Weight Assessment and Management Service
The Tier 3 Weight Assessment and Management Service (WAMS) is temporarily closed to new referrals. Please speak to your GP to discuss your treatment options, or visit our lose weight pages for information about local support. All existing patients who have been referred into the service are unaffected and will continue to be seen and treated. The Tier 4 Bariatric Service is also unaffected and continues to accept referrals.
North Bristol NHS Trust deliver a specialist Weight Assessment and Management Service (WAMS) for North Somerset residents. WAMS is based at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and is a service for people living with severe or complex obesity. WAMS provides non-surgical weight management support and interventions for a 6-12 month period. You will need to speak to your GP about referral to this service.
The aims of WAMS include:
- The overall aim is to help you lose at least 5% of your initial weight and improve your health and emotional wellbeing. Evidence shows that as little as a 5% weight loss can improve an individual’s risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
- To encourage long-term behaviour change through promoting healthy eating, physical activity and addressing the psychological barriers to unhealthy relationships with food.
- To improve the management of other conditions that are associated with severe obesity e.g. diabetes, sleep apnoea.
- If appropriate, the team can refer you on to the ‘Bristol Bariatric Service’ colleagues (formerly known as Tier 4) for surgical assessment for weight loss surgery. The team will make sure that you are prepared for weight loss surgery, by supporting you to understand the need for behaviour change pre and post-surgery and to assist in making decisions.
Find out more about the Weight Assessment and Management Service (WAMS)
