A cross-party committee of MPs has criticised the Government over access to weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro, saying people are being "repeatedly failed" and that a "two-tier" system has emerged.
The Health and Social Care Committee's report found that only around 6% of eligible people will get or currently receive Mounjaro on the NHS in its first three years, with millions more turning to private firms. MPs argued that access to the medication is increasingly determined by ability to pay rather than clinical need.
Committee calls for urgent reassessment
The report urged the Government to "urgently reassess the pace of rollout of Mounjaro". It said this should include making better use of digital providers and holding a summit on GLP-1 access with a range of providers and healthcare professionals.
In June 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended Mounjaro as an option for managing overweight and obesity. The NHS estimated 2.8 million patients would be eligible, and if all presented within the first year of availability, the cost would be £15.2 billion over five years. As a result, Nice agreed to NHS England's request that the rollout be gradual.
Two-tier system and private prescriptions
The NHS has been rolling out access to 220,000 people over three years, with the Health Foundation saying this represents only around 6% of those eligible based on Nice's recommendation. Data suggests more than 2.37 million packs of GLP-1s are being prescribed every month in the UK, with the vast majority accessed privately.
MPs said that "people living with obesity are being let down by the NHS", and that "access to GLP-1 medication appears increasingly to be determined by ability to pay rather than clinical need". They warned that failing to provide equitable access would entrench and widen disparities linked to deprivation and inequality.
Children's services and next steps
The report also looked at specialised clinics for young people with complications of excess weight. These services have been commissioned to see between 25 and 200 young people per year, but MPs heard waiting times were around six months and waiting lists ranged from 20 to 100 young people. In South Yorkshire, some 16,000 children may meet referral criteria, but there were only places to support around 100 families per year.
Committee chairwoman Layla Moran said: "Millions of children and adults in England live with obesity and excess weight – a chronic, relapsing condition that leads to further serious illnesses. People can spend their entire lives battling with their weight. We say the NHS should provide effective, structured support to beat obesity for all those who seek it. Instead, those people are repeatedly failed."
She added: "A two-tier system has emerged because of limited supply via the NHS, inadvertently deepening health inequalities." The report also called for better data-sharing between GPs and prescribers, and a review of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's capacity to address the illegal trade in GLP-1s.
An NHS spokesperson said: "The health service is currently testing new ways to accelerate access, including new routes for starting these medicines, to ensure millions more people can benefit – while also offering a wide range of other support, which has already helped tens of thousands of people achieve a healthier weight."
