By Jane Kirby
Weight-loss jabs are the “talk of the House of Commons tea rooms” and “half my colleagues are on them”, the Health Secretary has said as he pledged to widen access.
Wes Streeting said the jabs should be available according to need, not the ability to pay, and he planned to get them into the hands of those who need them most.
At the moment, people with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, or 30 but with a linked health condition, can be prescribed jabs on the NHS through specialist weight-management services.
Other people are paying hundreds of pounds a month to get the jabs privately.
Mr Streeting told LBC radio: “Weight-loss jabs are the talk of the House of Commons, half my colleagues are on them and are judging the rest of us saying ‘you lot should be on them’.
“And the thing is, if you can afford these weight loss jabs, which can be over 200 quid a month, well that’s all right for you.
“But most people in this country haven’t got spared two and a half grand a year and often the people who have the worst and most challenging obesity also have the lowest income.
“So I’m bringing to weight loss jabs the principle of fairness which has underpinned the NHS.
“It should be available based on need and not the ability to pay.
“And that’s what we’re going to do on weight loss jabs, as well as a number of other things, including people getting more fit, more active, supporting people on diet and nutrition….that’s the bit of the weight loss jab debate that sometimes gets lost.
“It’s not that you can have some weight loss jabs and stuff your face with Jaffa cakes…”
He said obesity cost the NHS billions a year, adding that taxes have been going “up and up” to pay for the health service.