Thousands denied weight loss jab due to slow NHS rollout – with some having to wait two years
Thousands of people with severe obesity are being denied access to effective treatment because the NHS rollout of the weight loss jab Wegovy is happening far more slowly than planned, research by Sky News shows.
Freedom of Information requests reveal that just 800 people had been prescribed the drug through hospital weight-loss services by the end of April – despite estimates by the Department of Health that 13,500 should have started treatment by then.
Sky News spoke to several patients who have been denied the jab on the NHS.
Ken Pollock is in severe pain from osteoarthritis, but has been denied Wegovy
One was told there was no prospect of treatment, despite needing to lose five stones (32kg) before surgeons are prepared to go ahead with a double knee transplant.
Dr Robert Andrews of the University of Exeter, who has run clinical trials of new obesity drugs, said access was a “postcode lottery”.
He said: “As a doctor, you go into the profession to try and help people.
“But we are unable to offer treatment to everyone who could benefit. And that’s really difficult.
“Money follows for other illnesses, but it doesn’t for this illness. And that’s really a form of bias.
“Seeing that within the NHS is soul destroying.”
The NHS used a text message to tell Ken Pollock it couldn’t offer him Wegovy
Under guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) specialist weight-loss clinics in England and Wales should have started prescribing Wegovy in December last year.
The NHS cost-effectiveness authority said that people with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 and at least one related condition such as high blood pressure were eligible for treatment.
But Sky News asked Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which commission local NHS services, whether they made the drug available through tier-3 weight-loss clinics in local hospitals.
By the end of April, only 14 of 42 ICBs had done so, and they imposed extra rules to restrict access – such as only offering it to patients in life-threatening situations, including those who need to lose weight ahead of cancer surgery or organ transplants.
Dr Robert Andrews of the University of Exeter said access to Wegovy was a ‘postcode lottery’
In all, just 838 patients in England had been treated by then – a little over 6% of the 13,500 that NICE expected to be on Wegovy.
Ken Pollock, who weighs 25 stone and is in severe pain from osteoarthritis, has been denied NHS treatment with the drug.
He’s been told he must lose five stone before surgeons will go ahead with a double knee replacement that would allow him to exercise. At the moment he struggles to even climb the stairs.
But the hospital weight-loss clinic told him by text that there was a two-year wait to be seen and it was “unable to offer medication”.
“It’s so shocking,” he said.
“I considered going private. But I thought ‘no, I’ve paid into the NHS all my life’. So I’m stuck in a kind of loop and I don’t know what’s next.”
Dr Robert Andrews (L) has run clinical trials of Wegovy
Studies show people lose on average 15% of their body weight within months of starting treatment with Wegovy. The drug mimics a natural hormone and people feel fuller faster and for longer.
Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an NHS obesity specialist in Birmingham, but speaking in a personal capacity, said the findings by Sky News confirm research that he and others have done on poor access to treatment.
“My concern is that there are so many people that could benefit, but increasingly the systems are not in place to provide this care,” he said.
“Those able to pay for treatment can access it, but many more are left untreated or on long waiting lists for overstretched services that are not resourced to meet patients’ needs.
Sally Hardwicke pays £160 per month to buy Wegovy privately
“The availability of effective medications for obesity should be viewed as an opportunity to improve health but to realise this potential will require a significant funding investment.”
Obesity costs the NHS £6bn a year and is linked to 200 different diseases.
Half of all obese people with three related problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, will be dead within 10 years.
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Sally Hardwicke decided to buy Wegovy privately after being turned down for NHS treatment, despite meeting the NICE criteria.
She has to ring around pharmacies to find a supply, which costs her roughly £160 a month. But she says the drug is well worth the money.
“I never used to feel full. I could eat a very big meal and still want more,” she said.
“Now my food is on much smaller plates and nine times out of 10 I don’t even finish what I’ve got.”
Sally said she had tried countless diets to try to lose weight, but the effect was short-lived.
“Even my boss said ‘why would you want to be putting that drug in your body?’ Because I’m desperate,” she said.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “While specialist weight management services – which are required to prescribe this particular treatment – are commissioned based on local priorities, the NHS provides a wide range of support which is helping hundreds of thousands of people lose weight and live healthier lives.
“We are committed to working with the government, industry and experts to ensure that new treatments can be rolled out safely, effectively and affordably.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
Read more from Sky News:
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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