To think the NHS should just bite the bullet and provide weight loss jabs privately?

[lostinthememory]

It was in the news the other day that half a million people are paying for weight loss jabs privately every month in the UK.

Surely the NHS could operate a private pharmacy that sells these jabs at a lower cost than other private pharmacies, and generate a huge amount of money? Assuming each dose was £100, that would be £50 million a month for the NHS, while people are also easing the burden of obesity. It would also remove a lot of the shady prescribing practices that occur at the moment.

Why haven't they considered this?

That’s not how the nhs works . The nhs provides on need not what you can afford

Because the NHS isn't a profit making enterprise. They don't provide private healthcare.

But the NHS is crumbling, and it desperately needs cash.

There are (at least) half a million people paying privately for this medication that could be paying the NHS, surely it's worth looking into?

Not the case now.
Many, many things in the NHS are now chargeable, and some like GOSH have set up abroad to profit on their good name.
The profits all go back to providing patient care.
I think OPs idea is excellent personally.

@ToBeOrNotToBee and GP surgeries are operated as partnerships. It's all about money, instead of shying away from things like this why not embrace them

I think thats a great idea OP. And exactly the sort of scheme the NHS needs if its going to survive…plus it’d save the NHS a fortune on future obesity related illnesses.

I think what the OP means is run a pharmacy for weight loss drugs and I can see where she's coming from.

Once you start with that though, where do you stop. You can't just dish out and fill prescriptions for non-NHS policy drugs because where you stop...eg cannabis oils etc

NHS dentists are another one - those aren't free at the point of treatment.

They wouldn't even have to charge at a flat rate, either. Realistically it could bring in at least a billion for the NHS a year

I agree, great idea. They've got the bargaining power to get it cheaper as well. It's not going to happen but it's a good idea.

@AgnesX these are NHS drugs though, they're prescribing them to people now. Just slower due to the cost it would take to pay for them for everyone straight away.

By offering a cheaper choice to the private patients, they would generate a lot of money.

I do also believe cannabis should be legalised though, and taxed 🤷🏼‍♀️

Where are the staff going to magic up from the assess, prescribe and be on hand for enquiries etc? How much do these medications cost pharmacies? Do you think no one would have considered and looked into this?

The costs aren't only the medicine. It's the professionals time too. I'm OK with NHS professionals spending their time on other things and weight loss being a private service.

The NHS currently prescribes weight loss injections in certain circumstances, usually morbidly obese with diabetes. It is about to conduct a clinical trial to supply injections for weight loss that will last three years. This will provide evidence for future prescribing.

We don't know all of the risks of weight loss injections. This trial will provide evidence and then will inform future prescribing which will reduce costs for obesity.

Sharon Osbourne couldn't stop losing weight when she was already very thin. MNs report a lack of hunger and forcing themselves to eat. Do these injections pose a risk of malnutrition if not supervised? Is there a risk of creating food restricting eating disorders or putting users at risk of being extremely underweight? Will there be risks of cancer or dementia or heart disease for those who use the injections?

We need to understand the risks before it can be prescribed more generally.

I used to work as a GP. I seem to remember that it was not permitted (under NHS contract) to charge a patient for something that was also available free on the NHS. So that would need to be thought about.

Why would they when so many are willing to self fund?

As I said, they could charge a substantial amount but undercut the current private providers, and still generate hundreds of millions for the NHS a year

But people do need it and the NHS isnt prescribing it.

But what are you basing this on? Whilst of course pharmacies charge a mark up, these medications don't just cost pennies and that's without factoring in the professionals time and the logistics. To undercut as you're suggesting probably won't make them much- so where are your hundreds of millions appearing from?

Heres the prices:

Medicinal forms | Tirzepatide | Drugs | BNF | NICE https://search.app/xAxVh9asXfrZ5MDn9

It's a bit of a myth that the NHS secures huge economies of scale on pricing so even if this was rolled out you could shave a tenner off each dose maximum (especially for such an in demand item).

@Mounjarry £100 per injection would generate £50 million in a month, based on the half a million people purchasing them now. The NHS would be able to negotiate cheaper prices than private pharmacies, they're already regulated etc.

I thought you meant to buy them like you would on a private script (as the NHS wouldn't give you one). That's why I mentioned cannabis eg for seizures - the drugs are available but not via the NHS.

Mounjara is now an NHS drug. But it going to be something like 12 years before everybody who qualifies actually gets it. Meanwhile they put folk forward for weightloss surgery which is far more invasive and dangerous.

The NHS buying power could get this cheaper, sell it on properly prescribed and pull in a profit for the NHS. I am sure folk would welcome the NHS oversight as well as paying money to the NHS rather than profiteering private companies.
I think it's a great idea.

So 2.5 is £92- you're saying they charge £100, adding in HCPs time and the logistics (it costs a lot to process a prescription) even if that is just £8 which is unlikely they'd break even. For higher doses they're above £100 on their own- so where is the profit they're generating coming from?

@Smallsalt that's another good point. Weight loss surgery costs a lot more and is a lot riskier than the jabs.

Weight loss clinics already exist within the framework of the NHS, GPs must see so many people everyday who want help with their weight.

All it would take would be the option to issue a prescription for the jabs that then gets paid for by the person than covered by the NHS. The framework is there already

@Mounjarry again, they would be bulk buying and able to negotiate lower prices.