Super-slimmer at war with NHS

Sep 2 2008 By Ed Saunt, Staines News

Shirley Jones

A woman who lost 13 stone is to fight the NHS for cosmetic surgery to remove the folds of fat that leave her looking "like a 95-year-old".

Shirley Jones, of Boundary Road, Ashford, dropped 10 dress sizes in two years after having the gastric band operation, made notorious by daytime TV presenter Fern Britton.

Now a size 12, Shirley fell from a whopping 23 stone to 10 stone after she went under the knife on the NHS.

But folds of excess skin left by her weight loss make her look 95 years old, she says.

In spite of her pleas and those of her GP and her surgeon, Surrey Primary Care Trust will not sanction the cosmetic surgery to cut away the folds of skin.

So Shirley is to launch an appeal with the PCT and if that fails, she has the right to take her case to Healthcare Commission, which is responsible for reviewing complaints about the NHS

"And I will if I have to," she pledged. "I want life to be worth living again."

Shirley argues the money she has saved the NHS in drugs and checks by shedding the weight should entitle her to cosmetic surgery which, if done privately, would cost her up to £20,000.

At her heaviest in 2006 she was taking eight types of medication a day for conditions that included diabetes, osteoarthritis and a heart condition.

Now she takes only one and expects to be given the all-clear on her diabetes before the end of the year.

Shirley, who is 58, said: "Everyone thinks I should be really happy because I've lost so much weight, but when you get kids poking fun at you because you look about 95, it's upsetting. "I won't wear a skirt or shorts and I don't feel good because I look dreadful.

Mrs Jones, who is 5ft 5ins, went under the knife at Ashford Hospital in July 2006 to have the band fitted.

She said: "The wake-up call came when I was watching TV and I saw people in America who were 60 or 70 stone and I thought, 'that's me.'

"Doctors said I was in a grave danger of a heart attack, I had arthritis in my knees and I was in danger of not being able to walk and found it difficult to breathe. I wouldn't say the surgery was an easy option. I still crave things but I can't physically eat them."

A spokesman for Surrey PCT said requests for cosmetic surgery after gastric band treatment are considered by a professional panel on the basis of clinical need and circumstances.

WHAT IS GASTRIC BAND SURGERY?

* Gastric banding is a surgical procedure that involves fitting a band around the upper part of the patient's stomach, reducing its capacity for food. Patients then feel full after a much smaller intake of food

* It is usually recommended as a last resort for people who are morbidly obese, or those who also have a condition that poses a serious health risk

* Done privately, gastric banding surgery usually costs about £7,000.