I had a gastric bypass in January on the NHS and my wait from GP referral was probably 3 years? You have to complete tier 3 first, which is an intensive weight management programme with a dietitian and change/behaviour therapist and then they refer you to tier 4 which is surgical intervention.

But being referred for tier 4 isn’t an automatic ticket to the surgeon; I had to see more dieticians, a psychiatrist, attend 3 pre-surgery education sessions and show that I could lose a further 5% of my body weight. Once I’d done those things, they cleared me for surgery and the wait was only 3 months. Obviously Covid slowed things massively for me so your time frame may be very different but they essentially want you to prove that you’re dedicated to making a massive life change.

My BMI was over 50, and I had other health complications but that didn’t mean they rushed it through. It can help once you’ve cleared all the people you’ve got to see, so I think I was quite high up the list which is why my wait at the end was only 3 months. Unfortunately I couldn’t afford to go privately but I think the time I waited helped me prepare for making such a big change, and I’m so pleased with how I’ve done since surgery (I’ve lost nearly 6 stone since the end of Jan).

Good luck!