GPs see workload increase due to demand for weight-loss jab Mounjaro

GPs are seeing a major increase in their workload as patients try to get the weight-loss jab Mounjaro, a poll suggests.

The survey of more than 1,200 GPs and practice nurses suggests one in 25 consultations now involve discussion of the drug, either as the main reason for the appointment or as an extra question when discussing other illnesses.

It comes after research earlier this month found thousands of people who could benefit from Mounjaro on the NHS are missing out due to funding issues and a postcode lottery.

Fewer than half (18 out of 42) of commissioning bodies across England have started prescribing the drug on the NHS in line with health service guidance, according to data gathered by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

NHS England has put in place a phased rollout of Mounjaro over a period of up to 12 years, but data suggests even patients who are eligible now cannot get the drug.

The vast majority of patients on Mounjaro currently pay for it privately.

According to the BMJ study, few integrated care boards (ICBs) have been allocated enough NHS funding for patients who could be treated on the health service.

In the latest survey, from Pulse magazine and Nursing in Practice, almost one in 10 GPs (9%) and practice nurses (10%) said patients bring up Mounjaro in as many as one in 10 consultations.

One GP told Pulse there has been a “huge influx” of patients wanting to be put on the drug.

GPs reported, however, they are often not yet able to prescribe the drug because local ICBs have not set up routes for prescribing it or providing wraparound care for patients.

One GP said: “From June 23 (when rollout began), patients started asking about Mounjaro, but our local integrated care board did not develop a plan before this date.

“It would have helped if that had been done before media announcements.

“Patients were calling up to request appointments to be given (Mounjaro), which then took up a lot of our admin time and time away from other unwell patients.”

Another GP said they were concerned about patients needing to switch from buying the drug privately and asking for it on the NHS.

They said: “Very soon, I anticipate floods of people coming to us saying, ‘I need you to continue this medication for me because I can no longer afford it’.”

Pulse editor Sofia Lind said: “This is yet another example of GPs being left to pick up the workload when national announcements are made but the infrastructure isn’t in place.

“NHS England told ICBs to prepare for the rollout, yet many have not put prescribing routes and wraparound support in place – leaving GPs to manage the frustration and confusion from patients.”

The BMJ study found only nine ICBs had the funding needed to cover at least 70% of their eligible patients.

Four ICBs told the BMJ the NHS funding they had received covered just 25% or less of their eligible patients, with Coventry and Warwickshire faring the worst.

That ICB told the BMJ it had received funding to cover just 376 patients, despite identifying 1,795 eligible patients in the first year of rollout.

Eligible patients in the first year include those with a body mass index over 40 and other complicating illnesses such as high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We expect NHS integrated care boards to be making these drugs, which can help tackle the obesity crisis, available as part of the phased rollout, so those with the highest need are able to access them.

“As we shift the focus from treatment to prevention through our 10-Year Health Plan we are determined to bring revolutionary modern treatments to everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to do more to prevent people being “priced out” of accessing weight-loss jabs.

He has said he wants more people to get the drugs on the NHS after the manufacturer of Mounjaro said it was putting up prices in the private sector.

Dr Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said: “This research emphasises exactly why the NHS needs to review access to weight-loss medications.

“The need for a GP consultation, combined with strict wraparound care requirements that can cost as much as a year’s supply of the drugs themselves, create physical and financial bottlenecks and limit access for patients who could benefit.

“New digital-first delivery models are needed to make it easier and more affordable to roll out these medications at scale.

“Additionally, new funding models are needed to make the upfront investment into weight-loss medications and sharing the cost between patients, government, and industry alike.

“If patients cannot access them on the NHS, this will widen inequalities with those who can afford it paying privately and the UK won’t be able to take advantage of the transformational impact these medications could have on our health and economy.”