Postcode lottery for 'King Kong' of weight loss jabs, with only eight NHS care boards providing treatment

Thousands of severely obese patients are facing severely delayed attraction with what's been called the 'King Kong' of value nonaccomplishment jabs - due to the fact that the NHS rollout has been mismanaged and underfunded, according to Sky News research.

Mounjaro was expected to beryllium disposable done GP surgeries and different assemblage services from 23 June nether an statement betwixt NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the assemblage that provides guidance connected the usage of caller drugs.

But Freedom of Information requests by Sky News uncover a postcode lottery, with lone 8 of 42 NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) successful England telling america they were providing attraction to patients, and galore of the remainder incapable to warrant erstwhile it would beryllium available.

The probe besides shows that astatine slightest 19 had a headdress connected however galore eligible patients they would dainty successful the archetypal year.

Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an obesity specialist astatine University Hospitals Birmingham, said galore patients were hopeless for attraction - and Mounjaro whitethorn beryllium a hopeful assistance for those eligible.

"Giving radical unfastened promises and mounting them up for disappointment and nonaccomplishment is intelligibly grossly unfair," helium said.

"That's what the existent strategy is doing."

NICE said successful December that the NHS should connection Mounjaro to patients with a BMI implicit 40 and astatine slightest 4 objective conditions related to their weight, specified arsenic bosom illness oregon benignant 2 diabetes.

It calculated from NHS England information that determination were 97,500 patients who should beryllium treated successful the archetypal year.

But Dr Hazelhurst says NHS England has lone provided backing for conscionable implicit 22,000 patients.

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"It shows that there's a deficiency of governmental volition to money this adequately," helium said. "NHS England says that obesity costs the NHS £11.4bn per annum arsenic a axenic NHS cost.

"Yet we can't adjacent spend to decently money the rollout of a life-changing cause successful twelvemonth one. That conscionable doesn't marque immoderate sense."

Gary - who doesn't privation his surname utilized - weighs 25 chromatic (158kg) and becomes severely retired of enactment aft climbing lone a fewer stairs.

He is eligible for attraction with Mounjaro nether the agreed NHS guidelines. But his country said "no" and told him it would beryllium astatine slightest the autumn earlier the cause would beryllium disposable successful the Hampshire area.

"They said to america that September would beryllium the earliest they going to look astatine it and past the criteria mightiness change, truthful there's nary knowing if I'm going to get it," helium said.

"I was truthful excited erstwhile I work astir this drug. If I had the cause and mislaid immoderate weight, it could assistance maine determination around, it could assistance maine spell sportfishing again, each kinds of things.

"It's not for vanity. It would beryllium a beingness changer."

There are 3.4 cardinal radical successful England who would suffice for attraction nether the NICE eligibility criteria. But NHS England has said it volition instrumentality 12 years to measure and prescribe to those who request it.

Dr Hazlehurst said determination would ne'er beryllium specified a dilatory rollout with a caller crab attraction - and yet, obesity besides kills.

"There's a immense magnitude of stigma that drives things to bash with obesity attraction each crossed the system," helium said. "The 'eat less, determination more' nonsense doesn't help.

"That is simply a truly unhelpful, harmful and stigmatising approach, peculiarly successful an property of effectual treatment."

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A spokesperson for NHS England said it had "fully supported the rollout" of Mounjaro.

They said: "We issued guidance and provided backing successful March to each Integrated Care Boards to enactment attraction costs, alteration scaling of services and supply wrap-around care, including integer enactment services."