Woman's 'right' to stomach stapling

Jackie Sallis wants the NHS to pay for her operation

A woman who fears her weight could kill her is asking her health authority to pay for a stomach-stapling operation.

Jackie Sallis from Cheltenham, weighs 23 stone (146 kilograms) and is 4ft 11in.

Ms Sallis wants the national health service (NHS) to pay £5,000 for the treatment.

The 35-year-old carries a walking stick and says her obesity has affected her life and her health.

Heart disease

But the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Primary Care Trust says it does not have the money to fund the operation, although it said it would review Ms Sallis's case.

"I get short of breath just walking to the door and if I go anywhere I normally get a taxi because I am in so much pain when I am walking," said Ms Sallis.

Ms Sallis: "Genuine illness"

"I want to have my stomach stapled to help me lose weight for good. Without it, I feel my weight could kill me."

More than 30,000 deaths a year are caused by obesity in England and the World Heart Federation has warned that obesity will soon overtake tobacco smoking as the biggest cause of heart disease worldwide.

Ms Sallis said: "I have got a genuine illness and I should have the right to be treated by the NHS.

"People like me are suffering."

The chief executive of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Primary Care Trust, Caroline Fowles, said: "You could look at people who drive cars and have accidents, people who smoke, or who play sports and have injuries.

"Where would people feel the NHS should draw the line?

"Our way of responding to that is to take every individual patient and look at their clinical need and the evidence about the sorts of treatments available and take decisions on that basis.

"Even though we have a list of procedures we don't routinely fund, people can ask us to review their case and that's what we are doing in this particular circumstance."