GPs Get Cash to Prescribe Weight-Loss Drugs

The UK government has allocated £25 million in new financial incentives to encourage General Practitioners (GPs) to prescribe weight-loss drugs, aiming to resolve disparities in patient access. This program targets a noted gap since its launch last summer, which initially faced GP concerns regarding increased workload.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized that access to these potentially life-changing drugs should be need-based, not dependent on affordability. He highlighted the risks associated with unlicensed drugs being sold privately. This initiative forms part of a wider public health package to alleviate the substantial £11 billion economic and health service burden attributed to obesity in the UK.

The new incentives are integrated into the updated GP contract, intended to improve support for patients seeking weight management. While an estimated 2.4 million people in the UK currently use weight-loss drugs, most do so through private means. NHS England's rollout of Mounjaro, a once-weekly injection, is phased over 12 years, prioritizing severely obese patients with co-existing health conditions.

Concerns remain about the potential profound impact on primary care if all eligible patients, estimated at over three million, were to seek treatment simultaneously. Research indicates that private prescriptions for these injections are currently dominated by women and the middle classes, underscoring the need for broader NHS accessibility.