Get Fit First in Barnsley

What is Get Fit First (GFF)?

Get Fit First in Barnsley is a Policy in which people with a BMI above 30 and/or who smoke will be asked to lose weight and/or quit smoking prior to a referral for planned surgery.

Any patient requiring referral for diagnostic/review/opinion/MSK triage must be advised that the Get Fit First policy might apply if the outcome of the review is surgery. The patient will be required to complete the health improvement period before final referral can be made to secondary care (see GFF Referral Process below).

Key documents

The following related documents are available for Get Fit First in Barnsley:

GFF Weight management commissioning statement (inc. Exclusions)

GFF Smoking cessation commissioning statement (inc. Exclusions)

GFF Frequently asked questions for clinicians

Patient information leaflet - Smoking

Patient information leaflet - Losing weight

Barnsley weight management services matrix

Patients should only be referred to secondary care once they meet BOTH the Get Fit First Policy AND any other commissioning policy

The following policies have specific BMI criteria that must be met as part of the criteria for referral:

Varicose Veins BMI below 30

Plastics Policy BMI 18.5 - 27

The completion of 6 months health improvement does not overrule these specific BMI criteria.

For Hip / Knee Replacement

The requirement for “Patient has a BMI of less than 35” is replaced with “Patient meets Get Fit First criteria” i.e.

  • Patient has a BMI of less than 30
    OR
  • Patient has engaged with Get Fit First health improvement and reached target weight (lost 10% from starting weight)
  • OR
  • If the patients completes Get Fit First health improvement (6 months) but fails to achieve necessary weight loss then referral is at the discretion of the clinicians involved, however further weight will likely be advised and the surgeon may not operate due to increased risk.

Support services

A pilot that provides additional support for patients that are subject to the Get Fit First Policy is in place until 31 March 2019. This additional support is delivered by three providers, these are; Slimming World, WW and Barnsley Premier Leisure. A Frequently Asked Questions document is available for BPL and a referral form. Information leaflets for patients are available for Slimming World and WW. Additionally WW have provided this quick guide to help GP's start the conversation with patients.

Patients can choose their preferred service from a ‘Support to lose weight’ self-referral information leaflet that is published in clinical systems.

Alternative provision is available on the Live Well Barnsley website.