Update – Recent news reports on the NHS roll out of weight loss injections in general practice

There have been several news reports recently regarding the NHS roll out of weight loss injections in general practice, including the medication tirzepatide (Mounjaro.)

Whilst tirzepatide is becoming available for help with weight loss from general practice, the rollout of treatment will be phased over several years and initially, prescription will be restricted to patients meeting the following eligibility criteria:-

BMI of 40 or above (or 37.5 for patients of South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds)

plus 4 health conditions including:-

High blood pressure, raised cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes.

Patients will also need to attend a programme of ‘wrap around care,’ to help with nutrition and lifestyle.  This can be face to face or digital.  We are awaiting further guidance from our local Integrated Care Board on when the wrap around care will be available and for formal agreement on service delivery.

We will contact eligible patients directly to invite them for a consultataion with our prescribing lead. Please don’t contact the practice about this.