Community weight management support in Dorset

The new weight management ‘Tirzepatide’ medication (brand name Mounjaro^®) will be available to NHS patients nationally from 23 June.

In Dorset around 1,000 people currently qualify for the medication based on national eligibility criteria – but it won’t be available locally until later this year (autumn) – so please don’t contact your practice or GP as they’re unable to help currently. We don’t yet know how patients will access the medication (probably via a referral). When it is available there are very strict criteria to be able to have access to the medication on the NHS.

These including having a BMI over 40 (or 37.5 if from an ethnic minority) and at least 4 of the 5 following conditions:

• dyslipidaemia (abnormal fat levels in the blood)
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep)
• cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessel disease)
• type 2 diabetes mellitus