Some of the team are pictured at the Accu Stadium in Huddersfield at a previous bariatric surgery team education day

The well-established CHFT Bariatric Team have received funding from the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to expand their service to reach more patients living with obesity across Calderdale and Huddersfield.

The new Specialist Weight Management Service is based in secondary care and offers a patient-centred approach including the following options:

  • Group education on the fundamentals of nutrition, lifestyle change and psychological aspects of weight management
  • Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery with a supportive two year follow-up pathway
  • Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) one year pathway with multi-disciplinary wraparound care 

The multi-disciplinary team comprises bariatric surgeons, specialist dietitians, nurses, psychologists and a dedicated administration team. Additional funding has allowed the team to recruit an additional nurse, psychologist and a further two dietitians, significantly increasing appointment capacity. The team take a non-judgemental, compassionate and holistic approach to weight management and will tailor support to the individual’s needs and circumstances to ensure weight loss is sustainable. 

The service officially opened to new referrals in November 2025 and has received over 250 referrals so far. Feedback about the new group education sessions has been positive and the team is working jointly with patients to constantly improve these new pathways. 

Bariatric Clinical Lead Dietitian, Melanie Langley, said  “We are incredibly proud to launch the new Specialist Weight Management Service here at CHFT. This expansion represents a truly exciting step forward for our patients and for our team. With increased capacity, new pathways, and a broader multidisciplinary workforce, we can now support more people than ever to achieve meaningful, sustainable improvements in their health. Our team is passionate about delivering innovative, compassionate, patient‑centred care, and we are thrilled to have built a service that reflects those values. We look forward to continuing to collaborate and evolve alongside our patients as we develop this next chapter for CHFT.”

Information about eligibility 

The Specialist Weight Management Service is open to patients who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more. Patients can be referred by their GP or healthcare professional by completing the Specialist Weight Management Service referral form and sending it to cah-tr.chftbariatric@nhs.net.

To access the Tirzepatide pathway, patients need to additionally meet the eligibility criteria set out by NHS England, which is currently a BMI of 40 or more alongside 4 of the following ‘qualifying’ comorbidities: hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. A BMI of 37.5 or more alongside 4 of the qualifying co-morbidities is used for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds. The eligibility criteria is likely to expand in the future in line with the NHS England roll-out. 

For more information, please see the team's dedicated page on the CHFT website, or contact the team directly on 01484 355217.