{"id":909,"date":"2026-06-29T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/?page_id=909"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:54:11","slug":"weight-loss-injections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/weight-loss-injections\/","title":{"rendered":"Obesity Management Medicines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date__modified-date wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-06-29T14:42:00+01:00\">29 June 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are&nbsp;planning to&nbsp;start a&nbsp;small pilot&nbsp;in our service&nbsp;to introduce&nbsp;medication to support weight&nbsp;management.&nbsp;To start, access&nbsp;will be&nbsp;limited&nbsp;to&nbsp;a small number of patients who are already known to our service&nbsp;whilst we test this new pathway.&nbsp;Patients in this&nbsp;pilot&nbsp;cohort have already been&nbsp;identified&nbsp;and&nbsp;have been made&nbsp;aware. They will be contacted directly&nbsp;by the service&nbsp;once the pilot starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Until we have tested and evaluated the pilot,\u00a0the Weight Management Service is\u00a0still\u00a0unable to\u00a0take requests or\u00a0accept\u00a0referrals for obesity medicines\u00a0at this time.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why is access limited?&nbsp;<\/strong>These medicines need to be used safely and with the right support.&nbsp;&nbsp;This means people need a health check before starting, clear advice on how to use the medication and regular check-ins and monitoring.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are testing all of this during the pilot so we can offer the service safely to more people in future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What happens next?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong>We will use what we learn from the pilot to build the full LIMITLESS programme.&nbsp;Over the next three years, we will develop and test the service, including the digital platform.&nbsp;&nbsp;Any wider access to medication will depend on what we learn from the pilot, staffing and service capacity and national guidance.&nbsp;&nbsp;We will update this page when we have more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three medicines are approved for use in NHS Scotland for managing weight in the treatment of obesity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liraglutide (Saxenda\u00ae)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Semaglutide (Wegovy\u00ae)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tirzepatide (Mounjaro\u00ae)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Scottish Government has issued a consensus statement advising on national eligibility criteria for NHS in Scotland and to consider a phased implementation of the medicines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.publications.scot.nhs.uk\/files\/dcconsensus-statement.pdf\">Scottish Government Consensus Statement &#8211; national criteria for prioritisation of obesity medicines in NHS Scotland<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NHS Lothian will be initiating a pilot to introduce and trial obesity medicines in our weight management service. Updates will be shared once we have evaluated the pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-standard-black-color\">Until we have tested and evaluated the pilot,&nbsp;the Weight Management Service is&nbsp;still&nbsp;unable to&nbsp;take requests or&nbsp;accept&nbsp;referrals for obesity medicines&nbsp;at this time.<\/mark><\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark>Recent Headlines<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>June 2026<\/strong> &#8211; The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the Wegovy\u00ae\/semaglutide oral tablet for weight management in the UK. Whilst this tablet is approved for use in the UK, it is not available currently via the NHS. As with all new treatments, decisions on NHS use will follow established processes, including an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>June 2026<\/strong> &#8211; The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved the use of Wegovy\u00ae\/semaglutide for patients living with obesity and pre-existing cardiovascular disease to prevent further cardiovascular events. This separate indication will need to be added to the NHS Lothian prescription list and prescribing pathways agreed before this will be able to be prescribed for cardiovascular reasons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>April 2026<\/strong> &#8211; The FDA approved the daily oral Foundayo\u00ae\/orforglipron pill for obesity management in the US. Please note this has not yet been approved in the UK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>December 2025 &#8211; <\/strong>The FDA approved the daily oral Wegovy\u00ae\/semaglutide pill for obesity management in the US. Please note this has not yet been approved in the UK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>September 2025 &#8211;<\/strong> If you have been affected by the price increase of Mounjaro\u00ae\/tirzepatide we would recommend you contact your private prescriber in the first instance to discuss your options as we cannot advise on your private prescription. They will be able to advise on switching to alternative medicines if you are looking to consider this. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark>Diet &amp; Lifestyle Advice for Obesity Medicines<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are looking for evidence-based diet and lifestyle advice to support taking these medicines, please see the below links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2026\/06\/Obesity-Management-Medication-v3.1.pdf\">UPDATED &#8211; NHS Lothian Obesity Management Medications Advice Leaflet<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2026\/03\/Obesity-Management-Medication-Safety-information-for-private-prescriptions-v1.0.pdf\">Safety Information for Private Prescriptions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know\/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know\">GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes: what you need to know &#8211; GOV.UK<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsinform.scot\/healthy-living\/weight-loss\/weight-loss-medication\/diet-and-physical-activity-tips-whilst-taking-weight-loss-medication\">NHS Inform &#8211; Diet and physical activity tips whilst taking weight loss medication<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bda.uk.com\/food-health\/glp-1-obesity-medications.html\">British Dietetic Association &#8211; Medications for Obesity Advice Leaflet<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark>Weight Management Advice<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you wish to consider lifestyle advice in the meantime you can find more information about our other programmes and referral forms on our web page:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fservices.nhslothian.scot%2Fawmt2d%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CSusan.Wight%40nhs.scot%7Cd9ef6807d83c4ca84bf208dd5cac1da6%7C10efe0bda0304bca809cb5e6745e499a%7C0%7C0%7C638768616472765144%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=5QN91tNGLzngdg8yS%2BY%2BMqpxPQ94Pyap%2BojPEzFYayE%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Adult Weight Management and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Service \u2013 NHS Lothian | Our Service<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adult Weight Management and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Team<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Woodlands House, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 74 Canaan Lane, Edinburgh, EH9 2TB<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">E-mail: loth.weightmanagement@nhs.scot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Telephone: 0131 537 9169<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are&nbsp;planning to&nbsp;start a&nbsp;small pilot&nbsp;in our service&nbsp;to introduce&nbsp;medication to support weight&nbsp;management.&nbsp;To start, access&nbsp;will be&nbsp;limited&nbsp;to&nbsp;a small number of patients who are already known to our service&nbsp;whilst we test this new pathway.&nbsp;Patients in this&nbsp;pilot&nbsp;cohort have already been&nbsp;identified&nbsp;and&nbsp;have been made&nbsp;aware. They will be contacted directly&nbsp;by the service&nbsp;once the pilot starts. Until we have tested and evaluated the pilot,&nbsp;the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-909","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":false,"rttpg_excerpt":"We are&nbsp;planning to&nbsp;start a&nbsp;small pilot&nbsp;in our service&nbsp;to introduce&nbsp;medication to support weight&nbsp;management.&nbsp;To start, access&nbsp;will be&nbsp;limited&nbsp;to&nbsp;a small number of patients who are already known to our service&nbsp;whilst we test this new pathway.&nbsp;Patients in this&nbsp;pilot&nbsp;cohort have already been&nbsp;identified&nbsp;and&nbsp;have been made&nbsp;aware. They will be contacted directly&nbsp;by the service&nbsp;once the pilot starts. Until we have tested and evaluated the pilot,&nbsp;the","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1135,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/909\/revisions\/1135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/awmt2d\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}