Rishi Sunak announces that thousands of NHS patients could receive ... trends now
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A 'game-changing' weight-loss drug could be rolled out to tens of thousands more patients, Rishi Sunak announced yesterday.
In a bid to tackle obesity and cut waiting lists, the NHS is launching a two-year pilot scheme to explore ways to make obesity medication available outside hospital.
Backed by up to £40million in funding, the initiative will see how GPs could safely prescribe the drugs and at ways the NHS could provide help in the community or digitally.
Watchdogs have already approved a weekly jab of a drug called semaglutide, sold under the brand name Wegovy. Patients lost around 15 per cent of their body weight when prescribed it alongside diets, physical activity and behavioural support.
It could be used instead of a gastric band or other weight-loss surgery, reducing the burden on hospitals and saving the health service millions of pounds. NICE recommended its use by
