London patients facing postcode lottery for weight loss drugs

Senior doctors have warned there is severe inequality within London for weight loss drugs so patients are facing a postcode lottery trying to access them.

Weight loss drugs are administered via a weekly injection and make patients feel fuller for a longer time, reducing their appetite and overall food intake.

Dorottya Norton, an NHS weight management specialist, told a London Assembly committee: “The lack of fairness is apparent to patients – some are able to get started and others are not.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, inequality is growing as patients are buying products online, which are either fake or designed for medical research.

Tirzepatide – also known by its brand name Mounjaro – has been prescribed for severely obese patients in the UK since June, with around 220,000 people with the “greatest need” set to receive it over the next three years.

It is seen by the NHS as an additional tool to tackle the country’s growing obesity rate and reduce the overall workload on the health service.

However, senior doctors and pharmacists have warned that there is severe inequality within London when it comes to accessing weight loss drugs.

Ms Norton also told the health committee: “There is a lack of consistency across London, England and the UK – there is a postcode lottery with weight management services.”

She added that there had been “a huge increase” in referrals.

“We need some degree of consistency across London so patients can get away from the postcode lottery.

“It’s becoming a difficult clinical environment because there is such a gap between what patients understand, what they want and what is available.

“Many patients are also self-funding, so inequality is growing.”

An imbalance between supply and demand has prompted those who are able to afford it to secure unregulated supplies on the black market, the committee was told.

Sokratis Papafloratos, founder of Numan, an online provider of weight loss drugs, said: “In terms of illicit access, I think we really underestimate the problem and misunderstand it.

“You can buy the active ingredients as somebody that does research.

“However, people are finding these companies and buying and importing ingredients that are designed for clinical research and are injecting them into their bodies, which I find mind blowing.”

Sukhi Basra, National Pharmacy Association vice chair, told London Assembly members that her patients had shown her photos of boxes “full of fake medicines”.

“They’re being sold as generic medications, and that petrifies me.”