{"id":146781,"date":"2025-11-18T17:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/146781\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T17:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:54:08","slug":"government-issues-statement-on-weight-loss-jab-mounjaro-after-nhs-eligibility-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/146781\/","title":{"rendered":"Government issues statement on weight loss jab Mounjaro after ‘NHS eligibility’ concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHS is rolling out Mounjaro with a focus on those with the “highest clinical need”\"AMore than a million people in the UK are estimated to be currently using weight loss jabs(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

The Government has issued a response after concerns that some patients with weight-related health problems won’t be able to access the new weight loss jab Mounjaro on the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tirzepatide – better known as Mounjaro – is a weight loss medicine that makes patients feel fuller for longer<\/a> and therefore less hungry. It comes in the form of an injection, which is self-administered once a week.<\/p>\n

The jab was approved for use in England in 2023 and was initially only available through specialist weight-loss services.<\/p>\n

In June, thousands more patients became eligible to get the drug through their GP in an NHS rollout<\/a>. Currently, patients with a BMI of 40 or higher and multiple obesity-related health problems are eligible.<\/p>\n

Labour<\/a> MP Mohammad Yasin, who represents Bedford, pressed the Department of Health and Social Care on what support is available for people living with multiple obesity-related conditions but who don\u2019t currently meet the NHS threshold for Mounjaro.<\/p>\n

Responding on Tuesday (November 18), Health Minister Ashley Dalton said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which decides whether new medicines are clinically and cost-effective, has estimated around 3.4 million people will be eligible for the jab under its guidance.<\/p>\n

\"AshleyAshley Dalton MP is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

The NHS is rolling out the jab with a focus on those with the “highest clinical need”, Ms Dalton said. Health bosses say that around 220,000 people are expected to receive Mounjaro<\/a> through the NHS over the next three years.<\/p>\n

In the mass roll out, the drug will be given to certain people with a BMI over 40, or 37.5 in patients from a minority ethnic background. These patients must have at least four out of five of the following health problems linked to obesity:<\/p>\n

Type 2 diabetesHigh blood pressureHeart and vascular diseaseHigh cholesterolObstructive sleep apnoea<\/p>\n

Responding to the concerns raised by Mr Yasin, the government said they will speed up access to Mounjaro “if possible”, while NICE will review progress in around three years.<\/p>\n

Ms Dalton said: “For those not currently eligible for tirzepatide, there are a variety of weight management services provided by the NHS and local government. These range from multi-component behavioural programmes to specialist services for those living with severe obesity and associated co-morbidities.<\/p>\n

“All weight management services will have some form of eligibility criteria to ensure that they are targeted at those most likely to benefit.<\/p>\n

“For example, the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is a behavioural programme primarily aimed at adults living with obesity who also have type 2 diabetes and\/or hypertension.”<\/p>\n

The NHS says a GP can offer advice about losing weight safely by eating a healthy, balanced diet and doing regular physical activity. They can also refer you to a specialist weight management service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHS is rolling out Mounjaro with a focus on those with the “highest clinical need”More than a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3414,50845,103,61,60,371,782],"class_list":["post-146781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-department-of-health","tag-dieting-and-weight-loss","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-medication","tag-nhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}