Health and Social Care Committee visits complications of excess weight clinics at the AWRC

It was a pleasure to welcome Layla Moran MP, Chair of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Select Committee to the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre last week.

As part of the Committee’s Inquiry into Food and Weight Management, Layla met with young people and families supported by NHS Complications of Excess Weight (CEW) clinics, alongside their clinicians, social workers and the researchers currently evaluating the services – including those delivered from the AWRC – through the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research)-funded ENHANCE project.

Discussions focused on the challenges the young people have faced living with obesity and their experiences of treatment and support. They talked about how they have benefitted from the CEW services, which provide specialist, holistic, person-centred support to those with complex needs.

Layla said: “It was so inspiring to see a model of how young people living with excess weight can be treated – holistically, respectfully and with care. This will provide valuable evidence that will help inform the Committee’s upcoming report to the Department of Health and Social Care.”

Recent findings from the ENHANCE project suggest that those who recieve support through CEW clinics maintain more weight loss over time, in comparison to patients who can only access support through separate community and general practice services. The clinics are also successful in reaching children and young people attending CEW services from seldom heard groups, such as those from more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.

Read more about the visit: https://lnkd.in/e3FsfmTa

Read more about recent ENHANCE findings: https://lnkd.in/eq3WzMrh