Weight loss injections could be offered on prescription at community pharmacies, the Daily Mail reports. Following this report, Company Chemists’ Association Chief Executive Malcolm Harrison said:
“Offering a weight loss service through community pharmacy, which includes the supply of GLP-1 medicines, would significantly widen access for patients and could help to significantly reduce levels of obesity nationwide.
It will be a great step towards delivering greater preventative care — one of the three shifts of the government’s plans for the NHS.
Community pharmacy has a proven track record of delivering preventative healthcare interventions at scale, such as vaccinations and blood pressure screenings. If appropriately funded, this is a service community pharmacy would be well placed to deliver.”
NOTES:
From 2026, all new pharmacists will be ‘independent prescribers’, allowing them to prescribe NHS medicines for conditions within their clinical competence, without the need for the GP’s prescription. This service would make good use of the skills of these new pharmacists.