Weight Loss Medication

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Mounjaro/Tirzepatide – Follow up communications for Practices

We appreciate the pressure practices have been under from patient enquiries given the national media attention. Thank you to practices for their patience as we work with you to build sustainable services over time.

Please also see the dedicated website pages including FAQs which we will keep updated with new questions and answers as they arise. The link is: https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/our-priorities/weight-management-west-yorkshire.

The link to the news release is: https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/news-and-blog/news/new-nhs-weight-management-treatment-rolling-out-west-yorkshire

Criteria

From 23 June, access is limited to cohort 1:

  • BMI ≥ 40 (adjusted for ethnicity)*
  • At least four of the following:
  • type 2 diabetes
  • hypertension
  • cardiovascular disease
  • obstructive sleep apnoea
  • dyslipidaemia
  • OR weight loss is needed for life saving and urgent surgery or intervention

Tirzepatide must only be prescribed for weight loss as part of a commissioned care model with wraparound support, including:

  • lifestyle and behaviour change support
  • regular clinical reviews, monitoring and medication review
  • ongoing patient engagement with diet and activity plans

Reminder of Key Information

In line with the confirmed cohorts issued by NICE and NHS England for delivery of Tirzepatide, West Yorkshire ICB is currently reviewing its commissioning policy/statement for provision for weight management drugs plus non-drug pathways; with consideration of service capacity/resources, etc. A decision is likely to be made towards the end of July, regarding restricting service entry requirements to that of cohort 1 for Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) across all weight management services in Leeds and West Yorkshire. (Likely to restrict to over 40 BMI and with 4 or more of the identified comorbidities).

Leeds specific information:

Since reopening the Leeds Specialist Weight Management Service, we have had a larger number of referrals than anticipated. We are exploring how we manage this volume of referrals. In the meantime, please bear in mind that any new referrals are unlikely to be assessed by the end of July (due to the volume of patients) and those with a BMI above 35 and below 40, are unlikely to be accepted after the end of July due to the anticipated changes to the commissioning policy. We are eager to manage expectations for patients, avoid dissatisfaction and rejection of referrals so please bear this in mind when deciding to refer because we will be focusing on those in cohort 1.

We are working with the Leeds GP Confederation to explore and commission alternative primary care offers and integrated pathways to increase capacity and to support primary care in the long-term. We will keep you updated as this progresses. The PCNs involved in the feasibility work are testing a risk stratification tool to support practices identifying the highest risk patients in line with cohort criteria. In the interim searches have been created in clinical systems to support identification of eligible patients.

In the meantime, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the WY ICB comms re Tirzepatide and the relevant cohort criteria.

Further information will follow but if you have any further queries, please contact the ICB.