GEORGE NEWS - Obesity increases the risk of various illnesses and overall mortality rate. Therefore more frequent health visits are observed. But the quality of the healthcare people receive also depends on your body mass index (BMI).
As an outpatient, blood tests and radiological investigations are often required to diagnose or monitor medical conditions. Obesity poses a significant barrier to simple procedures such as drawing blood. Veins become challenging to visualize or feel, and therefore patients are often poked with a needle many times, which is painful and traumatic.
As an inpatient, it is often challenging to get venous access for intravenous (IV) lines to administer fluids or essential treatment. IV-line infections are a lot more common amongst obese individuals.
As mentioned, obtaining blood to monitor a patient can be extremely difficult, especially for the doctor on call at 02:00 in the morning. Diabetic patients who present in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), for example, need four-hourly bloods taken to monitor their acidotic state until they are out of DKA.
For the doctor on call this can become a tedious struggle but has to be done as it is part of a patient’s emergency management. Doctors are often under severe pressure as they have to take care of many ill patients in the wards as well as admit new patients who presented with emergencies.
Again, this can cause a lot of anxiety amongst patients as well. In the unfortunate event where a patient requires resuscitation, an IV line or lack thereof could result in life or death as lifesaving medication is often administered via this route.
Obese patients who fall are at higher risk of physical injuries and for the nursing staff/doctor it is difficult to get the patient back onto their beds.
Patients' weight therefore affects their quality of healthcare by limiting IV-line access and emergency treatment. It can also increase the risk of physical injuries with falls and increases the risk of physical injuries. Overall it negatively affects a patient’s experience and increases anxiety.
Radiological machines, theatre beds and surgery
Radiological investigations are a common part of healthcare. Unfortunately, patient’s weight limits their access to healthcare as X-ray or CT scan machines have an average weight limit of 120 kg. The same goes for theatre beds.
Theatre beds might not be able to accommodate the patient or might even break while surgery is being performed which could lead to many complications. Before patients can undergo surgery, they need to be seen by an anaesthetist to determine whether the patient will be fit for surgery.
For an anaesthetist, a patient’s airway and IV access are two of the most critical parts for successful and safe anaesthesia. An overweight or obese patient automatically has a difficult airway which could complicate the anaesthesia before the surgery commences. From the surgeon’s point of view, operating on an overweight/obese patient is more challenging and postoperative complications are more common.
I have seen many ladies remaining in hospital for weeks to months due to post-caesarean section sepsis. For nursing staff, who need to assist with wound care, turning patients to prevent bed sores and general ward work, obese patients are a big challenge as well.
Health care professionals do their best to provide the best care to their patients. It is however important to note that there are various factors influencing the quality of health care patients receive of which obesity is an important one.
Previous article: Your weight affects the quality of health care you receive
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
