RCP welcomes new obesity drug pilot

The Royal College of Physicians has welcomed a new two-year pilot which aims to explore ways to make obesity drugs more accessible to patients living with obesity outside of hospital settings.

Professor Ramesh Arasaradnam, academic vice president of the Royal College of Physicians, said:

“This is a very welcome and much needed investment. Obesity costs the NHS £6.5bn, but more importantly it costs people their health.

“The RCP called for more investment in services for people living with obesity on World Obesity Day 2022. We said that provision of specialist weight management services was patchy, and that is still the case.

“So we are pleased this pilot is being funded and look forward to hearing more, particularly about the pilot sites. We hope that attention can be paid to communities that need these services the most, which are also often already underserved by the NHS.

“The involvement of the Royal Colleges and other organisations will be key to the success of the pilot. These drugs must be provided in a way that reduces health inequalities, protects patient safety and helps to reduce the pressure on an already overstretched workforce.”