Referrals to NHS board commissioned weight management services
1 October 2019 to 30 September 2022
Official statistics in development
- Published
- 26 March 2024 (Latest release)
- Type
- Statistical report
- Author
- Public Health Scotland
About this release
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on activity in weight management and type 2 diabetes prevention services. This data collection was launched in 2019 and information about planned developments for this data are available in the main report.
Main points
Data was submitted from all NHS Boards for both adult and child services:
- There were 39,452 adult referrals to weight management and type 2 diabetes prevention services over the three years 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2022 and 3,405 referrals recorded for children and young people. Over half of adult referrals (54%) were for the most recent year (October 2021 - September 2022).
- In the year October 2021-September 2022 half of the adult referrals were to Tier 2 services (50%), with 37% to Tier 3 services.
- Adult referrals were highest for those in the most deprived areas, with a quarter of referrals being for those in the most deprived areas (26%) compared to around a tenth of referrals being for those in the least deprived areas (12%).
- For children and young people there was a wider difference between the most and least deprived areas compared to adults. Nearly a third of referrals being for those in the most deprived areas (31%) compared to less than a tenth for those in the least deprived areas (8%).
- For adult referrals where BMI was available 93% were recorded with Obesity or Severe Obesity. Over half (52%) were categorised with Severe Obesity.
- Adult referrals for the most deprived areas had a higher proportion with Severe Obesity, with 57% recording this compared to 43% in the least deprived areas.
- The data for adults indicates that during the core active intervention phase, for Tier 2 referrals over two-thirds (69%) reported some weight loss, while over three quarters (78%) of Tier 3 referrals reported some weight loss.
Background
Prior to 2019, there was a lack of standardised information collected by NHS Boards in relation to provision of weight management services. Approved by the Scottish Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Framework Oversight Group, a core dataset was developed in collaboration with Scottish Government (SG), PHS and NHS Boards. This is the third national report in the series and incorporates updated submissions of previous data alongside new submissions for the most recent year.
General enquiries
If you have an enquiry relating to this publication, please contact Laura Wood at phs.wms@phs.scot.
Media enquiries
If you have a media enquiry relating to this publication, please contact the Communications and Engagement team.
Requesting other formats and reporting issues
If you require publications or documents in other formats, please email phs.otherformats@phs.scot.
To report any issues with a publication, please email phs.generalpublications@phs.scot.
Older versions of this publication
Versions of this publication released before 16 March 2020 may be found on the Data and Intelligence, Health Protection Scotland or Improving Health websites.