NHS customer case · Leicester

Measurable progress in a high-need regional obesity service

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust delivers specialist Complications of Excess Weight care for children and young people across the East Midlands.

Its multidisciplinary service supports a clinically complex population and has publicly reported meaningful reductions in BMI-SDS alongside coordinated medical, psychological, dietetic and physiotherapy support.

Evira adds a digital layer around this specialist pathway, helping families and clinical teams stay connected between scheduled interactions.

East Midlands CEW hubPublished service outcomesMultidisciplinary care

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

At a glance

223

children and young people reviewed by the Leicester CEW service at the time of UHL's 2024/25 Prevention Report

−0.23

mean BMI-SDS change reported across the service cohort

42.5%

had one or more complications associated with excess weight

23%

had a recorded neurodevelopmental diagnosis

University Hospitals of Leicester Prevention Report 2024/25

The population

Supporting children with complex clinical and psychosocial needs

Children referred to specialist CEW services are not simply receiving support with weight.

University Hospitals of Leicester describes a population with significant medical, psychological and social complexity.

Among the 223 children and young people reviewed by the service, almost half had at least one complication related to excess weight, while neurodevelopmental diagnoses were also common.

This creates a pathway that needs to coordinate multiple forms of specialist care over time rather than rely on a single intervention.

42.5%

one or more weight-related complications

23%

recorded neurodevelopmental diagnosis

223

children and young people reviewed

Source 1

The pathway today

A multidisciplinary, child-centred model

University Hospitals of Leicester describes its CEW service as a specialist, child-centred pathway focused on early identification and coordinated management of obesity-related complications.

Paediatric medical assessment

Metabolic complication screening

Psychology

Physiotherapy

Dietetics

Links with community services

The aim is to provide personalised treatment while coordinating the different clinical needs that can accompany severe obesity.

In practice

Coordinating treatment around the child

Assess clinical risk

Children receive specialist assessment and screening for complications associated with severe obesity.

Bring the MDT together

Medical, psychological, dietetic and physiotherapy expertise can be combined around individual needs.

Personalise treatment

Care plans are tailored to the child, their family, clinical complications and wider circumstances.

Follow progress

Treatment and clinical outcomes are monitored over time, allowing the team to adjust the intensity and type of support.

NHS England's current commissioning guidance describes CEW services as specialist, tier 3-equivalent services built around personalised, family-centred multidisciplinary care.

Source 3

Published service outcomes

Leicester reports clinically significant improvement

University Hospitals of Leicester published detailed results from its paediatric CEW service in its 2024/25 Prevention Report.

223

children and young people reviewed

−0.23

mean BMI-SDS change across the service cohort

−0.32

mean BMI-SDS change among children prescribed semaglutide

−3.8 kg/m²

mean absolute BMI change in the semaglutide group

UHL describes the overall mean BMI-SDS reduction of −0.23 as a clinically significant change.

Among children prescribed semaglutide, the reported mean BMI-SDS reduction was −0.32, alongside an average absolute BMI reduction of 3.8 kg/m².

These are observational outcomes from the overall Leicester multidisciplinary CEW service. They should not be interpreted as Evira-specific treatment effects or as evidence that any single component of the pathway caused the reported change.

Read the UHL Prevention Report ↗

Where digital support fits

Extending continuity around specialist treatment

The Leicester pathway brings together specialist clinical assessment, behavioural support and ongoing management of obesity-related complications.

Evira adds another way for families and the clinical team to remain connected between scheduled interactions.

Connected home measurements can provide an ongoing view of progress, while digital communication allows support and feedback to continue without every interaction requiring a hospital appointment.

Evira supports the existing multidisciplinary model. It is not a replacement for specialist clinical care.

At home

Families can collect measurements outside the hospital using a connected device that does not display weight numbers.

Over time

Progress is presented as a trajectory rather than isolated measurements.

Between appointments

Digital communication allows families and clinicians to maintain contact around the existing care pathway.

A growing need

Strong demand for specialist care

The Leicester service is supporting a high-need population within a region where childhood excess weight remains a major public health challenge.

UHL reported that the service had reviewed 223 children and young people and had secured funding until March 2027.

At the same time, referrals had been temporarily paused because of the size of the waiting list and available service capacity.

This illustrates a wider challenge for specialist obesity services: how to provide sufficiently intensive and personalised care as demand grows.

University Hospitals of Leicester Prevention Report 2024/25

Equitable specialist care

Reaching a diverse population

Leicester serves one of the most diverse populations in England and includes communities experiencing significant deprivation.

UHL's CEW cohort reflects some of these wider health inequalities.

The Trust reported that 18.4% of patients in the service were of Asian ethnicity and that substantial numbers lived in areas associated with greater deprivation.

UHL also reported high levels of neurodevelopmental conditions and obesity-related complications within the cohort.

These characteristics reinforce the need for flexible, personalised and accessible specialist care rather than a uniform treatment model.

Source 1

The role of continuity

Specialist care extends beyond individual appointments

Severe childhood obesity can involve metabolic, psychological, developmental and social complications that require sustained multidisciplinary treatment.

NHS England's 2026 commissioning toolkit sets out the service characteristics that integrated care boards should consider when commissioning CEW services, informed by the NIHR-funded national evaluation, and describes care built around personalised multidisciplinary support.

For services such as Leicester, digital support can therefore sit around the specialist pathway and help maintain continuity across a longer treatment journey.

Source 3

What comes next

Building a sustainable regional pathway

University Hospitals of Leicester reports that its paediatric CEW service has secured funding until March 2027.

Alongside managing the current caseload, a wider weight-management strategy is being developed across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to create a more coordinated, equitable and sustainable pathway for children, young people and adults.

This places the service within a broader shift towards long-term system-level obesity care rather than isolated programmes.

Public evidence

What the evidence tells us

Leicester service outcomes

University Hospitals of Leicester Prevention Report 2024/25

Primary source for the 223-patient cohort, clinical complexity, BMI-SDS outcomes, semaglutide subgroup and service development.

View UHL report ↗

NHS England

CEW services commissioning toolkit, August 2026

Current national guidance on the CEW model, multidisciplinary care and how integrated care boards should commission these specialist services.

View commissioning guidance ↗

NHS England

Complications from Excess Weight clinics

Confirms University Hospitals of Leicester within the national CEW network serving the East Midlands.

View national CEW network ↗

Sources and references

The published Leicester outcomes are results of the overall multidisciplinary CEW service, not Evira-specific outcomes. Evira is presented as a digital support layer within that pathway.