💉You may have heard via the media that weight loss injections can be prescribed via Primary Care from June 2025.💉
This is NOT currently available directly from GP surgeries in Hertfordshire.
 
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Local implementation is organised by Hertfordshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) https://hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk/. (The ICB is the local NHS organisation that plans and oversees how NHS money is spent)
 
The local  ICB has reported that it is setting up a new service to provide access to tirzepatide for patients referred 
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The criteria are very strict, initially only 220,000 patients UK wide that will qualify.
Statistically that means from the approximately 14,000 patients registered at Schopwick, only around 4 or 5 will qualify 
 
The criteria are as follows:
 
Eligibility
 body mass index is above 40* and have been diagnosed with four or more obesity-related health conditions from the list below:
Type 2 diabetes  
High blood pressure (hypertension) — requiring treatment with medication  
Heart and blood vessel disease (cardiovascular disease) — such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease. (This does not include conditions such as atrial fibrillation or valvular heart disease.)  
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) — confirmed by a sleep study and requiring treatment, such as CPAP.  
High cholesterol or triglycerides) — usually based on blood test results or if you take medication like statins.  
* If you are from a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds your BMI should be 37.5 or more. 
 
Access to general practice is difficult and resources are limited, therefore we would like very much to avoid booking unnecessary appointments for patients that do not qualify for Mounjaro injections, as this would block access to patients that are unwell and need to be seen by a doctor.
The full ICB policy can be found here:
https://www.hertsandwestessex.ics.nhs.uk/your-health-and-care/stay-well/weight-management/weight-loss-injections/