Thousands of patients miss out on weight loss jab due to NHS ‘postcode lottery’

Thousands of obese patients are missing out on a key weight loss jab due to a “postcode lottery” of provision in the NHS, according to a report.

Mounjaro, dubbed the “King Kong” of weight loss medicine, was supposed to be available through GP surgeries from 23 June under an agreement between NHS England and NICE.

But just eight out of 42 NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England were able to provide treatment to patients, according to Sky News, who obtained the data using a Freedom of Information request. Many other ICBs were reportedly unable to confirm when treatment would be available.

Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an endocrinologist and obesity physician at University Hospitals Birmingham, said patients were “set up for failure” and have been treated unfairly.

"Giving people open promises and setting them up for disappointment and failure is clearly grossly unfair. That's what the current system is doing,” he told the broadcaster.

NICE said in December that the NHS should offer Mounjaro to patients with a BMI of over 40 and at least four clinical conditions related to their weight, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

It calculated from NHS England data that there were 97,500 patients who should be treated in the first year.

But Dr Hazlehurst claims NHS England has only provided funding for just over 22,000 patients.

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Source: The Independent, 5 August 2025