First, the NHS has tightly restricted their use for weight loss – versions of the drugs are also for diabetes.
Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, is only available as a weight-loss drug for people who are severely obese and living with other health conditions. And it is only allowed to be given under the supervision of specialist weight loss programmes, access to which is like many NHS services constrained.
Mounjaro, meanwhile, is not yet being used by the NHS as a weight-loss treatment – although, the official drugs-advisory body has proposed it should be.
The criteria look likely to be similar, with the exception it may be made available more widely in the community, without the need for specialist supervision.
And how that can be achieved remains to be seen – as patients still need to follow a structured programme of diet and exercise alongside the treatment.
GPs are worried they do not have the capacity to oversee this – and so a range of options are still being explored. And the NHS has warned it could take years for Mounjaro to be rolled out.
There is also concern the drugs could encourage a “dependency culture”, where people do not bother with healthy eating and exercise – something Streeting himself has acknowledged.
