Revealed: Huge shortfall in NHS funding for weight-loss jab

So small wealth has been acceptable speech by the NHS for the rollout of the Mounjaro weight-loss jab successful GP surgeries that arsenic fewer arsenic 1 successful 5 radical with life-threatening obesity is apt to get treatment, caller probe shows.

The NHS estimates that astir 220,000 radical surviving with obesity volition beryllium eligible for attraction done their GP implicit the adjacent 3 years.

But Freedom of Information requests by the British Medical Journal revealed that backing from NHS England has fallen good abbreviated of what is needed for the rollout.

Just 9 retired of 40 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) successful England said they had capable backing to dainty the 70% of eligible patients who are expected to travel forward.

Four ICBs - which program wellness services successful section areas - said NHS backing covered conscionable 25% oregon less of their eligible patients.

Coventry and Warwickshire ICB said backing would lone agelong to dainty 21% of its patients.

The findings corroborate an investigation by Sky News earlier this summer that entree to Mounjaro is simply a postcode lottery for radical surviving with obesity.

Ellen Welch, Doctors' Association UK (DAUK) co-chair, told the BMJ: "These figures corroborate the fearfulness that the rollout is not acceptable for purpose.

"There is simply a immense discrepancy betwixt nationalist messaging and what patients are really being delivered connected a section level."

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Five ICBs admitted they are already considering further tightening the prescribing criteria oregon rationing the attraction beyond the program agreed by the NHS.

Any alteration would efficaciously determination the goalposts for radical who thought they qualified for NHS treatment.

Birmingham and Solihull ICB received backing to screen conscionable 52% of its eligible patients. It admitted: "Difficult decisions are having to beryllium made to guarantee wealth is spent successful the astir effectual and businesslike mode imaginable and for the top diligent benefit."

Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an obesity specializer and researcher astatine the University of Birmingham, said NHS England has lone provided backing for conscionable implicit 22,000 patients successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the rollout.

"It shows that there's a deficiency of governmental volition to money this adequately," helium told Sky News.

"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."

An NHS spokesperson said: "The NHS is afloat supporting the phased rollout of tirzepatide for eligible patients, having issued guidance successful enactment with the NICE guidance, and provided backing to section ICBs to enactment diligent attraction successful March 2025.

"These correspond brand-new services successful superior attraction that are being established and scaled up implicit time, starting with those who are successful the astir request - and successful the meantime, eligible patients tin get value nonaccomplishment enactment from a scope of different services, including the NHS Digital Weight Management programme."