FAQs

The Counterweight Programme is a structured weight management programme. It is based on the best evidence of effective methods for helping patients to lose weight and has been shown to be clinically beneficial and cost effective.

Counterweight can be directly commissioned by PCTs or by GP clusters via the practice based commissioning process.

Counterweight is designed to integrate into a wider obesity management strategy involving key stakeholders from primary care.
Counterweight is positioned as an in-house primary care service in addition to the public health initiatives and campaigns promoting health and specialized services for more complex patients. The whole multi-disciplinary team should be engaged in decisions regarding implementation of the programme.

Counterweight Specialists (dietitians and registered nutritionists specialising in the management of obesity) work in Primary Care Trusts over a 12-month period to implement the programme. The Counterweight Specialists provide training sessions for the nurses/health practitioners who will deliver the intervention; they also provide ongoing mentoring and support and train a local NHS Counterweight Clinician to sustain the programme. Counterweight Specialists works with 10 average sized general practices, training and supporting approximately 20 practitioners, who will see up to 500 patients in one year.

The Counterweight team have developed a comprehensive training package and manual, desk top flip charts for quick access to key information plus a series of 19 patient information booklets. The booklets cover a range of topics from healthy eating and behaviour change to physical activity and information on portion size.

The Counterweight programme, in addition to provision of evidence-based guidelines and classroom training, provides practical support to facilitate local implementation of the programme. A key component of Counterweight is the practice based mentoring which takes place for up to six months following the initial classroom based training.
Some primary care programmes have provided general practice staff with guidelines and classroom based training around weight management. Evaluation concluded that this did not improve patient weight change outcomes.

Counterweight through its training and ongoing mentoring aims to change both Counterweight Practitioner and patient behaviours to integrate obesity management into daily practice. This has been proven to produce clinically beneficial weight loss.

The PCT is committed to funding Counterweight for the first year and if the programme is to be sustained and rolled out after the first year funding the NHS Counterweight Clinician position and the programme materials needed to train and supply further practices.
Counterweight was piloted with no additional resource for practices. It intends to make better use of time already spent with patients presenting with obesity and its related problems. Counterweight has been shown to be cost effective.
Counterweight has published extensively around the resource burden of obesity and this work can help shape local decisions around this matter.

The GMC QOF means that some practices feel activity around obesity and its management could be improved where incentives are made available for the work.

Yes. We have protocols and support available to assist with local and national ongoing evaluation of the programme.

The Counterweight project team provides quarterly reports to the PCT. Local steering groups are encouraged to ensure key stakeholders are involved with the work. All Counterweight Specialists are State Registered with the necessary codes of conduct. The Counterweight project is managed by the Counterweight Project board which includes 8 leading NHS clinicians with expertise in the development and treatment of obesity. All Counterweight Specialists are employed by the Robert Gordon University.