15 August 2025:

Weight management medication – update for patients 

Following approval by NICE, tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) will be available on the NHS for eligible patients who meet the strict, nationally-set, criteria.  

The current criteria is that patients are those with a BMI of 40 or higher, and with four or more of the qualifying comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) will be eligible for assessment to identify their suitability for Mounjaro. Anyone not meeting these criteria will not be eligible for assessment in the first year of the drug being available.  

Please do not contact your GP; if you are eligible to be assessed you will be contacted over the coming months and invited to attend an appointment for assessment. Those with the greatest clinical need will be contacted first, so this may mean you have to wait a little longer for an appointment, however it is our intention that anyone who meets the above criteria will have been invited for an assessment over the next 12 months. 

The service in Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent will be provided by General Practice ‘hubs’, this means you may be asked to attend a location that is not your normal GP practice but will still be accessible. GP practices have been asked to work together to ensure that you have better access to the specialist skills needed to deliver a holistic lifestyle assessment. The hubs will be managed by GPs from your local ‘primary care network (PCN)’ and your registered GP will be updated with all your progress and assessments. 

We recognise that a number of patients who have been taking the medication privately will be affected by the announcement of 14^th August, outlining price increases to the Mounjaro injections. The NHS position still remains the same; we will only be offering the injection to those who meet the criteria set out above. Your GP will be able to support you with a conversation about managing your weight but will not be able to prescribe Mounjaro.   

If you are looking for support to help you manage your weight you can find useful information and resources on the ICS website at https://staffsstokeics.org.uk/local-weight-management-services/ and on the dedicated page for weight management medication at Weight Management Medication – Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, ICS . 

Patients with a complaint about this matter, should contact the Patient Advisory Liaison Services at patientservices@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk .

23 June 2025: From today (23 June 2025), following approval by NICE, tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) will be available in the NHS for eligible patients who meet the strict, nationally-set, criteria. 

The current criteria is that patients are those with a BMI of 40 or higher, and with four or more of the qualifying comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) will be eligible for assessment to identify their suitability for Mounjaro. Anyone not meeting these criteria will not be eligible for assessment in the first year of the drug being available. 

Please do not contact your GP; if you are eligible to be assessed you will be contacted over the coming months and invited to attend an appointment for assessment. Those with the greatest clinical need will be contacted first. 

Weight Management Reminders

We are aware that GPs are also still receiving enquiries about the availability of Oviva (Wegovy) in Staffordshire ad Stoke-on-Trent; the statement about that is below.

SSOT ICB does not commission a tier 3 weight management service from Oviva in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.  In line with NICE and NHSE guidance, weight management injections will be made available to eligible patients through a locally commissioned service from the end of June 2025.

Weight Management Services and Pregnancy/Contraception

Women taking medicines for weight loss and diabetes should continue to use effective contraception while taking these medicines, and in some cases for up to two months between stopping the medicine and trying to become pregnant. 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has warned that prescribed medication, such as Mounjaro, must not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to get pregnant or during breastfeeding. Anyone who gets pregnant while using them should speak to their healthcare professional and stop the medicine as soon as possible. This is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby. 

Effective contraception includes oral (the pill) and non-oral (the implant, coil or condoms) forms of contraception.

Mounjaro may reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in those who are overweight. Those taking Mounjaro who are overweight and are using an oral form of contraceptive are advised to also use a non-oral form of contraception. This only applies to those taking Mounjaro, and is especially important for the four weeks after starting Mounjaro and after any dose increase. 

The full advice can be found on the regulator’s website. It comes after concerns from the UK regulator that some people are not using these medicines for weight loss and diabetes safely.