Cheshire and Merseyside ICB (the organisation responsible for overseeing NHS funding for practices in Wirral) has issued instructions that this medication cannot be prescribed for weight loss by GPs yet.
The decision NOT TO PRESCRIBE is NOT taken by the GPs / practitioners at the surgery – they have to follow the guidelines in place.
We do recognise that this is a frustrating situation for many patients, BUT booking an appointment to speak about this will not change the outcome
We do now have more details from NHS England and NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) about who can eventually get this medicine, but not when it will be available.
NHS England has shared who can get Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) to start with.
It will be given in different stages, starting with people who are most in need.
In Phase 1, only people with serious health conditions will be able to get it on the NHS. This is the same everywhere in England.
To get Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®), you must:
Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more, and
Have at least four of the following health problems:
High blood pressure
High cholesterol or fat levels in your blood
Sleep apnoea (trouble breathing while sleeping)
Heart disease
Type 2 diabetes
There are a number of our patients receiving Mounjaro (or similar) for their diabetes management – this is allowed on the NHS and will continue.