Fat jabs threaten to overwhelm the already overburdened health service, NHS chief warns

Plans to distribute obesity jabs to the NHS risk overwhelming the already extensive service, Amanda Pritchard has warned.

The CEO of NHS England said the weight-loss drugs could be a ‘game-changer’ when it comes to tackling the country’s bulging waistlines.

But in an email to trust leaders today, seen by the Mail, she stressed the need to transform the way overweight patients access care to meet demand.

It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting revealed the Government wants to use the jabs to stimulate the economy and get unemployed obese people back to work.

Weight-related diseases cost the economy £74 billion a year, with overweight people at increased risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

It can also predispose them to muscle pain that prevents them from working.

Ms Pritchard wrote: ‘Obesity, as we all know, is one of the biggest public health problems we face.

“Cost-effective weight loss medications will be a game-changer, in addition to previous prevention strategies, but without transforming pathways they could overwhelm already extensive services.”

Two in three Britons are overweight or obese, and NHS figures show that people now weigh around a stone more than they did 30 years ago.

The NHS is preparing for the mass rollout of weight loss jabs to 1.6 million patients.

They will target the heaviest and sickest first, the government said last month.

Draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommend Mounjaro injections for people with a BMI of at least 35, as well as weight-related health problems.

Research shows that drugs, sometimes called the ‘King Kong’ of fat-burning drugs, can help people lose up to 26 percent of their body weight in a year and a half.

The government is also backing a five-year study into Mounjaro, which will see pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly evaluate the ‘real-world effectiveness’ of its drug, in partnership with the University of Manchester.

Researchers will quantify the jab’s long-term effects on obesity, diabetes incidence and weight-related complications, as well as its impact on employment, sick days and quality of life.

Ms Pritchard added: ‘Thanks to this partnership, we now have an important opportunity to better understand the benefits of weight management interventions for patients, and how we can best deliver them in the coming years.

‘The agreement also shows that the NHS is uniquely well placed globally, not only to deliver effective new treatments to those who benefit most from them, but also to support science, research, jobs and economic growth across the country to support.

‘That is a capability that we continue to develop.’

Obesity jabs will be tested and made in Britain under government plans to boost NHS supplies and tackle the country’s bulging waistlines

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Breakfast today: ‘I think these medicines could be very important for our economy and for health.

‘This drug will be very useful for people who want to lose weight, need to lose weight, very important for the economy, so that people can go back to work.

‘Very important for the NHS, because as I have said time and again, yes, we need more money for our NHS, but we need to think differently.

‘We need to reduce the pressure on the NHS. So this will help in all these areas.”

And writing in The Telegraph, Mr Streeting said: ‘Our widening waistbands are also placing a significant burden on our healthcare system, costing the NHS £11 billion a year – even more than smoking. And it’s holding our economy back.

‘Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an average of four extra sick days per year, while many others have to go out of work altogether.

‘The long-term benefits of these drugs could be enormous in our approach to tackling obesity.

Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy work by causing the body to bind to a receptor called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a protein that triggers the release of hormones in the brain that keep the stomach full and telling body to stop eating and avoid cravings

NHS-backed data source OpenPrescribe shows rising prescriptions for semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy

‘For many people, these weight loss jabs will be life-changing, helping them get back to work and easing the demands on our NHS.’

However, Mr Streeting stressed that individuals must remain responsible for taking ‘healthy living’ more seriously, as ‘the NHS cannot be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles’.

Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, a family of medications that help control blood sugar levels and are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Other GLP-1 agonists include semaglutide, sold under the brand names Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus.

These medicines have experienced a number of supply problems in recent months.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the Mail on Monday that the government will work with the pharmaceutical industry to open a factory in Britain, which could support the supply of the jabs for the NHS.

Most approved obesity medications come with support for people to make lifestyle and diet changes.