Whanganui District Health Board is strongly denying that a promise of surgery was made to an obese woman that was later withdrawn.

On NZ Close Up on Tuesday, a Wanganui private surgeon and WDHB Board Member , Mr Clive Solomon, announced to the nation that the Whanganui DHB had promised surgery to his patient; surgery which the Chief Executive was now refusing to fund.

Board Chair Kate Joblin says that this is untrue.

“Let me be clear on some facts, says Ms Joblin:

1. The lady in question was never promised surgery.
   This lady was referred by her GP to our hospital specialist, who in turn referred her to Auckland’s Middlemore hospital, where a pilot programme for bariatric surgery was underway. It is documented that the hospital surgeon believed that if she was referred to Middlemore Hospital, there was a slight chance she would make it onto the pilot programme. However, he also advised her GP that the patient that private surgery would be a better option.
    
2. A referral for a service is not a promise.
   It is a request from one Doctor to another to see a patient. It is up to the specialist concerned whether they accept a referral and have a consultation with the patient. In this case, while a referral was made, the bariatric specialist in Auckland did not accept the referral and did not meet with the patient to discuss her suitability.
    
3. Mr Solomon made a statement that the Chief Executive was “withholding public funds for this operation”. This is simply not true . The Chief Executive did not withhold any money for this surgery. A decision has never been reached by WDHB that this patient was deemed suitable for surgery.
    
4. WDHB does not carry out bariatric surgery.

WDHB does not receive public funding especially for bariatric surgery. If our Board (of which Mr Solomon is a member) decides to fund bariatric surgery then the cost must be funded from our allocated budget, which will of course have implications on another service currently offered.

Currently, WDHB is preparing a comprehensive local response to the obesity epidemic that is facing us. This strategy will take into account the following:

• Prevention strategies, including education from an early age about healthy eating,
• How many obese people are within our DHB that could potentially benefit from bariatric surgery
• The cost this will have for our DHB and its impact on other services we provide,
• How we prioritise patients for surgery,
• Where and how the surgery will be carried out
• How our local strategy will fit into the national direction for bariatric surgery.