Ozempic-like fat jabs to be rolled out by NHS in high street pharmacies WITHOUT having to see a GP
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NHS weight loss jabs could rolled in pharmacies under plans to make them more widely available and "tackle the obesity epidemic".
Pharmacists could be given the power to prescribe injections like Wegovy and Mounjaro on the NHS, meaning patients won't need to see a GP to get them.
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Pharmacists may be given the power to prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS
Credit: Alamy
The jabs - which work mimicking hormones released by the body when we're full to reduce hunger pangs - can currently only be given out on the NHS by GPs or specialist clinics, which tend to have long waiting lists.
They can also be bought privately via licensed online pharmacies - but this can cost patients around £200 a month and could also allow people who aren't obese to access the jabs.
It was announced earlier this month that GPs would begin prescribing Mounjaro to a select few patients with a BMI of 40 or over and obesity-related health conditions.
While the long-term plan is for weight loss jabs to be more widely available, a gradual roll-out has been adopted to manage GPs' workload and NHS resources while getting the injections to those most in need.
Experts have previously warned only 220,000 people out of the 3.4million who are eligible are likely to get jabs by 2028.
Officials expect that pharmacies - rather than GPs - will eventually be able to prescribe drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy to patients who are obese but don't have other serious health problems that could complicate their course of treatment.
New proposals to allow pharmacists to start prescribing weight loss meds on the NHS will form part of the Government's 10 Year Health Plan, due to be unveiled later this week by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The plans will also see pharmacies made 'major player[s] on NHS front line', The Telegraph reported.
They will be given extra powers to help more patients issues like obesity, asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'I'm determined to get the care you need as close as possible to your home and, as pillars of our communities, pharmacies will play a vital role.
Women taking fat jabs need 'effective contraception' - as health chiefs warn of serious harm to unborn babies
'The nation's high streets will join the front line of NHS care, as pharmacists get far more power to prescribe and manage a range of health conditions.
"Our Plan for Change will give patients greater choice and access to the right care, so your healthcare fits around your life – not the other way round.'
Pharmacists will also be encouraged to give obesity-sufferers dietary counselling and lifestyle advice, The Telegraph said.
The NHS also plans to work with weight loss jab suppliers to push down the price of the drugs, to make it affordable for the health service to offer jabs to every clinically obese person who wants one, according to The i.
Wegovy vs Ozempic - what's the difference?
Ozempic is often used as a catch-all term for weight loss drugs, but the drug - whose active ingredient is semaglutide - is actually prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes and has the added benefit of making users lose weight.
Its manufacturer Novo Nordisk later released a higher dose of semaglutide under the brand name Wegovy to treat obesity.
Using Ozempic for weight loss would mean you're using it 'off label' and not for its intended purpose.
Not only could that be dangerous to you, it could also mean you're depriving diabetes patients from vital medication.
Wegovy and Ozempic are in a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA).
They work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone produced naturally by your gut when you eat food, which signals to the brain that you're full and prevents you from overeating
Pharmaceutical companies will be offered the chance to team up with the NHS on clinical trials which could bring more treatments to market in due course, the paper added.
Labour's forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan will also see supermarkets pushed to 'make the healthy choice the easy choice' for shoppers, by changing the layout of shops or offering discounts on certain items.
He said that cutting 216 calories from the daily intake of every overweight person would halve the nation's obesity rate.
According to Mr Streeting, the measures represent a "shift from sickness to prevention".
He claimed cutting 216 calories from the daily intake of every overweight person would halve the nation's obesity rate.
The Health Secretary said: "Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services.
"Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable.
"The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference.
"If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day – the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink – obesity would be halved.
"Through our new healthy food standard, we will make the healthy choice the easy choice, because prevention is better than cure."
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