The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has accused the government of failing to address obesity and called for a national model for the commissioning of community services, including pharmacy, for obese patients.

The RCP suggested in a report published last week that GPs should direct obese patients to community services rather than offering in-house clinics, and called for a "clear community programme" for following up bariatric surgery patients.

The report, Action on obesity: Comprehensive care for all, highlighted that the delivery of healthcare to obese patients was "extremely patchy" and the government had "failed to address" the cost of obesity in a joined-up way.

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	The RCP called for every NHS trust to have an obesity champion who could contribute to the development of local obesity services and suggested that every health professional receive more training and education.

Pharmacist Paul Cheston of Hesketh Park Pharmacy in Southport called for greater government direction in the delivery of community pharmacy services.

"At the moment we've got this broad brush sort of approach to giving health and lifestyle advice, but there's no direct government initiative that says: this is what pharmacy should be doing," Mr Cheston said. "So maybe the government could be more proactive in giving pharmacies a bigger lead in terms of tackling obesity."

"I think what we should potentially be doing is recording everyone's BMIs opportunistically and then giving advice to people who fall outside the healthy range really whatever that may be," he added.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) spokesperson Neal Patel said pharmacists could provide advice and support to motivate people to lose weight, "but there's no magic bullet".

"There are advanced services models currently being offered through many primary care trusts, which are utilising the skills of pharmacists to offer lifestyle advice for people in order to manage their weight in the long term," Mr Patel said.

Numark director of marketing Lynne Armstrong said a collaborative approach between GPs and pharmacists "could alleviate some pressure from the NHS and gain valuable patient loyalty". Pharmacists and their teams were invaluable to overweight and obese patients, she added.

The RCP also called for GPs to promote weight management as an integral part of consultations with patients with long-term conditions and include obesity management targets in the quality outcomes framework.