at the trust which resulted in complaints from patients.

On another occasion, an anaesthetist told a patient that their obesity had "shaved 15 years off your life."

mpu1

A third patient was told: "It is as if you were carrying me on your back whenever you go upstairs."

The NHS has received 332 complaints from people across the country claiming to have been fat-shamed by hospital staff in the last three years, according to Freedom of Information requests by The Sun.

The National Obesity forum said that obesity was "epidemic" in the country and should be treated as a disease in its own right.

Two in every three adults in the UK are said to be overweight.

Obesity increases the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, as well as heart, liver disease and several common cancers.

For further advice on obesity, visit here.

To keep up-to-date with all the latest developments with your local hospitals and other health stories, click here.

mpu2