Every Wednesday we have a formal clinical meeting at which we discuss the events relating to patients from the previous week.
Last week my Patient Care Manager shared an interesting observation. She had volunteered to run a Patient Support Group as our Health Educator was on vacation. She had had a lovely time meeting patients she knew by name but had not previously seen. As she led the discussion she was struck by one thing more than anything else. No matter how much she tried to steer the conversation away from food to talk about support from family and friends, learning to live with a band, physical activity etc, the conversation would swiftly get back to food again. She said “it was like a record being stuck”. I thought this was quite a good analogy as sometimes in clinic I hear the same thing again and again and again from the same patient about what he/she can/can’t eat and never anything about what other alterations are being made to improve the quality of life.
Weight loss surgery can be a life transforming event ….but it’s not all about food.
