Hospital trusts are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds every year on changes to the environment and extra equipment for use on overweight and obese patients.
Wider mortuary doors, sturdier chairs and beds, and hoists and other movement and transfer equipment are being ordered to accommodate a rising number of heavier patients.
Figures released to the Daily Mail under the Freedom of Information Act show hospitals in Greater Manchester have spent £167,000 on extra equipment and building modifications in the past three years.
Tameside Hospital had to widen its mortuary doors at a cost of £2,270; while Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust racked up a total bill of £97,000.
Stockport NHS Trust has seen its spend on apparatus for obese patients more than double in the past two years – spending £15,000 in 2013.
The majority of the cash was spent on hiring beds, hoist chairs and commodes for obese patients, which set them back £53,558 in 2011/12, after which the trust started buying its own equipment.
The board put £31,240 towards hiring more sturdy beds, as well as another £10,350 on bariatric chairs, cushions and commodes.
Bolton NHS Trust bought a commode and two chairs that can stand weights of up to 50 stone as part of a £19,750 spend on equipment suitable for obese patients over a two-year period.
And the Christie paid £18.95 for a walking stick as part of a £4,371 spend on bariatric equipment, while Tameside spent a total of £3,916.25.
A spokeswoman for The Christie said: “We remain committed to providing the very best standards of treatment and care for our patients.
“Purchasing equipment like this walking stick ensures we can provide personalised care to help improve the patient experience”
Peter Denton, manager at HealthWatch Tameside, a patients’ group, said: “It’s the way the population is now unfortunately.”