Long waits for NHS weight-loss services are driving patients into buying potentially dangerous jabs online, the nation’s top GP has warned.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said she had ‘serious concerns’ about drugs sold by unregulated retailers.
She also urged caution over cheaper alternatives to pre-filled injection pens, which may require patients to prepare part of the medicine themselves at home.
Even those buying the jabs from registered online pharmacies risk missing out on essential monitoring and care, she said.
Professor Hawthorne urged patients to consult a doctor before taking weight loss drugs.
She said: ‘If you’re faced with a two-year waiting time and you want to lose weight now… you might well decide that you’re going to just sort it out yourself.
‘We do have some serious concerns about that, because you don’t always know the provenance of the drugs that you’re buying unless it’s coming from an accredited company that’s properly regulated, and some of these places are not fully regulated.
‘I would definitely suggest that you come and talk to your doctor or practice nurse about what you’re intending to do and let them help you. They may know ways of helping you that you haven’t thought about.’
Delays to NHS weight-loss services are driving patients to turn to potentially dangerous jabs online, a top GP has warned. Pictured: Ozempic injection pens
About 500,000 people in the UK have been prescribed weight-loss jabs, but only five per cent are getting them on the NHS (file photo)
Professor Kamila Hawthorne warned that even those patients getting drugs from registered online pharmacies risked missing out on essential monitoring and care (file photo)
About 500,000 people in the UK have been prescribed weight-loss jabs, data shows, but only 5 per cent are estimated to be getting them from the NHS.
The two available on the NHS are known as Wegovy and Saxenda. Ozempic, which contains the same ingredient as Wegovy, is used by the NHS to treat type 2 diabetes.
Some patients are being asked to wait for up to five years for specialist weight management support, according to the Obesity Health Alliance.
In parts of the country, some overstretched services have closed their waiting lists entirely.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said buying the drugs online was extremely risky, suggesting criminals will go to ‘great lengths’ to make their businesses appear authentic.
Their products could contain ‘toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm’, it warned.
Both warnings come after the Mail revealed how easy it is to buy jabs online even when a healthy weight, due to lax regulations.
A Department of Health spokesman said patients ‘with the most need will receive treatment first’, but added: ‘We recognise these drugs are not a replacement for a good diet and exercise and as part of our 10 Year Health Plan we will shift the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention.’