More weight-loss drugs could be offered as part of new diabetes care

Treatment for millions of people with type 2 diabetes should be more personalised, with greater access to newer medicines, including weight-loss drugs, the healthcare assessment body for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has recommended.

It calls the move "the biggest shake-up" in type 2 diabetes care in a decade.

Offering more people the new drugs will prevent complications such as heart disease, strokes and kidney damage, reduce costs to the NHS and potentially save lives, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says.

Around 4.6 million people in the UK are diagnosed with diabetes - of these 90% have type 2, with another 1.3 million likely to be undiagnosed.

NICE, which produces guidance for the NHS on how to give patients the best care, recommends a move away from a "one size fits all" approach and towards more personalised treatment.

It is calling for newer diabetes medicines called SGLT-2 inhibitors, which protect the heart and kidneys as well as lowering blood sugar levels, to become the first-choice treatment for all diabetes patients. Around 2.3 million people will be eligible for these drugs.

Some 22,000 lives could be saved if 90% of all diabetes patients were prescribed them, NICE says, but access is not equal across the UK. There is evidence that women, older people and black people are less likely to be prescribed them.

"There is some urgency to find ways to increase the uptake of SGLT-2 inhibitors because if we were to achieve perfect uptake, the nation would be significantly healthier," said Dr Waqaar Shah, chair of the guideline committee.

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Source: BBC News, 20 August 2025