NEW figures reveal 23 obese patients in North Yorkshire are on the waiting list for a stomach stapling operation - despite fears that very few people in the county would meet the strict criteria.

But a York GP said 23 patients was still not high enough - and hit out at the Government's postcode lottery approach to care.

York and North Yorkshire PCT announced earlier this week that harsh new guidelines would govern who could qualify for obesity surgery - meaning only patients who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 50 - a level classified as "extremely obese" - will be considered.

But Dr David Fair, of Jorvik Medical Practice, said the bar had been set too high.

He said: "The national guideline is that patients should get the operation if their BMI is 40.

"I know of about five to ten patients who have a BMI of between 40 and 50 who would probably like to be considered for the operation - and that's just one doctor's surgery."

Patients living in neighbouring trust areas, such as Leeds and East Yorkshire, are considered for surgery if their BMI exceeds 40.

Dr Fair said: "The thing that worries me is that we have a postcode lottery, where we have patients in other PCT areas able to have surgery if they want, while patients in York can't get it."

"The whole system is so unfair that your place of residence determines what kind of medical care you are entitled to.

"We all pay the same taxes and we are all subject to the same laws, so why can't we all receive the same health care?

"It's not the PCT's fault, it's the Department of Health's fault for allocating the budgets in an unfair manner, so that people in York and other areas are penalised just because of where they live."

Sarah Howey, a spokesperson for the PCT, said the patients who had been approved for obesity surgery either had a BMI above 50, or had been found to have exceptional clinical need.

She said: "Patients follow a pathway of care which includes a range of treatments such as exercise, psychiatric help, nutritional advice and certain prescribed drugs.

"At the end of the pathway, surgery becomes an option."