Jake Carte, a twenty-six year old from Saanich, British Colombia, weights more than five hundred pounds. He is officially in \u201cthe super morbid obesity\u201d class, and has spent the last few days in hospital due to weight related complications.<\/p>\n
\u2018I ended up in hospital because I was having lots of trouble breathing,\u2019 Carte was quoted as saying from his hospital bed. \u2018It\u2019s going to be a while before I can walk.\u2019 Jake was admitted to the intensive care unit a day before he was to see Dr Brad Amson, a weight-loss specialist. He now doesn\u2019t know how long it will be before he can see somebody.<\/p>\n
Longer waiting lists have emerged in British Colombia due to a hefty reduction to the amount of bariatric surgeries by the British Colombia public health system.<\/p>\n
Founding member of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, Dr Daniel Birch was quoted as stating: \u2018It\u2019s absolutely devastating and I\u2019d really like to hear an explanation from the people that made those decisions. I think they should answer to the physicians and surgeons in B.C. who have asked for help, and to the patients who have asked to manage this issue and disease. The problem is at higher level \u2013 administrations, surgical leadership and politics \u2013 that\u2019s where we\u2019re hitting the roadblocks.\u2019<\/p>\n