NEW TIER 3 Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland weight management service for people with complex needs and are severely overweight.

This pilot service will run from November 2023.

About the service:

People are eligible to apply to the service if they have a body mass index (BMI) over 40, or over 35 plus they are living with long term health conditions e.g. diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, osteo-arthritis, polycystic ovary syndrome. For people of South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean family background they are eligible to apply if they have a BMI over 37.5kg/m2 or or 32.5kg/m2 with specific co-morbidities (as per NICE guidelines).

Before being able to try the service people must have attempted weight loss and maintenance with other services, e.g. group sessions, virtual/online services or weight loss companies e.g. slimming world, or weight watchers.

Below we have resources and information to help those who are thinking of joining our service or are currently in our service. This website is also here to help family members to understand more about the support we offer.

If you are thinking about joining our service, or you are a healthcare professional, you may find the FAQ’s section below useful.

We are funded by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board. We work with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, and Leicester Partnership Trust. We cover Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland Counties. We work with research and give people a chance to take part e.g. try out new drug therapies.

Our aim:

Our main aim is to help people lose weight and keep it off. At the same time, you might also improve your physical health and mental health, get fitter and more active. 

We work with people towards long-term lifestyle change, not quick fixes or faddy diets. The world of weight loss can feel confusing and complicated. We try to keep it simple and consistent. 

We work as a team to help people have the best chance of losing weight and keeping it off. We have a team who work with people in different ways and look at different things that can impact weight.  Some support is offered face to face, in groups or online.

The team and services include:

Frequently asked questions

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  • Your GP or practice nurse can refer you. They will find information on how to refer and the eligibility criteria on the Weight Management Services (llrweightmanagement.org.uk) website.

    1. You will be contacted and asked to confirm you are happy with the referral. Straight away you will be given access to the FREE online activity tool called Steps4Health. This tool will help you to plan activities that fit with your lifestyle.

    2. You will be invited to a monthly online group hosted by a member of the team.

    3. You will have a conversation about your wellbeing. This consists of set questions about your physical and mental health.

    4. The information you and your GP/nurse provide, as well as your medical history, and the wellbeing conversation answers will all be reviewed by our team of healthcare professionals. You will then be invited to make an appointment to join one of our services.

    For more information please see our service user pathway.

  • When you are referred you will asked which treatments you prefer. You could be offered more than one of these treatments depending on your needs and preferences. The options are:

    • Diet and behavioural change,

    • Low energy diet

    • Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery)

    • Physical activity

    • Psychology, counselling and mental well being

    • Pharmacotherapy (weight loss drugs)

    • A peer support group, with monthly sessions with professionals from one of the services.

    The service offers FREE 24hour access to Steps 4 Health, an online tool that will support your journey to move more.

  • We have a dedicated team which includes an administrator and manager who organise the service. We have a team of healthcare professionals with a range of roles. You could be seen by a nurse, doctor, psychologist, counsellor, specialist dietitian, or physical activity therapist. They work as a team to oversee your care and support.

  • Your progress will be reviewed every 3 months. You can choose to stay in the tier 3 service for up to 12 months. After 12 months, or earlier if you choose, you will be discharged back to your GP/Nurse.