GP contract to ‘boost’ obesity care with increased access to weight loss jabs

GPs will be incentivised to improve obesity care and patient access to weight loss jabs as part of the new GP contract, set to be published today.

A letter to GP practices and PCN leaders, seen by The Pharmacist, said two new indicators that track the provision of obesity care will be added to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) as part of the 2026/27 contract.

These will reward GP practices that identify and support adults living with obesity and will be backed with £25 million of financial incentives.

The letter, signed by NHS England’s national primary care and community services director Dr Amanda Doyle, added: ‘The changes to QOF are supported by an additional 18 QOF points (£25 million) and are intended to enhance clinical outcomes, modernise the scheme and ensure indicators reflect current evidence and best practice.’

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NHS England hopes this new funding will incentivise GP practices that are not currently prescribing weight loss drugs to do so.

The government said it aims to ‘tackle the obesity crisis’ by improving access to weight loss drugs through primary care and boosting the phased rollout of weight loss drugs that is already underway.

Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) was made available in NHS primary care settings for weight management in June 2025. Treatment is being offered by the NHS to up to 220,000 people over the first three years, beginning with those who have the highest clinical need.

This is a small number compared to the 1.6 million UK adults who used weight loss jabs in the past year, most of which were supplied privately through community pharmacies.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said: ‘The NHS rollout of weight loss treatments remains very slow and only a handful of patients are being treated. In some parts of the country, it has hardly begun at all.

‘This means that the vast majority of patients will be receiving weight loss treatment from their pharmacy. The government should be using the expertise pharmacies have in this area to support the NHS to reach more patients, rather than relying on overstretched GPs.

‘Community pharmacies can provide a patient with the care they need to achieve a sustainable weight loss, through wrap around support and careful lifestyle changes, where a patient is eligible for treatment.’

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was ‘determined’ that access should be based on need, not ability to pay.

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‘Outside the NHS, we’ve seen those who can spare the cash buying privately, and the proliferation of rogue prescribers peddling dangerous unlicensed drugs that are putting patients at risk,’ he added

‘Investing in general practice will help bring this modern medicine to the many, not just the few, and help shift the focus of the NHS from treatment to prevention.’

He added that this is just part of a wider public health package to help ease the £11 billion burden obesity places on the health service and economy.

Healthwatch recently raised concerns about unequal access to NHS-funded weight loss medication across England, reporting that some people had gone into debt paying for private prescriptions or given up altogether.

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In response to the new funding for GPs providing obesity care, Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), said: ‘Pharmacists are already supplying these medicines in a safe and dependable way, with the clinical expertise and safeguards in place to support patients properly.

‘The Government should be doing more to support pharmacies to deliver weight loss treatments, rather than directing additional funding towards GP incentives.

‘Making better use of community pharmacy would help reduce unnecessary pressure on GP surgeries and the wider NHS, while ensuring patients can access treatment quickly and safely in their local community.’