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Anorak News | Berkshire Woman Hazel Kent Wins Gastric Bypass Case

Berkshire Woman Hazel Kent Wins Gastric Bypass Case

by | 21st, September 2010

HAZEL Kent wanted a gastric bypass on the NHS. The NHS said no. Her local primary care trust (PCT) in Bracknell, Berkshire refused to treat her.

Mrs Kent, 40, and a mother of three, then sought a judicial review (which often involves human rights issues and planning decisions). She weighed 16 stone.

She had had a band fitted before. In September 2001 she paid for the operation.  Her weight fell from 17-and-a-half stone to 10 stone. But just over two years later the gastric band came loose and had to be removed.

Mrs Kent gained weight. So she asked the NHS to give her a new band, which cost between £8,000 and £15,000 each time.

She took the PCT to court and won. Says she:

“When I first heard the news I did feel slightly deflated because going to court was not just for me, it was for other people like me and this was a landmark case. I just stuck to my guns and I just want to say to people don’t ever give up. This is going to change my life dramatically and was my only hope.”

Good for her? Or hard luck on the taxpayer?

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BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated handout photo of Hazel Kent at her thinnest after initial weight lose surgery but before the gastric band had to be removed.



Posted: 21st, September 2010 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink