If you are new to seeking surgery on the NHS, there are a few bits of information that you might find useful.

Firstly, you need to know which PCT (Primary Care Trust) you come under. If you are not sure, call your GP's surgery and ask.

If you are in England, most of the PCT's are listed on the BOSPA website. BOSPA - The British Obesity Surgery Patient Association

Most PCT's follow NICE guidelines, which are as follows -

CG43 Obesity: full guideline

Final Appraisal Determination: Surgery to aid weight reduction for people with morbid obesity

BMI of 40 or above, or 35 - 40 with co-morbidities.

If you think you qualify, the first place to start is to visit your GP and ask to be referred for funding. If you are unsure, you can contact your local PCT (google PCT and Name to find website) or local PALS office (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) and ask for clarification on your PCT's referral criteria. These contacts can also be used to clarify the referral process if your GP is unsure/unhelpful.

From there on, all PCTs operate differently. Some will require referral to a surgeon for assessment for suitability prior to funding application, some will require referral to a weight management service or bariatric co-ordinator, and some will require the GP to apply for funding first.

When funding is applied for, it will be considered by a panel as part of the PCT.

The process from GP to surgery varies hugely from one PCT to another, and the timescale can take anything from 2 months to 2 years, or longer.

There is an appeals process - so an initial refusal can be appealed against.

I understand that your GP may apply to more than one PCT - but am unsure what restrictions if any there are on this aspect (just have seen people say that their GP has done this).

I have heard of people exercising "freedom of information" rights in order to ascertain how many instances of a certain procedure have been granted over the past year to see whether their PCT seems to ever fund that procedure...

Loose skin surgery:

May be able to find out about funding tummy tucks without contacting PALS office by scanning for the name of the PCT criteria for abdominoplasty.

My surgeon was of the opinion that the PCT would want to see photographs before they would give the go-ahead for my breast reduction application - therefore it is worth having photographs as part of an application for this type of surgery.