Sport Whanganui’s Fit for Surgery patients disheartened by Health NZ funding cut

Denise and Phillip Freeman have benefited from Sport Whanganui's Fit for Surgery programme which will lose its Health NZ funding in June. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

Patients of Whanganui’s Fit for Surgery programme are gutted by Health New Zealand’s announcement that it will no longer provide funding.

Fit for Surgery, founded in 2018 by anaesthetist Dr Marco Meijer, is a health programme designed to help people lose weight before having elective hip and knee surgery. It is led by Sport Whanganui.

In late March, Health NZ said the programme would not be funded past June 2025 but it was committed to evaluating what type of service would best meet the needs of the community and ensure patients were fit for surgery.

The news of the funding cut has current patients anxious about their future.

“It knocked us in the guts a bit, [the programme] has helped us and worked for us, I’ve lost a hell of a lot of weight,” Carol Tait said.

“Most of us are all gutted that it’s going to close, it stinks.”

Carol and Steve Tait have benefited from the programme over the past few years, losing a combined total of more than 60kg in preparation for their knee surgeries.

The retired couple praised the programme’s navigator, Ceinwen Pa’a, as the driving force behind their drastic weight loss.

“She was a person that you could talk to about it - Ceinwen is a people person,” Carol said.

“It’s gutting for her that she’s going to lose a lot of patients or even her job, it’s not fair.”

Steve said Pa’a had “a way with her” and used her calm temperament to make the patients feel okay about their progress, or sometimes lack of progress, to motivate them.

“She’s just a hell of a nice lady - I think it is going to be a bad thing if it closes,” Steve said.

Steve and Carol Tait have lost a combined total of more than 60kg through the Sport Whanganui-led Fit for Surgery programme. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

Denise Freeman, another patient who has used the programme’s resources, recently had surgery for her knee and is waiting for hip surgery.

She has gone from 121kg to 94kg during her time with the Fit for Surgery initiative.

“I’ve had a lot of comments from my friends and family that they can see the transformation and it feels really good,” she said.

“It makes a big difference. It feels good to look at myself when I go out shopping and look for size 18 instead of a size 24.

“The weight loss has taken a load off my body and joints and I don’t take as much pain relief as I was.”

Denise Freeman and the Taits said the programme was motivating and it was good to connect with people in similar situations.

Denise’s husband, Phillip, said the programme was well run.

“It works really well, it’s a connection between the hospital and Denise to follow up where we are in the waiting list,” Phillip said.

“They support each other, it’s a bit of a guiding light - it’s a good way of doing it.”

The programme has referred 116 people for surgery since 2018 and has progressed 30 others to the point where they do not require surgery.

The programme offers dietary advice, monthly check-ins, exercise classes and a gym with pre-surgery-specific equipment.

Carol did not know what she would do if the programme stopped.

“What do they expect us to do when it closes down? Are they waiting for all us oldies to croak it? That’s what it feels like, they just don’t care any more,” she said.

“I’m going to be scared that I’ll put it all back on again. As much as you try not to, you haven’t got that person there that you can explain how you feel to - I don’t know what I’m going to do if it closes.

“I’m going to be lost without it - a lot of people are going to be lost if they can’t keep it going.”

Denise was disappointed with Health NZ’s decision to cut the funding and said it was a contradictory situation.

“I’m annoyed. The Government is telling people that they have to lose weight to get the surgery. Well, how the hell are people meant to lose weight if they take away things to help them?” Denise said.

“They can see that the programme is an award-winning one and they can see the amount of people that they’ve had through.

“It’s so frustrating that the Government take things away from people that enable them to change their lifestyles - it makes me angry.”

Health NZ said this week there was no update on a future service and any announcement would be made closer to June when the Fit for Surgery contract was due to end.