Access to Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) for Weight Management in the Black Country
From 23 June 2025, access to the medication tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) is beginning in England for a small number of patients living with obesity who are at the highest risk of serious health conditions.
In the Black Country, new community-based weight management services are currently being developed to support safe and effective access to this treatment, this means GPs are not yet able to prescribe tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) for weight management in this area.
We’re working quickly to make these services available. As part of our phased approach, the first group of patients who may be eligible will include those who:
- Have a BMI of 40 or more (or 37.5 for people from minority ethnic backgrounds),
- And have obstructive sleep apnoea on CPAP (or where CPAP is not suitable or tolerated),
- And have at least three of the following long-term conditions:
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Dyslipidaemia
Other patients who meet the broader NHS criteria (BMI ≥ 40 and four or more related health conditions) may become eligible in later stages.
Please do not contact your GP about tirzepatide at this time. GPs currently cannot prescribe this treatment or refer patients into the new pathway until local services are launched.
Access to tirzepatide will be alongside structured diet, exercise and behavioural support to ensure patients are supported in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
We will update this page regularly and share information with local partners as soon as the new service becomes available.
Thank you for your patience as we work to introduce this important new treatment safely and fairly.
Please note:
Black Country ICB supports a practice’s decision to continue prescribing for a medicine that was initiated prior to the publication of the NICE Technology Appraisal (TA1026) 23rd December 2024, provided it meets the usual prescribing criteria requirements.
Tirzepatide for the management of type 2 diabetes is not part of this weight management pathway and is already prescribable as per Black Country ICB formulary website.
ICB public statement in response to launch of NICE TA on Tirzepatide
The National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence (NICE) has published a Technology Appraisal for Tirzepatide for managing overweight and obesity (TA1026) on 23 December 2024.
This Technology Appraisal makes Tirzepatide available for weight management, under the brand name Mounjaro. Unlike previous weight management medication, this can be prescribed in Primary Care, however it still needs the same wrap around services as Wegovy (semaglutide), so that patients are supported to make the changes needed for the medication to be most effective.
Black Country ICB knows there are many patients eligible for this medication who would like to be able to access this as soon as possible.
However, this medication will be made available in phases over a number of years.
We also ask that you do not contact your GP surgery to try and obtain Mounjaro for weight loss just yet. GP practices are incredibly busy at this time of year and the additional resource required to manage enquiries will mean they have less time to offer patient appointments.
We have also asked our GPs not to prescribe Mounjaro for weight loss at this time, whilst we work with clinical colleagues to develop options for the new service, including the training and education needed for these medications to be safely prescribed. We are also working with a range of experts from across the Black Country to strengthen our specialist weight management service for patients with more complex needs, which will prescribe weight management medication in future.
The ICB website has the latest ICB policy and FAQs for weight management published by NHS England, which may give you more information.
