A patient-friendly service
Slimming World on Referral gives you the opportunity to offer free membership of
a local Slimming World group to those patients who you feel would
benefit. Referred patients attend at no cost to themselves for an
initial 12-week period; the cost to the NHS
is subsidised by Slimming World.
After
12 weeks, patients may elect to carry on attending their Slimming
World group and pay the weekly fee themselves. If, however, a
health practitioner feels it is
appropriate, they may offer another 12-week period of attendance.
In this way provision of subsidised support can be targeted long
term towards those who are income-disadvantaged while other patients
are able to continue at their own cost.
 Community-based
support
Slimming World has an established network
of 5,500 slimming groups nationwide, which are accessible and
well regulated.
Individual
motivation
Highly trained
Slimming World Consultants guide and support members with individually
tailored advice
in making easy changes
towards healthy eating in line with current recommendations.
Using the same advanced support techniques (methods unique
to Slimming World) Consultants also facilitate development
of a more physically active lifestyle
to help members improve their overall health and fitness. Support
is frequently provided in between weekly sessions as well.
Slimming World Consultants are highly committed to their
members’ success;
warmth and friendliness, fun and mutual empowerment are all
hallmarks of a Slimming World group.
Equality
of treatment
With individual guidance in a genuinely
warm and caring environment, Slimming World members learn to
rebuild their self-confidence
and to develop the practical skills needed to implement long-term
effective changes to eating habits and lifestyle. Criticism and
disapproval are completely and fervently discouraged at Slimming
World and all members, whether referred or not, are treated in
this uniquely warm and caring way.
An evidence
base
An initial research study investigated the feasibility, practicalities and cost-effectiveness of referring patients from Primary Care into Slimming World groups (1).
Since then almost 15,000 patient places have been purchased to date
 A
highly cost-effective alternative
Slimming World on Referral offers a subsidised package at £49.50 per patient (or £44.50 for orders over 500), which includes joining fee and 12 weeks’ attendance (offering a saving to the NHS of up to £14.50 on the normal cost). This cost is on average a third of the cost of drug treatment such as sibutramine and orlistat (which also does not include the cost of providing a concomitant weight management programme as recommended by NICE). Furthermore, in addition to the short-term cost-effectiveness whilst patients are participating in the scheme it is also important to consider the long-term benefits of such a scheme, which provides support in behaviour change to help patients adopt healthier lifestyle habits.
Long-term financial benefits
Referred patients benefit
from noticeable improvements in health and wellbeing. Many
Slimming World members
report that they require less medication, including anti-hypertensive
medication and diabetes treatment, and some no longer
require any medication at all once they have lost weight successfully.
Support
for your team
Slimming World on Referral fulfils
your needs as a health professional in striving to
deliver a healthy weight management plan to your patients.
Slimming World on  Referral
provides training in effective service co ordination to participating health
care teams and Slimming World Consultants, which in turn enhances patient commitment
to the programme. Slimming World training provided for Consultants to run their
groups is ongoing and advanced. With more than 35 years’ research and practical
experience to draw on, the Slimming World approach is based on a deep insight
into the problems
and treatment of overweight, and represents the very best practice in group
support and behaviour modification.
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