A cross-party group of MPs has urged the NHS in England to expand access to the weight-loss injection Mounjaro, criticising the current plan to offer it free on prescription to only 220,000 people by 2028 as insufficient. This figure represents about 6% of those eligible, prompting over a million individuals to seek private treatment, creating a two-tier system favouring the wealthy. The NHS's 12-year rollout plan, driven by cost concerns and reliance on GPs for prescribing and monitoring, is under review.
The MPs recommend adopting digital platforms used by private providers to streamline patient support and reduce costs, highlighting obesity's £75 billion annual economic impact. They also call for improved access to diet and lifestyle programmes, bariatric surgery, and a crackdown on the black market for unlicensed weight-loss drugs. NHS England stated it is exploring ways to accelerate drug rollout but is currently prioritising patients with the most severe needs.
Read the full story: BBC UK News.
Source: BBC UK News. Aggregated summary, not independent reporting.