Weight management services
Use this page to find out more information about how you can get support locally to manage and reduce your weight. This page includes information on how weight management medications are prescribed and accessed in our area.
Getting help from our local weight management service
People across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Royston can get support to help manage and reduce their weight from a community weight management service led by the Local Authority.
If you would like to be referred to the weight management service, which offers a range of support from dietetic and lifestyle change support to advice on physical activity, please reach out to your GP practice. Your practice will be able to discuss your needs with you and refer you if the weight management service which is best placed to help you.
Access to weight management medications
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved Tirzepatide and Semaglutide, two medications, for the management of overweight and obesity.
The NHS is now rolling out these medications for people who meet the eligibility criteria, starting with people who are at highest risk of ill health, or who are experiencing the most severe ill health due to living with obesity.
These individuals are being prioritised because the NHS does not have the services or existing resources to manage the number of people who could potentially be eligible for weight management medications. This means not everyone who wishes to use these medications, and meets the criteria, will be able to access them immediately.
In the first phase of the roll-out of weight management medications (between now and April 2026), people with a BMI of 40or above (or 37.5 for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds) , and with four out of the following diagnosed health conditions will be prioritised:
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart diseases
- Obstructive sleep apnoea
- Abnormal blood fats
If you do NOT meet all the criteria above, please do not contact your GP practice to ask for these new injections. They are following strict NHS guidance and will not be able to prescribe them to you at this time.
If you would like to access support to help manage your weight, please speak to your GP practice in first instance. If appropriate your GP will refer you to our weight management service. The weight management service will assess your needs and how they can best support you. Where people meet the eligibility criteria above, this may include the option of weight management medication.
The roll-out of weight management medications is being managed in phases. You may experience a long wait for medication due to the significant demand for these treatments. NICE has indicated in its guidance that it could take up to 12 years to make tirzepatide available to everyone who could be eligible.
Can my GP prescribe weight management medications for me?
In our area, weight management medications are being offered to people with the highest clinical need for these treatments via our community weight management service, which is led by the Local Authority. GPs are not able to prescribe weight management medications but can refer you to the weight management service if this service is well-placed to support you.
The weight management service feels that weight management medications are right for me. When will I start treatment?
If you meet the criteria set out above, for the first phase of the roll-out of weight management medications, you will likely start treatment between now and March 2026. A lot of people locally and across the country could potentially be eligible for weight management medications. The NHS does not have the services or existing resources to prescribe these medications for all people who could be eligible. We urge anyone waiting for the start of weight management medicine treatment to make full use of the support on offer via the weight management service.
If I am started on tirzepatide or semaglutide, do they have any side effects?
Further information on the treatments available for the management of overweight and obesity, including tirzepatide and semaglutide, can be found on the NHS website Obesity - Treatment - NHS
If you are prescribed this medication, please read the patient information leaflet provided within the box.
Tirzepatide and semaglutide should not be taken by women, trans men and non-binary people who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
Tirzepatide and semaglutide may reduce the effectiveness of oral contraception. For further information please read The Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare Patient Information Leaflet.
I have read about wraparound care – what is it?
Wraparound care is the nutritional/dietary support, physical activity support, and lifestyle change tools that are a necessary part of safe weight loss with GLP-1 drugs for obesity. People not wanting to have wraparound care cannot access GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.