'CONNECT' Child and Young Person Weight Management Service

CONNECT is the first Tier 3 Specialist Weight Management Service for Children and Young People (CYP) in Wales, covering the whole of Aneurin Bevan Health Board. We are a team of professionals working together with CYP and their families to help manage their weight and improve their physical and emotional health. The team is made up of a consultant paediatrician, specialist dietitian, specialist nurse, clinical psychologist and a therapy assistant practitioner.  

 

CONNECT work directly with the CYP and their families and also link in with other health professionals such as GPs, health visitors, school nurses and teachers to provide an individualised service that meets the CYP’s care needs.
 

Who is the service for?

Connect is available for CYP aged 0-18 years who meet the following criteria:

Age <2years old 

• Weight >98th centile
    

Age 2-18 who meet at least one of the following criteria 

• BMI Centile >99.6th centile
• BMI centile >98th and active under social services
• BMI Centile >98th Centile with one or more of the following co-existing conditions:
  
  Co-existing conditions
• Children with a suspected underlying medical (e.g. endocrine) cause of obesity
• Prader-Willi syndrome or where this is suspected
• Strong family history of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes
• Complex social history including adverse childhood experiences (ACES)
• Children who may have serious obesity-related morbidity that requires weight loss( type 2 diabetes, abnormal glucose or insulin metabolism (IFS/IGT, hyperinsulinemia), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, significant joint or mobility problems, dyslipidaemia, benign intracranial hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, features suggestive of polycystic ovarian syndrome, Acanthosis nigricans, Raised levels of alanine aminotransferase (>70) suggestive of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) )

If the CYP doesn’t meet our criteria then we are still available to offer support, advice and training. Please contact us on 0300 3034906 or Connect.abb@wales.nhs.uk. 

Please note we cannot manage psychological risk in our service. If you are currently working with child mental health services or waiting to see them, please contact us first to discuss before filling in our self-referral form otherwise it may be declined. 

Young people aged 18 and above can be referred into the Adult Weight Management Service.  

How do I request support?

We accept ‘request for help’ forms from families and health care professionals.  Please make sure you have an up-to-date height and weight for the request for help form, otherwise we will be unable to process this request. We will however now accept referrals from health care professionals if there are safeguarding concerns and the family are under social services due to this.  We would ask that you watch the Expectations video below so you can understand what our service can offer and what we expect from you and your family. If you cannot complete this form online or have any questions, please call us on 0300 3034906.