Patients needing time-sensitive surgery given access to weight-loss jabs in Wales
People who need to lose weight quickly to access surgery, or who have serious medical conditions impacted by obesity, will be given access to weight-loss drugs on the NHS, the Welsh Government has announced.
The rule change in Wales will mean that people with obesity who are waiting for time-sensitive surgery or organ transplants, will have access to tirzepatide (Mounjaro) on the NHS.
It will also apply to women seeking fertility treatment, and people with conditions such as severe asthma, severe obstructive sleep apnoea, or cancer where weight loss would improve treatment outcomes or access to therapies, the Welsh Government said.
Previously, the weight-loss medication was only available on the NHS in Wales through specialist weight management services, and the new arrangements have been put in place to ‘ensure people with urgent clinical needs can access treatment more quickly’ while arrangements for wider access ‘are being developed’.
The Welsh Government said it is developing a new model to expand capacity across specialist, primary care and community settings to make weight-loss drugs more widely available while providing wrap-around support.
The change follows NICE’s approval of tirzepatide in December 2024 for treating obesity in adults, with an estimated 186,000 people in Wales potentially meeting the eligibility criteria.
Pulse exclusively reported earlier this year that patients were being prevented from receiving life-saving operations – including organ transplants and cancer surgery – because strict NHS rules mean they could not be prescribed GLP-1 weight-loss medications.
The Welsh government added that their new approach on access for those who need to lose weight to have surgery or to get treatment ‘recognises that some people need access now’.
Interim exceptions for immediate prescribing include:
- Pre-cancerous or cancerous conditions where weight loss would improve outcomes
- Patients requiring urgent weight loss for organ transplant
- Idiopathic intracranial hypertension with visual compromise
- Time-sensitive surgery where high BMI is the primary barrier
- Assisted conception where weight loss would be beneficial
- Severe obstructive sleep apnoea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome or severe asthma
Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said: ‘There is considerable demand for specialist weight management services and growing pressure for access to these medications through the NHS.
‘To help meet demand in a sustainable way, we are building capacity and capability, while ensuring people with the most urgent clinical need can access treatment without delay. This approach recognises that some people need access now.’
Further decisions about the deployment of weight loss medicines will be made as the new clinical pathway is developed, he added.
In England, under national guidance, patients must receive wrap-around care alongside the injections, and ICBs are responsible for commissioning these services but earlier this year, GPs have found themselves explaining to eligible patients that the treatment is not yet available locally.
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