Wegovy™ access in south east London

13 Apr 2023
NHS South East London

There has been a lot of publicity recently about a medicine to support weight loss called Wegovy™, which is also known as semaglutide. We have been asked to explain what the situation is in south east London.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, is the organisation that decides which treatments are made available on the NHS. NICE has said that Wegovy™ should be used as a treatment for some adults living with overweight or obesity as part of an NHS specialist weight management programme. This would include a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Wegovy™ is not available in the UK yet. When it is available in the UK, Wegovy™ will be prescribed in line with this NICE guidance.

Our current plan is that in south east London Wegovy™ will be prescribed in our NHS specialist weight management services, and not by GPs.

We will publish further details in the coming months.

In the meantime, we would continue to encourage people living with overweight and obesity to access support through our weight management services.”

You can find more information from NICE here.